We are a small university, with many options for professors and staff get to know you. The personal attention students receive is one of the top reasons students choose to come here and stay here. 

At South Dakota Mines, faculty work together to ensure the success of our students. Your professor isn’t available? Other professors will step in, answer questions and see that you get the help you need. 

A passion for everything STEM among faculty also drives student success beyond the classroom. Faculty members coach award-winning teams such as the Bladesmithing Team and the computer programming team. 

Faculty understand that learning happens both inside and outside the classroom, and our teams provide a fertile environment for expanding our students’ education.

We have various ways for students to have hands on learning experiences: CAMP, undergraduate student research, extensive project work.

CAMP is a competitive, nationally recognized program that brings together students, faculty, and industry leaders to partner on real-world projects. Students participating in CAMP can be part of a team preparing for a wide range of national collegiate competitions ranging from robotics to rockets to race cars. CAMP is open to any South Dakota Mines student, any year, any discipline.

In fact, we encourage diversity of interests and backgrounds. No prior experience is necessary; just a desire to learn something new. The point of CAMP is to experience how different skill sets and viewpoints work together to achieve meaningful results.

Hands-on learning is not limited to campus. A majority of our students have real world experience with cutting edge and global companies through internships and cooperative education.

We host two large career fairs each academic year with more than 200 employers coming to campus to recruit our students for internships, co-ops and full-time employment.

Workshops prepare students apply for positions, not just at the career fair, but using many other tools as well. Workshops include many topics, such as resume or CV preparation, interviewing skills, cover letters, connecting with employers, developing individual “elevator” pitches, etc.

Engineers Make Great Entrepreneurs (EMGE) is a speaker series and scholarship competition for South Dakota Mines students interested in entrepreneurship and starting their own business.

This four-week program features presentations from successful entrepreneurs, including alumni and local and national business leaders. Main themes apply to success in college, careers, and life.

EMGE is designed to engage students with exciting content and features new venue locations, new speakers, complementary meals, and the opportunity to learn from real-world entrepreneurs and business leaders each week.

Personal connections are what South Dakota Mines is all about. It doesn’t take long for new students to find “their people” through activities all across campus. It could be academics, athletics, adventure weekends, utilizing makerspaces, community activities, or going hiking or checking out downtown with people in their residence halls.

Connections to each other and to the campus are important! South Dakota Mines alumni often talk about their experiences here and how they built life-long friendships with their classmates. And those connections frequently extend to professors and staff.

Located on a 118-acre campus in the eastern foothills of the beautiful Black Hills, South Dakota Mines is just 35 minutes from Mt. Rushmore and an hour from Badlands National Park.

The Black Hills area is known for a milder climate than other parts of the state, a climate more akin to the front-range of Colorado. Our winters are warmer and our summers cooler, making us a perfect climate for outdoor activities like hiking, skiing, rock climbing, and more.

Located one hour to the northwest of Rapid City you will find Lead, SD, home to the Sanford Underground Research Facility. SURF, as it’s called, is base to world-renowned research and science experiments involving scientists from around the world as well as students from South Dakota Mines.

Check out our Off Campus Points of Interest