The student population at South Dakota State University is 12,056 (10,719 undergraduate and 1,337 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 520 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at South Dakota State is 88.91% which is decreased by 275 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 245 and it has been decreasing.
The female to male ratio is 1.27 to 1 which means that female students enrolled slightly more than male students.
2,300 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 77.20% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 11,906 where 12,056 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
88.91% of total students is undergraduate students and 11.09% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has decreased by 275 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 245 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 1.27 to 1 and it means that there are slightly more female students enrolled in South Dakota State than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at South Dakota State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 12,576 | 10,994 | 5,132 | 5,862 | 1,582 | 720 | 862 |
| 2016-17 | 12,600 24 | 10,946 -48 | 5,184 52 | 5,762 -100 | 1,654 72 | 720 | 934 72 |
| 2017-18 | 12,516 -84 | 10,885 -61 | 5,144 -40 | 5,741 -21 | 1,631 -23 | 715 -5 | 916 -18 |
| 2018-19 | 12,104 -412 | 10,544 -341 | 4,938 -206 | 5,606 -135 | 1,560 -71 | 657 -58 | 903 -13 |
| 2019-20 | 11,512 -592 | 10,067 -477 | 4,698 -240 | 5,369 -237 | 1,445 -115 | 603 -54 | 842 -61 |
| 2020-21 | 11,405 -107 | 9,976 -91 | 4,565 -133 | 5,411 42 | 1,429 -16 | 532 -71 | 897 55 |
| 2021-22 | 11,465 60 | 9,847 -129 | 4,447 -118 | 5,400 -11 | 1,618 189 | 603 71 | 1,015 118 |
| 2022-23 | 11,327 -138 | 9,917 70 | 4,407 -40 | 5,510 110 | 1,410 -208 | 544 -59 | 866 -149 |
| 2023-24 | 11,498 171 | 10,177 260 | 4,507 100 | 5,670 160 | 1,321 -89 | 571 27 | 750 -116 |
| 2024-25 | 12,056 558 | 10,719 542 | 4,748 241 | 5,971 301 | 1,337 16 | 561 -10 | 776 26 |
| Average | 11,906 | 10,407 | 4,777 | 5,630 | 1,499 | 623 | 876 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 10,407 where 10,719 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at South Dakota State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 10,994 | 8,559 | 4,222 | 4,337 | 2,435 | 910 | 1,525 |
| 2016-17 | 10,946 | 8,474 | 4,198 | 4,276 | 2,472 | 986 | 1,486 |
| 2017-18 | 10,885 | 8,425 | 4,227 | 4,198 | 2,460 | 917 | 1,543 |
| 2018-19 | 10,544 | 8,169 | 4,037 | 4,132 | 2,375 | 901 | 1,474 |
| 2019-20 | 10,067 | 7,971 | 3,921 | 4,050 | 2,096 | 777 | 1,319 |
| 2020-21 | 9,976 | 7,788 | 3,724 | 4,064 | 2,188 | 841 | 1,347 |
| 2021-22 | 9,847 | 7,558 | 3,559 | 3,999 | 2,289 | 888 | 1,401 |
| 2022-23 | 9,917 | 7,607 | 3,569 | 4,038 | 2,310 | 838 | 1,472 |
| 2023-24 | 10,177 | 7,716 | 3,622 | 4,094 | 2,461 | 885 | 1,576 |
| 2024-25 | 10,719 | 8,133 | 3,744 | 4,389 | 2,586 | 1,004 | 1,582 |
| Average | 10,407 | 10,407 | 3,882 | 4,158 | 10,407 | 895 | 1,473 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,499 where 1,337 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at South Dakota State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,582 | 531 | 243 | 288 | 1,051 | 477 | 574 |
| 2016-17 | 1,654 | 527 | 249 | 278 | 1,127 | 471 | 656 |
| 2017-18 | 1,631 | 548 | 265 | 283 | 1,083 | 450 | 633 |
| 2018-19 | 1,560 | 558 | 270 | 288 | 1,002 | 387 | 615 |
| 2019-20 | 1,445 | 503 | 221 | 282 | 942 | 382 | 560 |
| 2020-21 | 1,429 | 513 | 218 | 295 | 916 | 314 | 602 |
| 2021-22 | 1,618 | 532 | 241 | 291 | 1,086 | 362 | 724 |
| 2022-23 | 1,410 | 548 | 235 | 313 | 862 | 309 | 553 |
| 2023-24 | 1,321 | 567 | 263 | 304 | 754 | 308 | 446 |
| 2024-25 | 1,337 | 520 | 262 | 258 | 817 | 299 | 518 |
| Average | 1,499 | 1,499 | 247 | 288 | 1,499 | 376 | 588 |
The percentage of white students is 80.86%. The percentage was 85.01% 10 years ago and South Dakota State still has a high percentage of white students. 1.31% of enrolled students is Asian and 1.30% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 2.97% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 85.01% to 80.86%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.09% to 1.31%. Black student enrollment decreased from 1.97% to 1.30%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 2.00% to 2.97%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.3443 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.2759 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at South Dakota State University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 127 | 137 | 248 | 252 | 10 | 10,691 | 237 |
| 2016-17 | 120 | 134 | 247 | 252 | 11 | 10,556 | 267 |
| 2017-18 | 133 | 141 | 252 | 294 | 7 | 10,462 | 265 |
| 2018-19 | 132 | 141 | 253 | 314 | 9 | 10,118 | 263 |
| 2019-20 | 131 | 137 | 213 | 283 | 4 | 9,667 | 267 |
| 2020-21 | 123 | 140 | 218 | 298 | 5 | 9,663 | 249 |
| 2021-22 | 130 | 134 | 207 | 294 | 5 | 9,677 | 235 |
| 2022-23 | 146 | 152 | 181 | 307 | 6 | 9,438 | 242 |
| 2023-24 | 136 | 150 | 144 | 327 | 11 | 9,496 | 240 |
| 2024-25 | 136 | 158 | 157 | 358 | 12 | 9,749 | 262 |
| Average | 131 | 142 | 212 | 298 | 8 | 9,952 | 253 |
2,300 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 19% of total students. The number of online students has increased 77.20% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at South Dakota State University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 12,576 | 1,298 | 2,804 | 8,474 |
| 2016-17 | 12,600 | 1,472 | 2,845 | 8,283 |
| 2017-18 | 12,516 | 1,576 | 3,026 | 7,914 |
| 2018-19 | 12,104 | 1,570 | 2,992 | 7,542 |
| 2019-20 | 11,512 | 1,535 | 2,823 | 7,154 |
| 2020-21 | 11,405 | 2,028 | 6,659 | 2,718 |
| 2021-22 | 11,465 | 2,166 | 3,503 | 5,796 |
| 2022-23 | 11,327 | 2,128 | 3,550 | 5,649 |
| 2023-24 | 11,498 | 2,126 | 3,708 | 5,664 |
| 2024-25 | 12,056 | 2,300 | 4,028 | 5,728 |
| Average | 11,906 | 1,820 | 3,594 | 6,492 |
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