An aerial view of part of the SD
Mines campus in the summer of 2019.
In its 2020
rankings, the organization College
Factual places South Dakota School of Mines
& Technology as the best engineering school for the money out of 302 similar
institutions across the United States.
The university’s affordable tuition alongside the high earning value of its graduates
places Mines above other institutions when it comes to return on investment.
The SD Mines placement rate for recent graduates is 97 percent, with an average
starting salary of more than $63,350.
But College Factual is not the only university ratings organization to give
SD Mines high marks. The salary report for 2019-20 published by PayScale puts
SD Mines among the top 100 schools in the entire country for early and
mid-career salary. This ranking includes data from 3.5 million graduates from 2,500
colleges. Officials with PayScale say, “It's plain that SD Mines is at the top
of its class.”
SD Mines also does well when compared to other in-state schools. SmartAsset
ranks the university number one in South Dakota for value and starting
salary. Niche also ranks
SD Mines the number one public university in the state. Forbes
puts Mines above all other state schools in its annual list of top colleges.
SD Mines
online graduate programs rank among the best in the nation according to
EDSmart. The three online graduate programs offered at SD Mines ranked fourth
in the United States based on
affordability, retention rate, academic quality and student outcome. The
organization Best
Colleges ranked SD Mines number four among the most affordable master’s in construction
management online programs for 2019.
Unlike some other high-value universities, admission to SD Mines is not
overly competitive. Most applicants who meet the minimum
requirements are accepted. Admission is given to more than 80 percent of
all applicants and the university offers an array of scholarships and financial aid.