South Dakota Mines students enjoying time on campus.
South Dakota
Mines was listed in Wall Street Journal’s 2024 Best Colleges in the United
States as one of the top 10 most highly recommended schools by surveyed
students and recent alumni. The listing appeared in the newspaper’s Sept. 7 edition
and as part of the publication’s annual college
rankings.
South Dakota Mines is the only university in the
state to make the Wall Street Journal’s 2024 list. “This recognition is no
surprise to South Dakota Mines students and alumni. The lifetime value of a
South Dakota Mines degree is evident in the widespread success our graduates
enjoy,” says Mines President Jim Rankin, Ph.D., P.E.
The Wall Street Journal also ranks South Dakota
Mines 31st in the nation for salary impact. The university has long been
recognized as one of the top engineering
schools in the country for return on investment.
The university’s fully ABET accredited engineering degrees parallel the
curriculum at other leading STEM schools in the country. But unlike many Ivy
League schools, Mines is accessible to students from all backgrounds with an 85%
acceptance rate for all those who apply.
“Yes, our students are held to higher standards than
many other universities; our rigorous curriculum coupled with our hands-on
education and lots of personal attention from professors and peer mentors are
why our graduates are so highly sought after,” says Rankin. The South Dakota
Mines graduating class of 2022 saw a 98% placement rate in their field of study
and an average starting salary over $70,000.
That starting salary translates to a lifetime of
high earnings. A study by Georgetown University in 2022 that ranks 4,500
colleges in the country for value showed South Dakota Mines is the top
four-year public university in the state with 40-year lifetime average earnings
of over $1.52 million. This number is nearly half a million dollars more
than the second South Dakota school on the list. The Georgetown study also
ranks Mines in the top 27 four-year public colleges in the nation for a
lifetime return on investment. South Dakota Mines topped other schools on the
list such as Rutgers, Purdue, Texas A&M and the University of Minnesota.