Dakota State University (DSU) is a public university in Madison, South Dakota founded in 1881. Education is still the university's heritage mission, but a signature mission of technology was added by the state legislature in 1984 to specialize in "programs in computer management, computer information systems, and other related undergraduate and graduate programs."
Dakota State is a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, designated in 2004 by the National Security Agency. DSU now holds four such distinctions, with awards from the Department of Homeland Security/National Security Agency (NSA) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in: Information Assurance Education, Information Assurance Research, Cyber Operations, and most recently as a Cyber Defense Regional Resource Center.
The 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges ranking listed the university as tied for #36 in Top Public Schools (Regional Universities Midwest), and tied for #118 overall in Regional Universities Midwest.
Dakota State houses four academic colleges: The College of Education, The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Business and Information Systems.
DSU offers a 4+1 program where students can obtain their bachelor's and master's degrees in just five years, instead of the usual six years. The program helps students save money by allowing students 9 credits of graduate course work to count toward their undergraduate and graduate degree.
Enrollment has grown from two graduates in its first class in 1885, to 3,190 students enrolled in the fall of 2016. Of those, 2,844 are undergraduates and 346 are postgraduate students. On-campus students number 2,754; 1,134 are Internet-only students. Students come from 49 states and 59 countries.
The average student/faculty ratio is 17/1. For undergraduates, the average class size is 15.3 students; for graduate students, on-campus class size is 4.1. More than $18 million in financial aid was awarded in 2015.
Students may choose from over 45 campus clubs and campus and national organizations. The school also has a comprehensive student services program, including career services, international programs, Student Success Center (counseling, academic probation, wellness, tutoring), diversity and inclusion and Title III services.
The placement rate for DSU's graduates is over 94 percent; several programs have 100 percent placement.
DSU has an information security team which regularly competes against other collegiate teams in multiple competitions, one of which is the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. DSU's team was among the finalists in the years 2009, 2014, 2016, and 2018. In 2013 and 2022, the team won second place. In 2018, the team won third place. In the 2017 Argonne National Laboratory Cyber Defense Competition where fifteen collegiate teams from around the country competed, DSU placed in second as well, in tie with Kansas State University.
The historic portion of the 61-acre campus includes five buildings facing an open lawn area called the "Campus Green".The oldest building on campus is Beadle Hall, built in 1886. The newest building is the Beacom Institute of Technology.
As of 2017, plans are also underway for a new cyber research and development facility and organization called the Madison Cyber Labs or MadLabs. As of 2019, the MadLabs building has finished construction. Renovations to the school's athletic facilities are also in the planning stages.
Student housing consists of six different buildings ranging from dorms to suites.
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