2025 Best General Studies Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota

General Studies is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #2 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools in South Dakota to determine which ones were the best for general studies students pursuing a associate degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 151 associate degrees in general studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great General Studies School for Your Associate Degree

The general studies associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality general studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to general studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of general studies 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.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for general studies students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank General Studies Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best General Studies Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study General Studies in South Dakota

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for general studies students seeking a an associate degree.

Top South Dakota Schools for an Associate in General Studies

1

South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

66 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in general studies needs to take a look at South Dakota State University. South Dakota State is a large public university located in the remote town of Brookings.More information about a associate in general studies from South Dakota State University

2

Dakota State University
Madison, SD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

15 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Dakota State University if you wish to pursue an associate degree in general studies. Dakota State is a small public university located in the town of Madison.More information about a associate in general studies from Dakota State University

3

University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

18 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in general studies has 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 general studies from University of South Dakota

Best General Studies Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best General Studies Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Minnesota	299	24
Kansas	275	296
Missouri	210	1,142
Iowa	200	219
Nebraska	163	14
North Dakota	144	9

View All Rankings >

General Studies Related Rankings by Major

General Studies is one of 3 different types of Liberal Arts General Studies programs to choose from.

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). More about our data sources and methodologies.