Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $51,926 ten years after enrolling, more than at 44% of colleges; 55% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 1.6 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$23.6K
According to University of South Dakota's most recent Common Data Set, 65% of its Class of 2025 graduates (799 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $27,794 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
53 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 27 more are enrolled at another college. (2,292 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
41 of 100 finish within 4 years, 52 within 6, and 53 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 41% | 52% | 53% |
| Started in college here | 39% | 52% | 54% |
| Transferred in | 46% | 51% | 52% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Pell Grant recipients: 48%, 21 points below students with no need-based federal aid (69%). First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients368 students
48% · 21 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant327 students
57% · 11 points below students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan602 students
69% · comparison group
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White1,073 students
63% · 3 points above all students
- Asian15 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Hispanic/Latino59 students
41% · 19 points below all students
- Black39 students
38% · 21 points below all students
- Two or more races62 students
53% · 7 points below all students
- International25 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- American Indian/Alaska Native17 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander3 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus University of South Dakota. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;University of South Dakota Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;University of South Dakota Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)