ACCEPTANCE RATE
60%
More selective than 71% 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
$11,547$0–$30,000
$11,472$30,001–$48,000
$13,949$48,001–$75,000
$17,160$75,001–$110,000
$17,040$110,001+
AVERAGE NET PRICE AFTER AID
$15,490/yr
▼ 1% since 2020-2171% receive grants or scholarships
Average grant or scholarship aid $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%
Median across 34 institutions in our national dataset: 89%.
Bachelor-level fields offered
38
Bachelor-level fields reported as offered in IPEDS
MOST POPULAR FIELDS OF STUDY
Share of bachelor's degree completions, not of all enrolled students.
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
Reported capacity of institution-controlled housing and campus setting. Capacity does not indicate how many students currently live in university housing.
University-controlled housing capacity
383
Includes institution-controlled housing; it may extend beyond campus.
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
Bluefield State University
$14,500
Black Hills State University
$16,474
Dakota State University
$19,115
Carroll College
$26,103
AFTER GRADUATION
Student outcomes
Earnings and employment of former students after entering the university.
Source: College Scorecard 2025
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$50,720
Median earnings of former students working and not enrolled, ten years after entry.
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 former students earn above the Scorecard high-school earnings threshold, ten years after entry.
Data Sources: U.S. Department of Education IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics, and College Scorecard. University Apartments is not affiliated with Dickinson State University.