ACCEPTANCE RATE
60%
More selective than 28% of listed universities.
SelectiveAccessible
Public University
Dickinson State University
Dickinson State University is a small, affordable public university in western North Dakota offering career-focused programs and flexible learning options within a welcoming Blue Hawk community.
Dickinson, NDTown: Remote
60%ACCEPTANCE
$15,490AVG NET PRICE
40%GRAD RATE
1,453STUDENTS
University data profileIPEDS 2023
THE SIGNATURE
Dickinson State University Report Card
Explore university facts, programs, and campus life at a glance.
Dickinson State University operates as a small, affordable public institution located in western North Dakota. The campus provides career-focused programs alongside flexible learning options designed around student goals. Faculty and staff offer personal support to ensure students can find practical academic pathways.
A welcoming Blue Hawk community helps individuals move forward with confidence regardless of their educational stage. The university serves first-year, transfer, online, international, graduate, returning, and high school students earning early college credit. Dual mission career training programs prepare participants for technical or professional licensure opportunities.
Student success is supported by a retention rate of sixty percent among first-year students. The institution maintains an undergraduate major count of thirty-eight to support diverse academic interests within the four-year level structure.
AT A GLANCE
TypePublicFour or more years
SettingTown: Remote
Calendarsemester
GETTING IN
Admissions
Dickinson State University maintains an acceptance rate of sixty percent based on eight hundred thirty-one applicants for the current cycle. The admissions team assists first-year, transfer, online, international, graduate, returning, and high school students in understanding their next step through various pathways.
Source: IPEDS 2023
APPLICATION FEE
Undergraduate application fee $35.
WHAT IT COSTS
Cost & Financial Aid
Sticker price tells you little — net price after aid is what most families actually pay.
Source: IPEDS 2023
IN-STATE TUITION & FEES
$9,118/yr
Out-of-state: $11,218/yr. North Dakota residents pay roughly 19% less.
Net price by income band
$0–$30,000
$30,001–$48,000
$48,001–$75,000
$75,001–$110,000
$110,001+
AVERAGE NET PRICE AFTER AID
$15,490/yr
▼ 1% since 2020-2171% receive aid
Average aid package $5,315.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Academics
The university offers career-focused programs with flexible learning options that can be completed entirely online or on campus. Thirty-eight undergraduate majors are available to support diverse academic interests within the four-year level structure.
Source: IPEDS 2023
Student–faculty ratio
13:1
6-year graduation rate
40%
▲ 8 pts since 2016
First-year retention
60%
Compared with the 89% public-university median.
Undergrad majors
38
Undergraduate majors and programs
MOST POPULAR FIELDS OF STUDY
Business Administration and Management, General.16.4%
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse.9.7%
Agriculture, General.7.3%
Elementary Education and Teaching.7.3%
Accounting.7.3%
Business/Commerce, General.6.8%
CAMPUS LIFE
Campus & Housing
Campus housing shows how many students live on-campus — which means nearby housing can be essential to the college experience.
On-campus beds
383
Setting
Town: Remote
IN CONTEXT
Dickinson State University vs. peer institutions
How Dickinson State University compares with officially identified or editorially reviewed peer institutions.
Dickinson State University
$15,490
Black Hills State University
$16,474
Bluefield State University
$14,500
Carroll College
$26,103
Dakota State University
$19,115
AFTER GRADUATION
Student outcomes
What graduates earn and how reliably they land work — the bottom-line return on the degree.
Source: College Scorecard 2025
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$50,720
Working after 10 yrs
89%
Share of former students working and not enrolled, ten years after entry.
Earning more than a high-school graduate
76.4%
76.4% of students out-earn the typical high-school graduate — a core measure of mobility.
Data Sources: U.S. Department of Education IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics. University Apartments is not affiliated with Dickinson State University.