Prospective nursing students in South Dakota have a total of 10 accredited schools to choose from, and these schools are spread relatively evenly throughout the state, which improves the chances that a suitable program is near you

Transitional Programs in SD

Nurses who want to become ADN-certified RNs or even achieve their BSN have several options in South Dakota, and perhaps because of the size of the state, many of these programs have online components.

University of South Dakota, for example, has four campuses throughout the state for people to take their in-class curriculum components, but most of their programs also have an e-learning component as well, which cuts down on travel time. Most of the LPN-to-RN programs in South Dakota also allow nurses to continue on to their BSN if they want, which will improve their job prospects.

Graduate Programs for Nurses

The graduate nursing programs in South Dakota are perfectly geared toward the state’s areas of highest employment, which is fortunate for nursing students in the state. In fact, with nurse anesthesia being such an incredibly successful profession in the state, the master’s of nurse anesthesia program available at Mount Marty College in Yankton should be on every potential graduate student’s list,

The most notable universities in the state for graduate programs are Mount Marty College and South Dakota State University — with the former offering the majority of online classes in the state and the latter offering most of the in-class opportunities.

 Job Outlook for Nursing Students in South Dakota

South Dakota’s overall job market is in a state of great health — better than most in the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the unemployment rate to be 4.3%, which rivals the lowest states in the nation. The trends also show that it is still slowly declining over the last year.

In addition to this great news, there are also clues that South Dakota’s nursing industry is benefiting in much the same way that the nursing field has benefited in other rural areas.

The trend is that the nursing field usually experiences a high concentration of jobs in rural areas compared to the rest of the country, and thankfully for South Dakota nursing students, it holds true in this state as well.

Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are both employed at much higher rates than in other parts of the country, which will help any South Dakota nursing students who are pursuing ASNs or BSNs. But the real benefit of working in a rural area is that these under-served communities usually have an incredibly high demand for MSN-prepared nurses.

Nurse anesthetists, for example, are employed at almost 3 times the rate they usually are, which makes South Dakota a great area for nurses who have pursued their graduate education.

Licensing for Nurses in South Dakota

Like in other states, nurses in South Dakota must have a degree from an accredited institution and must also pass their NCLEX exams before getting a license. South Dakota enforces no other licensing requirements.

Income Data for Nurses in South Dakota

* Double dashes (–) indicate data not available.