UNIVERSITY AND THE BROOKINGS COMMUNITY:

South Dakota State University is the state’s largest, most comprehensive university with more than 200 programs and an enrollment of approximately 12,000 students.

SDSU offers a rich academic experience in an environment of inclusion and access through inspired, student-centered education, creative activities and research, innovation and engagement that improve the quality of life in South Dakota, the region, the nation and the world. Its employees embrace the university’s core values of being people-centered, expanding knowledge through creativity, embracing organizational and personal integrity, commitment to diversity, and excellence through continuous improvement.

South Dakota has 3 Integrated Delivery Networks. Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the US is headquartered in Sioux Falls, with locations in 26 states and 10 countries. Avera Health is a mid-sized health system with locations across the upper Midwest. Monument Health, headquartered in Rapid City, is a community-based health care system serving patients across Western South Dakota and Wyoming.

Faculty in the College have strong partnerships with these healthcare systems, and many have joint appointments. Classrooms, faculty offices, and clinical sites are also held at Monument, Sanford, and Avera Health systems giving students first-hand practice experience working alongside real-world practitioners. Practice-based research is encouraged, and graduate students work collaboratively with faculty and students from other disciplines on research projects. 

The Allied and Population Health Department houses faculty from pharmacy, public health, medical laboratory sciences, and respiratory care. The Population Health division of the department has faculty with diverse backgrounds in pharmacy and public health. The department offers a total of nine (9) academic programs across these disciplines. Faculty work with collaborating institutions across the state and nation. Our students complete clinical experiences with our collaborative partners and affiliate sites all across America. Inter-disciplinary collaboration is fostered and encouraged among faculty and students.

In addition to teaching, the department houses the new Community Practice Innovations Center (CPIC) which focuses on community-based research with an emphasis on access to care, population health, and improving health outcomes.

From 2017-2019, SDSU’s NAPLEX pass rates were ranked 2nd in the nation. The CEPH accredited MPH program, is a joint collaboration with faculty from SDSU and the University of South Dakota bringing together faculty from diverse health care disciplines. The program is one of only a handful of programs across the country that prides itself on a successful joint partnership of this kind. The College has consistently recorded 100% job placement for graduates for many of our academic programs and continues to offer a very dynamic working environment for faculty. 

As the state’s 1862 Morrill Act land-grant institution, the work of the university is carried out on its main resident campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre, Rapid City, and Aberdeen, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across South Dakota.

SDSU was recognized as one of 54 institutions in the United States as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities in 2014. The university’s total research expenditures are greater than $60 million. SDSU is the state’s first High Research Activity institution as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Jackrabbits Athletics competes as an NCAA Division I member with membership in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Summit League and the Big XII for wrestling.

Brookings is home to approximately 24,000 residents and is located 60 miles north of Sioux Falls and 200 miles west of Minneapolis. Livability.com rates Brookings as an ideal community for families, students, young professionals and retirees. It considers Brookings among the safest and most vibrant cities in South Dakota.

The Brookings Public School District educates approximately 3,300 K-12 students and ranks among the state’s highest academic achieving school districts. The district includes three elementary schools, an intermediate school for fourth and fifth grade, one middle school and a high school.

The city also boasts an abundance of attractions and activities, including the Children’s Museum of South Dakota, Dakota Nature Park, South Dakota Art Museum, McCrory Gardens, South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum, Outdoor Adventure Center and the Brookings Summer Arts Festival.