Computer and Information Sciences at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

With a small graduating cohort reporting $78,000 in first-year earnings and just $27,000 in debt, South Dakota Mines' computer science program shows strong initial results—though you should verify these numbers hold up with larger classes. Graduates earn $10,500 more than the typical South Dakota CS grad and substantially outpace the $61,000 national median, placing this program in the 90th percentile nationally despite the school's 85% acceptance rate.

The 60th percentile ranking within South Dakota might seem modest until you look at the competition: only South Dakota State beats these earnings among public options, and both schools maintain reasonable debt loads. The 0.35 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates could theoretically pay off loans in four months of gross salary, and earnings climb to nearly $97,000 by year four—solid progression for an engineering-focused campus where technical rigor matters more than brand prestige.

The caveat matters here: fewer than 30 students reported data, so one or two outliers could skew everything. That said, Mines has a clear mission as a technical school, and these numbers align with what you'd expect from a focused STEM institution. If your child thrives in smaller programs and wants to stay in the region, this looks like a low-cost entry to tech careers. Just confirm current class sizes and job placement patterns before committing.