University of South Dakota: Statistics

Updated: June 12, 2026 EliteDegrees

Position	Category
# 1040 of 11,642	In the World
# 302 of 452	In North America
# 271 of 452	In the United States
# 2 of 1	In Vermillion
# 221 of 11,648	For Military science
Top 1-3	For 12 other topics

Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate

99%

Average SAT

1,220

Average ACT

Aid receiving

95%

Undergraduates

7,619

Graduates

3,000

Male:Female Ratio

36:64

Type

Public
not-for-profit

Highest Degree

Doctor's degree

Website

usd.edu

Acceptance rate & Admissions

University of South Dakota has an acceptance rate of 99% and is among the top 1% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

	Total	Men	Women
Acceptance Rate	99%	99%	99%
Applicants	5,965	2,424	3,541
Admissions	5,892	2,383	3,509
Freshmen enrolled full time	1,371	493	878

Admissions requirements

College-preparatory program	Required
Secondary school record	Required
TOEFL	Required
Recommendations	Considered but not required
SAT/ACT	Considered but not required
Secondary school GPA	Considered but not required
Secondary school rank	Considered but not required
Formal demonstration of competencies	Neither required nor recommended
Other Tests	Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

■ White	77%
■ Nonresident Alien	8%
■ Asian	2%
■ Hispanic	5%
■ Black or African American	3%
■ Two or more races	3%
■ Unknown	2%

University of South Dakota majors

University of South Dakota has granted 26 associate degrees across 3 programs, 1,084 bachelor's degrees across 51 programs, 633 master's across 36 programs, and 261 doctorate degrees across 19 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at University of South Dakota.

Major	Associate	Bachelor	Master	Doctoral
Business Administration and Management, General	-	80	104	-
Computer and Information Sciences, General	-	9	128	-
Registered Nursing & Registered Nurse	-	126	-	-
Clinical & Medical Social Work	-	31	64	-
Exercise Science and Kinesiology	-	59	29	-
Accounting	-	56	27	-
Psychology, General	-	71	6	3
Health Services & Allied Health & Health Sciences, General	-	73	1	2
Law	-	-	-	75
Biomedical Sciences, General	-	53	10	4
General Studies	22	38	-	-
Medicine	-	-	-	60
Elementary Education and Teaching	-	41	9	-
Communication Sciences and Disorders, General	-	22	27	-
Educational Leadership and Administration, General	-	-	39	10
Mass Communication & Media Studies	-	46	-	-
Criminal Justice & Safety Studies	-	42	-	-
Finance, General	-	40	-	-
Political Science and Government, General	-	26	1	6
Physical Therapy & Therapist	-	-	-	32
Dental Hygiene & Hygienist	-	31	-	-
Occupational Therapy & Therapist	-	-	-	31
Biology & Biological Sciences, General	2	13	6	5
Substance Abuse & Addiction Counseling	-	10	15	-
Counseling Psychology	-	-	21	3
Marketing & Marketing Management, General	-	24	-	-
Physician Assistant	-	-	24	-
Secondary Education and Teaching	-	15	7	-
English Language and Literature, General	-	8	9	3
Art & Art Studies, General	-	16	2	-
Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering	-	10	4	1
Chemistry, General	-	7	7	-
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	-	-	13	-
History, General	-	10	3	-
Public Administration	-	-	13	-
Business Analytics	-	-	11	-
Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration & Management	-	11	-	-
Human Services, General	-	-	11	-
Music, General	-	-	11	-
Speech Communication and Rhetoric	-	8	3	-
Sustainability Studies	-	8	3	-
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General	-	8	2	-
Mathematics, General	-	8	2	-
Music Teacher Education	-	10	-	-
Physics, General	-	4	2	3
Special Education and Teaching, General	-	-	9	-
Materials Chemistry	-	-	-	8
Sociology, General	-	8	-	-
Audiology & Audiologist	-	-	-	7
Economics, General	-	7	-	-
Nursing Practice	-	-	4	3
Organizational Leadership	-	7	-	-
Art Teacher Education	-	6	-	-
Entrepreneurship & Entrepreneurial Studies	-	6	-	-
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other	-	6	-	-
Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, General	-	-	5	-
Neuroscience	-	5	-	-
Spanish Language and Literature	-	5	-	-
Anthropology, General	-	4	-	-
Clinical Laboratory Science & Medical Technology & Technologist	-	3	-	-
Curriculum and Instruction	-	-	-	3
Legal Studies	-	3	-	-
German Language and Literature	-	2	-	-
Graphic Design	2	-	-	-
Medical Science & Scientist	-	-	-	2
Music Performance, General	-	2	-	-
Philosophy	-	2	-	-
American Indian & Native American Studies	-	1	-	-
Biochemistry	-	1	-	-
Educational & Instructional Technology	-	-	1	-
International & Globalization Studies	-	1	-	-
Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management	-	1	-	-
Grand Total	26	1,084	633	261

Publications & Citations

University of South Dakota has published 13,858 scientific papers with 311,941 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Medicine, Biology, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Chemistry, Psychology, Computer Science, Genetics, Biochemistry, Environmental Science, and Engineering.

Publications

13,858

Citations

311,941

Publication / Citation count by topic

Medicine	8,659 / 205,281
Biology	8,595 / 234,176
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences	6,065 / 113,718
Chemistry	5,882 / 185,010
Psychology	5,126 / 120,096
Computer Science	5,089 / 127,102
Genetics	4,691 / 140,030
Biochemistry	4,657 / 154,975
Environmental Science	4,025 / 102,748
Engineering	4,016 / 97,733
Physics	3,649 / 92,202
Pathology	3,401 / 77,621
Political Science	3,219 / 50,619
Law	3,046 / 49,087
Psychiatry	2,968 / 78,253
Sociology	2,938 / 59,299
Organic chemistry	2,650 / 96,058
Philosophy	2,492 / 47,607
Surgery	2,299 / 39,045
Mathematics	2,196 / 47,514
Quantum and Particle physics	2,091 / 61,390
Neuroscience	1,982 / 56,768
Geology	1,978 / 51,795
Geography and Cartography	1,889 / 34,823
Ecology	1,682 / 48,429
Statistics	1,652 / 41,573
Materials Science	1,622 / 44,871
Paleontology	1,604 / 44,350
History	1,573 / 23,465
Business	1,567 / 31,484
Economics	1,549 / 23,596
Radiology	1,417 / 25,861
Immunology	1,338 / 29,955
Public Health	1,306 / 35,317
Linguistics	1,297 / 27,716
Artificial Intelligence (AI)	1,218 / 22,554
Social Psychology	1,205 / 32,825
Archaeology	1,198 / 20,430
Anatomy and Physiology	1,153 / 28,931
Demography	1,067 / 26,730

Annual publication & citation counts

Academic rankings

89 Notable alumni

1. G. Homer Harding

1925-. (aged 101)

Guy Homer Harding is an American former politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota State Senate from 1971 to 1988. Throughout his state senate term, he represented the 19th, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th districts. He was also Treasurer of South Dakota from 1991 to 1995. Harding, a Republican, is a veteran of...

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2. Homer Kandaras

1929-2017 (aged 88)

politician

Homer M. Kandaras was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota State Senate from 1971 to 1976. Throughout his state senate term, he represented the 27th and 28th districts. He is an alumnus of University of South Dakota where he earned his law degree.

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3. Lowdon Heller

1924-2016 (aged 92)

politician

Lowdon B. Heller was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1957 to 1960. He was an alumnus of the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University, and was later a businessman, teacher and farmer. He died aged 92 in 2016.

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4. Richard L. Gregg

Richard L. "Dick" Gregg is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who served as Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from May 12, 2010 to June 30, 2014.

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All 89 notable alumni