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 grad degree. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Doctor's Degree Colleges in South Dakota ranking.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
Our analysis looked at 4 grad schools in South Dakota to determine which ones have the best doctorate degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best grad schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving a doctorate degree from the school. That is, everyone wants their doctorate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Graduate students may also take on a lot of debt while working on their doctorate so we factor that into our rankings as well. The average amount taken out in student loans for graduates at a particular school may be crippling for those who earn less than average wages after graduation.
We also analyze a number of other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt when coming up with our yearly Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking. On a broad level, other factors that go into our rankings include such things as the demand of the school, the student body caliber, if the school has online options, and the educational resources provided by the school.
We go into more detail on these factors on our graduate school ranking methodology page.
Still not sure what graduate degree you wish to pursue? You may want to visit our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our analysis found Mount Marty University to be the best grad school for doctorate degrees in South Dakota in this year’s ranking. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Yankton, South Dakota. It awarded 33 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 4 doctorate degree schools 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 is a public institution located in Brookings, South Dakota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 136 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from South Dakota State make an average of $110,688 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dakota State University. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Located in Madison, South Dakota, the small public school awarded 14 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of South Dakota. The school came in at #4 in South Dakota on this year’s best doctorate degree schools ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Vermillion, South Dakota, and it awarded 256 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from USD is $63,993 during the early years of their career.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.