by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota ranking is part of that endeavor. This list is proof that you shouldn't avoid normally high-priced schools, since the actual price may be very affordable if you qualify for financial aid.
In This Year's Value Report:
Our analysis looked at 9 schools in South Dakota to determine which ones have the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota ranking is to look at the school's average net price for students with families that make $0-$30k a year. The net price is the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a good education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named South Dakota State University the best value (income $0-$30k) school in South Dakota for students working on their master’s degree. South Dakota State University is a fairly large public school located in Brookings, South Dakota.
Not only is South Dakota State University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in South Dakota for overall quality.
Out of the 9 master’s degree schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Dakota State University landed the #2 spot on the list. This small public school is located in Madison, South Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Dakota State University is ranked #4 for quality in the state of South Dakota.
A rank of #3 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota list means University of South Dakota is a great place for students working on their degree. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of South Dakota is ranked #2 for quality in the state of South Dakota.
A rank of #4 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota list means Northern State University is a great place for students working on their degree. Northern State University is a small public school located in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northern State University is ranked #8 for quality in the state of South Dakota.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Black Hills State University. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota list. Spearfish, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Black Hills State University a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in South Dakota for overall quality.
With a ranking of #6, Mount Marty University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota list. Yankton, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Mount Marty University has the honor of being ranked #3 in South Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value.
National American University - Rapid City ranked #7 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota list. National American University - Rapid City is a small private for-profit school located in Rapid City, South Dakota.
National American University - Rapid City has the honor of being ranked #6 in South Dakota for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on National American University - Rapid City
University of Sioux Falls landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota ranking. University of Sioux Falls is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is University of Sioux Falls a great value, but it is also ranked #7 in South Dakota for overall quality.
With a ranking of #9, Augustana University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $0-$30k) in South Dakota list. Augustana Sioux Falls is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Not only is Augustana University a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in South Dakota for overall quality.
View Best Value Master’s Degree Schools (Income $0-$30k) Nationwide >
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 9 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
