2023 Most Focused Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation in South Dakota

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Natural Resources & Conservation is the 25th most popular major in the country with 31,316 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , natural resources & conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $34,166 and had an average of $23,195 in loans still to pay off.

Across South Dakota, there were 95 natural resources & conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,041 and $20,250 respectively.

This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural resources & conservation. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their natural resources & conservation program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Natural Resources & Conservation Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota

The colleges and universities below are the best for south dakota natural resources & conservation students.

Top 5 Most Focused Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation in South Dakota

1

Sinte Gleska University
Mission, South Dakota

Out of the 5 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Sinte Gleska University landed the #1 spot on the list. Sinte Gleska University is a public institution located in Mission, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Sinte Gleska University

2

South Dakota State University
Brookings, South Dakota

#1 overall quality in South Dakota

$45,741 Average Early-Career Earnings

$24,954 Average Student Debt

Out of the 5 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the #2 spot on the list. South Dakota State University is a fairly large public school situated in Brookings, South Dakota. It awarded 75 ’s natural resources & conservation degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at South Dakota State

3

Dakota Wesleyan University
Mitchell, South Dakota

$50,275 Average Early-Career Earnings

$24,855 Average Student Debt

Out of the 5 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Dakota Wesleyan University landed the #3 spot on the list. Dakota Wesleyan University is a small school located in Mitchell, South Dakota that handed out 2 ’s natural resources & conservation degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Dakota Wesleyan University Natural Resources & Conservation Report

4

Lake Area Technical Institute
Watertown, South Dakota

#4 overall quality in South Dakota

$36,525 Average Early-Career Earnings

$11,732 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lake Area Technical Institute. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota list. Lake Area Technical Institute is a public institution located in Watertown, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Lake Area Technical Institute

5

Sisseton Wahpeton College
Sisseton, South Dakota

Out of the 5 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Natural Resources & Conservation Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Sisseton Wahpeton College landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Sisseton, South Dakota, this small public school awarded 0 degrees to qualified ’s natural resources & conservation students in 2021-2022.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Sisseton Wahpeton College

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.