Psychology & Counseling at the University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota appears in our ranking of the 30 Most Affordable Master’s in Addiction and Rehabilitation Counseling.
Studying psychology or counseling at the University of South Dakota means enrolling in an undergraduate program in psychology or pursuing a degree in addiction studies and counseling. Degree options in psychology include the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology or the Bachelor of Science in Psychology. For addiction counseling, students may earn a Bachelor of Science in Addiction Studies.
The university also offers certificates and minors in counseling and psychology with the Addiction Studies: Undergraduate Certificate offered online and the minor in psychology offered as an option for students seeking a bachelor’s degree in another area. The university also offers graduate programs in psychology that include a Master of Arts in Psychology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology.
The graduate program for students interested in counseling is the Master of Arts in Addiction Studies, which is an online-only program. Further, students can earn a Disaster Mental Health Graduate Certificate or a Graduate Certificate in Addiction Studies. Conveniently, many of the classes offered in these programs are offered online, and students can even earn their MA in Addiction Studies entirely online.
Some of the subjects under discussion in the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Science in Psychology programs include human development, aging, social psychology, and disaster psychology. Classes required in the curriculum include Principles of Learning and Memory, Cognitive Psychology, Theories of Personality, and Physiological Psychology.
Students can also focus on an area of specialization of disaster response within the psychology degree that features specialized courses like Children and Trauma, Introduction to Disaster Response, and Psychological First Aid. Meanwhile, students in the addiction studies programs will take classes like Study of Alcohol Use & Addiction and Evidence-Based Decision Making.
For the Bachelor of Science in Addiction Studies, the university offers two specializations of treatment and prevention. Treatment option students will take Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment Continuum, and prevention concentration students will enroll in Foundations of Substance Use and Addiction Prevention and Theory & Practice of Substance Use and Addiction Prevention in Communities.
About the University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota is a public research university that has been in operation since 1862. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, the university has around 10,000 students attending its rural campus of 274 acres. The official colors of the university are white and red. The university was actually established before South Dakota became a state. Sports teams that play at the university are known as the Coyotes, and they play in NCAA Division I games.
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Many scholars have graduated from the university, including Rhodes Scholars, Truman Scholars, and one Nobel Laureate. The university is presided over by the South Dakota Board of Regents. Academics at the University of South Dakota are divided into seven schools that include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, and the Beacom School of Business. The university is the only institution in the state with a medical school and a law school.
University of South Dakota Accreditation Details
The University of South Dakota is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and has maintained institutional accreditation since 1913. Regional accreditation is important for ensuring students can transfer their credits to and from the university, as well as for ensuring enrollees may participate in federal student loan programs. Regional accreditation is an institution approval, but there are also many individually accredited programs at the university.
Accreditations and approvals have been earned from the American Bar Association, the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, the American Dental Association, and the American Occupational Therapy Association. Additional accreditations come from the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
University of South Dakota Application Requirements
The University of South Dakota has some general requirements for admission that freshmen applicants must meet. Those requirements include having an ACT composite score of at least 21 or an SAT score of at least 1070. Students must also possess a grade point average of 2.6 on a 4.0 scale for all work attempted in high school. Alternatively, students may rank in the top 50 percent of their graduating class.
The university also requires that students complete required coursework while in high school. Course requirements include four years of English, three years of advanced mathematics, and classes in other areas like science and fine arts. The application procedure includes a completed application, application fee of $20, official high school transcripts, and test scores. Materials sent through the mail should be delivered to the Office of Undergraduate Admission or the Graduate School in Vermillion.
Tuition and Financial Aid
South Dakota residents will pay $9,331.50 for undergraduate tuition, Minnesota residents will pay $9,693 for tuition, and non-residents will pay $12,807 for tuition. Degree-seekers will also pay an estimated $1,200 each year for books, $4,280 for housing, and $3,751 for a meal plan. Students might qualify for a special alumni rate even if they aren’t a resident of South Dakota if a parent attended the university.
For graduate programs, the university charges $336.80 per credit hour for residents with a total of $391.30 when mandatory fees are added. Non-residents will pay a rate of $647.55 per credit hour with a total of $702.05 when mandatory fees are added. Some graduate students will pay different rates. For example, South Dakota residents who are graduate assistants will pay $178.50 per credit, and non-residents will pay $212.20 as graduate assistants.
Financial aid at the University of South Dakota is offered by the Office of Financial Aid, which examines each student’s family income to determine the student’s expected family contribution for costs associated with attending the university and the amount of financial aid that will be awarded. After receiving an official communication regarding financial aid, students must sign a Master Promissory Note to receive their financial aid.
In addition to traditional student loans, applicants may also qualify for grants provided through government programs, as well as scholarships administered by the university. The university has a scholarship deadline of December 1 for general applications, and transfer students have a scholarship deadline of April 1. All first-time students who apply and are accepted to the University of South Dakota are automatically considered for scholarships.