2025 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota

Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 151 associate degrees in liberal arts / sciences & humanities during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on liberal arts / sciences & humanities students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of liberal arts / sciences & humanities students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt liberal arts / sciences & humanities students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized liberal arts / sciences & humanities related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for liberal arts / sciences & humanities students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The liberal arts / sciences & humanities school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in South Dakota

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for liberal arts / sciences & humanities students seeking a an associate degree.

Top South Dakota Schools for an Associate in Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities

1

South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

66 Annual Graduates

South Dakota State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in liberal arts / sciences & humanities. South Dakota State is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Brookings.More information about a associate in liberal arts / sciences & humanities from South Dakota State University

2

University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

18 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in liberal arts / sciences & humanities needs to check out University of South Dakota. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in liberal arts / sciences & humanities from University of South Dakota

Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Minnesota	37	6,170
Kansas	35	5,695
Nebraska	34	1,161
Iowa	33	5,487
Missouri	32	6,940
North Dakota	26	778

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Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Liberal Arts General Studies	151

Majors Similar to Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies	30
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences	10
Social Sciences	2
Communication & Journalism	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803). More about our data sources and methodologies.