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2026 Best Value Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing Schools in South Dakota

[Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing](/majors/health-care-professions/nursing/psychiatric-mental-health-nurse-nursing/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 2 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing students.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing Schools in South Dakota

2026 Best Value Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing Schools in South Dakota

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing, balancing cost against outcomes.

Best Value Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing Schools

1

South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD

$9,299 In-State Tuition & Fees

$28,000 Avg Student Debt

$55,070 Median Earnings (10yr)

Our analysis ranked South Dakota State University the best value for a degree in psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing in South Dakota. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State University is a large public university. In-state tuition and fees average $9,299, with out-of-state students paying around $12,809. Students borrow a median of $28,000 to complete the psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing program here. Early-career psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing graduates make about $99,864. Set against $28,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. South Dakota State University admits about 98% of applicants.

2

Mount Marty College
Yankton, SD

$34,600 In-State Tuition & Fees

$27,000 Avg Student Debt

$48,179 Median Earnings (10yr)

A rank of #2 makes Mount Marty College one of the best values for psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing. Set in the town of Yankton, Mount Marty College is a small private not-for-profit institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $34,600. Typical student debt for psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing graduates is $27,000. Soon after graduation, psychiatric/mental health nurse/nursing degree recipients from Mount Marty College generally make around $152,247. Set against $27,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Mount Marty College admits about 43% of applicants.

View All Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing Rankings >

Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.

• 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 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.