Best Community Colleges in South Dakota of 2023

The Lake Area Technical College offers over 30 academic programs for students to choose from. This school’s facilities, which includes a truck dynamometer, precision agriculture simulation lab, and advanced robotics lab, provides students with plenty of opportunities to learn through hands-on experience rather than just lectures and textbooks. They also offer a “Learn While You Earn” apprenticeship program that allows students to earn an income and college credit at the same time while they work at a job in their field (this program is currently available for building trades technology, diesel technology, and welding technology students).

Mitchell Technical College provides a variety of academic programs for the following six subject areas: health sciences, business and service industries, construction and manufacturing technologies, engineering technologies, agriculture and transportation technologies, and energy production and transmission. This is a great choice for anyone who is particularly concerned about the cost of college, as the Mitchell Technical College Foundation offers dozens of scholarship opportunities.

This school offers associate degree programs for the fields of transportation technology, business and computers, construction and manufacturing, energy and environmental technology, health sciences, and legal and public services. Western Dakota Technical College’s career services department is quite helpful, as they provide coaching services for improving your resume writing, interviewing, and job search skills. They also regularly host on-campus job fairs. Indeed, this school will provide you with all the support you need to land a good job soon after you graduate.

Like most community colleges, Oglala Lakota College’s academic offerings were initially focused on associate degree and certificate programs — they have since expanded their selection of degree options and now offer programs such as Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education, Bachelor’s in Information Technology, Bachelor’s in Leadership & Communications, and Bachelor’s in Lakota Studies. At this school, students can earn a bachelor’s degree at a significantly lower cost than most traditional four-year universities (especially tribal members, who receive a discount on tuition). Oglala Lakota College has several locations in the Pine Ridge Reservation as well as campuses in Eagle Butte and Rapid City.

Located in the Lake Traverse Reservation, this tribal college currently offers ten associate degree programs and two bachelor’s degree programs (Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Bachelor’s in Behavioral Science). They also offer a robust selection of certificate programs, which allow you to learn trades such as culinary arts, carpentry, and Dakota language teaching with only around 30 credit hours of coursework. If you would like to complete your postsecondary education and enter the workforce as quickly as possible, Sisseton Wahpeton College is an excellent option.

Anyone who prefers to attend their courses remotely should consider enrolling at Southeast Technical College. Of their over 60 academic programs, the following degree paths can be completed entirely online: Associate in Accounting, Associate in Business Administration, Associate in Computer Programming, Associate in Human Resources Management, Associate in Marketing, and Associate in Medical Coding. Their I.T. Support Center can be reached over the phone 24/7 to help with any technical issues that you may run into with your online classes.