South Dakota's 8 best Law schools [2026 Rankings]

Below is a list of best universities in South Dakota ranked based on their research performance in Law. A graph of 157K citations received by 9.18K academic papers made by 8 universities in South Dakota was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of South Dakota

Vermillion

For Law

#334 in the United States

#372 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 99%
Average SAT: 1220
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 95%

2. South Dakota State University

Brookings

For Law

#407 in the United States

#451 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 98%
Average SAT: 1150
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 97%

3. Dakota State University

Madison

For Law

#443 in the United States

#487 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 88%
Average SAT: 1315
Average ACT: 24
Receiving Aid: 97%

4. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Rapid

For Law

#724 in the United States

#786 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Average SAT: 1240
Average ACT: 27
Receiving Aid: 93%

5. Augustana University

Sioux Falls

For Law

#941 in the United States

#1011 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Average SAT: 1260
Average ACT: 24
Net Price: $24,977

6. Black Hills State University

Spearfish

For Law

#1013 in the United States

#1086 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Average SAT: 1050
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 89%

7. Northern State University

Aberdeen

For Law

#1149 in the United States

#1225 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1070
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 98%

8. University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls

For Law

#1180 in the United States

#1257 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Net Price: $21,385
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $12,782

Closest to South Dakota states to learn Law

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Nebraska	13	87
North Dakota	7	223
Minnesota	28	18
Iowa	31	48
Kansas	16	67
Colorado	21	57
Montana	8	208
Wisconsin	33	16
Missouri	40	43
Oklahoma	20	92
Illinois	78	9
Utah	11	50
Idaho	7	234
Michigan	41	2
Indiana	35	39
Arkansas	17	128
New Mexico	8	107
Kentucky	28	63
Ohio	63	19
Texas	82	21
Arizona	10	24
Tennessee	37	47
Nevada	6	131
Mississippi	14	175
Washington	32	6
Oregon	18	102
Louisiana	26	83
West Virginia	17	123
Alabama	26	96
Pennsylvania	99	8
California	132	3
Georgia	49	45
Virginia	42	33
North Carolina	47	20
District of Columbia	11	41
South Carolina	28	62
New York	136	5
Maryland	28	13
Delaware	4	86
New Jersey	28	22
Vermont	11	127
Connecticut	21	7
New Hampshire	12	75
Massachusetts	71	1
Rhode Island	9	69
Maine	14	230
Florida	64	34
Alaska	4	325
Puerto Rico	12	627
Hawaii	7	111