by our College Data Analytics TeamUniversity of South Dakota is a public institution in Vermillion, South Dakota enrolling 5,439 undergraduates. It accepts 99% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 60%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #646 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 12%), 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.
University of South Dakota ranks #646 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 12%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
University of South Dakota was awarded 59 badges in the 2027 rankings.
USD is ranked #646 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, USD holds the #4 spot on the Best Colleges in South Dakota ranking.
See all of the rankings for University of South Dakota.
With an acceptance rate of 99%, University of South Dakota is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 4% of students accepted to USD submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 530 and 620. Math scores were between 595 and 695.
USD received ACT scores from 62% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 25.
Learn more about University of South Dakota admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 16 to 1, University of South Dakota is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
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 University of South Dakota is 65%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 79% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like University of South Dakota enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at USD for first-time, full-time students is 60%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of South Dakota.
During the most recent academic year, there were 5,439 undergraduates at USD.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of South Dakota.
The typical net cost at USD 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $14,921 | $15,942 | $18,540 | $21,202 | $22,193 |
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 USD, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At USD, approximately 40% of students took out student loans averaging $6,149 a year. That adds up to $24,596 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.3%. 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 University of South Dakota.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University of South Dakota make about $51,926 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at University of South Dakota make the most money.
University of South Dakota is a public institution situated in Vermillion, South Dakota. Vermillion is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of University of South Dakota.
Get in touch with University of South Dakota are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 414 E Clark St, Vermillion, SD 57069-2390 |
| Phone: | 6056586200 |
| Website: | WWW.USD.EDU |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_South_Dakota |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/UniversityofSouthDakota |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/UniversitySD |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 23 majors graduated from University of South Dakota. 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 | 2,256 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 201 | $59,685 |
| Computer Information Systems | 166 | NA |
| Mental & Social Health Services | 150 | $40,471 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 115 | $39,446 |
| Nursing | 109 | $57,262 |
| Health Sciences & Services | 104 | $36,775 |
| Health & Physical Education | 101 | NA |
| Accounting | 88 | $49,058 |
| General Biology | 86 | $24,185 |
5,019 students took at least one online class at University of South Dakota.
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 University of South Dakota.
Want to see how other colleges compare to USD? Pit them head to head with 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