Points of Pride
Strong Outcomes - 2020-21 Graduates
Placement: 97% of graduates are placed in jobs within their career field or have been accepted to graduate school, including medical school.
Average Starting Salary: $68,685
Our starting salary information is based on actual numbers reported by graduates. This information differs from College Scorecard information because our data includes all students, not just those who received
some form of federal financial aid.
Employers: 178 employers in 33 states
Job Placement and ROI
We’re serious about maximizing our students’ return on investment. In fact, for the past four years, College Factual named South Dakota Mines the best engineering school for the money out of 323 similar schools in the U.S. Our graduates work for state
agencies, small businesses, and for such powerhouse companies as Google, Garmin, Barrick Gold, Microsoft, NASA, and Amazon.
Prestigious Awards
Fulbright Scholars (2)
David LaPorte, 2016; Broc Kokesh, 2018
Goldwater Scholars (4)
Andrew Farke, 2003; Jesse Hinricher, 2015; William Trevillyan, 2018; William Jackson “Jack” Carpenter, 2019
2x NCAA Google Academic All-American (1)
Justin Barkow, 2017 & 2018
First place in Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition, Student Division (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2022)
South Dakota Mines Professor SD Entrepreneur of the Year (2018)
*Read the article here.
Military and Veteran Friendly
Our nation’s veterans served our nation with honor, and we work tirelessly to honor their sacrifice. Military Friendly ranks South Dakota Mines third in the United States for veterans while College Factual ranks South Dakota Mines among the top 10% of
universities in the nation for veterans. South Dakota Mines has also been ranked the best university in the state for veterans.
Learn more about our Veterans
Resource Center.
Outstanding Alumni
- South Dakota Mines has over 20,000 alumni
- Nearly 200 business owners
- Over 500 CEO's and Senior Executives
Notable Alumni
University Rankings
- #1 in seven categories, including best college, best value, top public university, and best academics (Niche)
- Top 1% of the best small colleges in America (Niche)
- Top Regional University in South Dakota and #4 in the Midwest (US News and World Report)
- Top Colleges for 2022 (Forbes)
- Ranked 27th out of 710 public universities for lifetime earnings (Georgetown University)
- #3 best university in the nation for veteran's graduate school category (Military Friendly)
- Top 1% for multiple engineering degrees in both regional and national rankings (College Factual)
Read more: November 2022 rankings press release
Top Employers of Graduates