by our College Data Analytics TeamSouth Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a public institution in Rapid City, South Dakota enrolling 2,071 undergraduates. It accepts 80% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 53%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #794 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 15%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology ranks #794 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 15%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, South Dakota Mines is ranked #794 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, South Dakota Mines holds the #7 spot on the Best Colleges in South Dakota ranking.
See all of the rankings for South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has an acceptance rate of 80%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.
About 25% of students accepted to South Dakota Mines submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 560 and 660. Math scores were between 580 and 680.
South Dakota Mines received ACT scores from 79% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 24 and 30.
Learn more about South Dakota School of Mines and Technology admissions.
At South Dakota Mines, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is 88%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has a freshmen retention rate of 84%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at South Dakota Mines for first-time, full-time students is 53%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
During the most recent academic year, there were 2,071 undergraduates at South Dakota Mines.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
The typical net cost at South Dakota Mines is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15,348 | $17,909 | $18,366 | $21,176 | $21,993 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of South Dakota Mines, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At South Dakota Mines, approximately 40% of students took out student loans averaging $6,106 a year. That adds up to $24,424 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.7%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology make about $72,257 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students since it is 47% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology make the most money.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a public institution situated in Rapid City, South Dakota. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Get in touch with South Dakota School of Mines and Technology are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 501 E Saint Joseph St, Rapid City, SD 57701-3995 |
| Phone: | 6053942511 |
| Website: | www.sdsmt.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota_School_of_Mines_and_Technology |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/sdsmt |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/sdsmt |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 11 majors graduated from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 566 | NA |
| Mechanical Engineering | 111 | $63,634 |
| Civil Engineering | 66 | $62,408 |
| Computer Information Systems | 55 | NA |
| Electrical Engineering | 39 | $64,157 |
| Chemical Engineering | 36 | $57,674 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 30 | NA |
| Industrial Engineering | 29 | $64,319 |
| Mining Engineering | 20 | NA |
| Geoscience Engineering | 16 | $55,327 |
428 students took at least one online class at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Interested in comparing South Dakota Mines? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.