FAQ

Your acceptance letter will have been emailed to you, as well as a hard copy sent by postal mail. Please review it carefully. Refer to the new on-campus graduate student checklist for additional steps to be taken prior to starting classes.

For programs that offer assistantship funding, you will be automatically considered for support based on information provided on your application. No further application materials are required. Financial awards are primarily granted to research students who begin enrollment in the fall. General information regarding assistantships can be found here.

Contact your prospective Academic Department to find out what they might offer in terms of assistantships, fellowships, and hourly pay.

Our Ivanhoe International Center is here to assist you with the international student visa process. Visit the resources and documents page for more information.

Yes. Immunization records are required for all students attending on campus. If you have not previously attended a South Dakota state university, you will need to submit an Immunization Form. Direct any questions about this to the Dean of Students office, DeanOfStudents@sdsmt.edu.

Your Self-Service Banner account will have all of your account information, including registration for future semesters, courses previously taken, financial aid award information, and student account balances. (You can access the Self-Service Banner portal from any page on our website; click on the Self-Service Banner link at the bottom of the page under the Academics column.)

Some courses have an on-campus section and an online section; be sure that you select the correct section when registering.

The required materials for courses will be found in the course syllabus. The Mines Bookstore (Rocker Shop) is your place to buy South Dakota Mines textbooks, gear and supplies. Buy or sell used and new textbooks, compare prices to other online competitors, and purchase software or gifts. For more information, visit the Mines Bookstore website. (www.sdsmtbookstore.com). You can also buy the textbooks elsewhere, but you should make sure the edition you buy is the one required for the course.

Tuition and fees are typically due approximately 10 days after the start of the semester. Payment for tuition and fees can be made via Self-Service Banner. Cashiers are available in the Student Accounts/Cashiers Office from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm MST for answering payment questions. Failure to make financial arrangements by deadline may result in cancellation of your classes and/or a late payment fee.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the U.S. may be eligible to apply for federal financial aid benefits. Find out more from our Financial Aid office about applying for financial aid. Graduate assistantships are not available in some programs; contact your advisor for more information.

Health insurance can be purchased by students attending South Dakota Mines. Find more information on Student Health Insurance here.

The Devereaux Library at South Dakota Mines is a good resource for reference materials. Your student ID card will be used to check out materials. For more information, please email library@sdsmt.edu

We offer support to students and assist with a variety of personal, academic, and career concerns. For more information, visit our information on Counseling.

Computer and software requirements vary by course and program. South Dakota Mines offers a tablet PC rental program that includes many software packages required for courses. The tablet PC rental is required for undergraduate students and is optional for graduate students. Contact the ITS help desk for more information.

Many graduate students use their own laptops for courses; however, a VPN connection must be used to access South Dakota Mines network resources. For more information, visit http://www.sdsmt.edu/Campus-Services/ITS/How-Do-I/.

All students are assigned a campus email which is firstname.lastname@mines.sdsmt.edu. The campus will use this email for all official campus correspondence. Students are encouraged to check this email on a regular basis. To login to your mines email account go to: mail.mines.sdsmt.edu. For the login, your username is firstname.lastname. The system will add @mines.sdsmt.edu automatically. Your default password is your birthday + 7 digit id number mmddyyyy1234567.

Yes. All official campus correspondence will go to your Mines email account.

Students must check this email on a regular basis or forward the email to their personal email account. You will miss important notifications if you do not check or forward your Mines email account.

All student email accounts are set up through google email and you can forward your email to another account that you use. To forward official correspondence from your Mines email account to another email account, go to http://mail.google.com. Once you log in to this site, you will see a box with a gear in it. This is the settings link. Click on it, then click on Settings in the drop down menu. Click on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP link at the top and then click on the Add a Forwarding Address link.

Please review the Graduate Education Policies in the South Dakota Mines Catalog. All graduate office requirements and program specific requirements are listed in the catalog. Contact your advisor if you have questions.

Degree seeking graduate students must enroll for a minimum of 2 credits during the fall and spring semesters. A student who is temporarily unable to continue his/her program of graduate study due to unanticipated circumstances may request a leave of absence from his/her program of study by completing and submitting a request for leave of absence form (see the Graduate Education Forms webpage).

Non-thesis students are normally advised by the program coordinator; a student advisory committee is not typically required. Thesis and dissertation students will form a graduate advisory committee during the first and second semester of study. The graduate advisory committee (GAC) assists in the supervision of the general study program. The GAC typically consists of three members for master’s students and five members for Ph.D. students. The major professor heads the committee. Additional guidelines for selecting committee members can be found in the South Dakota Mines Graduate Education Policies.

A program of study form is due to the Office of Graduate Education at midterm of the second semester of study or after the completion of 9 credits, whichever is later. The program of study consists of the appointment of the graduate advisory committee (for thesis and dissertation students), along with a schedule of coursework leading to the advanced degree. Forms are available on Graduate Education Forms webpage).

All graduate students must maintain a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA for all courses taken in all departments which appear on the graduate transcript. Only courses listed on the graduate transcript are used for computing the graduate GPA.

Students must earn a C grade or better in any graduate course (500 through 800 level), which is indicated to be credited toward advanced degree requirements by appearing on the program of study form.

Students must earn a B grade or better in any 300 or 400 level course which is indicated to be credited toward advanced degree requirements by appearing on the program of study form.

Before the final semester of study, students will submit the application for graduation found on the Graduate Education Forms webpage. The program of study must be current in order for the Graduate Office to verify degree completion.