Explore Majors and Careers

The accounting minor provides students with advanced training in accounting, including managerial, financial, cost and income tax accounting. It is recommended for students with career interests in fields such as accounting, finance, business administration and entrepreneurship. It provides a strong foundation for a graduate program in accounting.

The advertising minor prepares students with effective written and visual communication, strategy, critical thinking, design and research skills. Students in this program gain experience working on teams to develop solutions for applied projects, clients and competitive campaigns. The advertising minor program is open to students majoring in all fields and compliments a variety of chosen career paths.

Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with design and development of aircraft and spacecraft. Applications include traditional piloted fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, as well as autonomous aircraft of various types. The aerospace engineering minor specifies a sequence of courses and academic experiences that provide a basic background in concepts required to solve design problems in aerospace applications. Students that complete the 18-credit minor will have an understanding of basic engineering principles that apply to the design, development and testing of aircraft and spacecraft. Employers include numerous companies involved in the aerospace industry and government agencies such as NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Aerospace Studies Department at SDSU is dedicated to training college students for successful careers as officers in the United States Air Force or Space Force. Our detachment at SDSU has cross-town agreements with Dakota State University, Augustana University and the University of Sioux Falls. Students from these schools are authorized to be AFROTC members at SDSU. Cross-town students may call our detachment at 605-688-6106 for more information about AFROTC.

The agribusiness marketing minor prepares students for marketing and sales positions in agriculture. Marketing in today’s agribusiness industry requires market knowledge, personal selling skill and product knowledge. The minor combines marketing and sales classes with products oriented classes to prepare students for sales careers in feed, seed, equipment, finance, insurance, local foods and many more.

The agricultural business minor builds on a foundation of economic theory and management skills as it applies to the agricultural sector. This minor will benefit students pursuing careers in production agriculture, agribusiness, rural banking and other fields.

The agronomy minor provides training in plant, soil and pest management. It complements a variety of majors by providing a focus on the science and technology of producing and using plants in agriculture for food, feed, fuel, fiber and land restoration. Employment possibilities include careers in crop consulting, crop/plant and soil research, seed and forage production and marketing agricultural inputs (fertilizers, seed, chemicals). The minor strengthens employment opportunities in government agencies, such as, the Cooperative Extension Service, Farm Service Agency, Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The American Indian and indigenous studies program prepares critical thinkers for living in an interrelated world with the rigorous engagement of indigenous intellectual traditions, language, culture, land and community engagement.  The AIIS Minor provides a useful complement to any major by developing a deeper understanding of cultural competency and working across difference.  Coursework provides an understanding of an American Indian worldview as a lens to comprehend traditional knowledge and culture.

If you have the determination, academic skills, and a passion for helping and working with animals; an animal health minor and veterinary medicine may be the perfect career for you.

The animal health minor provides students with coursework in the veterinary and biomedical sciences to enhance their preparation for several animal health-related career paths. The coursework will supplement pre-veterinary students who anticipate applying to professional (DVM) veterinary programs. It will also enable students to enhance their knowledge of animal health concepts, which they can use in careers involving animal management, animal production and animal health product research, development and marketing.

A minor in animal science will supplement any major and provide students exposure to the technology of breeding, feeding, producing, managing, evaluating and marketing beef cattle, sheep, hogs, horses and poultry, as well as the processing of their products—meat, eggs and wool.

A minor in apparel and fashion studies will provide a focus on fashion studies and will develop students into professionals capable of entering the workforce of fashion, apparel and textiles. The coursework is designed to prepare students with a better understanding of the apparel and fashion industry, which will expand their awareness of aesthetics, allow them to analyze garment construction and identify textiles and fabrics, enable their understanding and implementation of design elements and principles and ensure their appreciation of the impact that dress has on the world.

The applied thinking and innovation minor enables students in varying all academic colleges and backgrounds to unite in a cross-disciplinary setting to explore perspectives on a range of societal issues. The minor will enrich students’ aptitude in critical thinking, collaboration and innovative inquiry. This program is focused on developing interpersonal and critical thinking skills that students can apply to any major and career field to make them more competitive and better prepared to enter the workforce and contribute to their communities after graduation. Courses that comprise the minor are specifically designed to prepare students for success in their professional careers. This minor is open to all majors.

This minor can serve as a pathway to Honors College distinction for students who choose to complete an additional 6 credits of Honors coursework and earn a 3.5 cumulative grade point average upon graduation. However, students can also complete this minor without pursuing Honors College distinction.

The aviation program offers students across campus a unique opportunity for exposure to the aviation field through completion of a minor. If a student in any field wants to work in the aviation industry as a scheduler, dispatcher, operations manager or airport planner or applying for a flight slot with the National Guard a minor in aviation is highly recommended. As part of the minor, students will earn their Federal Aviation Administration private pilot license with Instrument rating. Additional fees do apply, please discussion options with an aviation faculty member.

The biology minor is open to all majors and provides exposure to fundamental areas of biology. Students select from microbiology, botany and animal-based classes based on their desired career path. The curriculum appeals to majors in agricultural and biological sciences, as well as those in the social sciences and humanities who seek an understanding of the significance of biological changes and want to apply this knowledge in their chosen field.

Students interested in both engineering and the life sciences, especially medicine, should strongly consider a career in biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering (BME) is defined as the application of the concepts and methods of both engineering and the physical sciences to medicine and biology. Biomedical engineering is a rapidly expanding field of study where engineers are applying their knowledge and expertise to developing technologies in the medical field. Examples include prosthetics, implantable medical devices, tissue engineering and medical imaging, among others. This minor provides students with the opportunity to see the latest advancements in the medical field and to see how engineering principles may be applied to improve the lives of patients and caretakers. The biomedical engineering field covers a very broad range of topics from formalized mathematical theory through experimental science and technological development to practical clinical applications. BME is a broad multidisciplinary field that offers rewarding careers related to computer science, electrical engineering, engineering physics, mathematics and statistics, mechanical engineering, software engineering and agricultural and biosystems engineering. SDSU has long prepared students for careers in biomedical engineering by tailoring their engineering degrees for this specialty. Engineering students who complete the 18-credit minor will be well-prepared for engineering careers in industry or for entering graduate or professional programs in biomedical engineering or medicine. SDSU has placed graduates in the top M.D. and biomedical engineering graduate schools throughout the country.

The interdisciplinary minor in bioprocessing sciences will provide students with a general understanding of principles and development of skills in bioprocessing technologies such as fermentation, bioseparation and energy transfer. Principles of quality control, operational efficiency, safety and project management are also important components of the minor. Students will learn how to apply these principles and technologies in commercial product bio-based manufacturing and environmental services.

Bioprocessing technologies are used in a variety of industries ranging from renewable fuels, food and drink products, pharma- and nutraceuticals and environmental remediation of wastes. This minor will combine courses from several disciplines to enhance the student’s knowledge of these technologies and provide hands-on experiences with their applications, thus helping to prepare students for career opportunities in the bioprocessing industries.

The botany minor crosses many disciplines, because plants are the base of the energy web within the natural environment. The program’s flexible curriculum is adaptable for all students in the natural sciences, and is especially useful to students with interests in ecology and environmental science, range science and wildlife and fisheries sciences.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers the chemistry minor for students who desire significant training in the chemical sciences without pursuing a degree in the discipline. The minor is particularly suitable for students in other majors whose career trajectories will require a thorough understanding of chemistry. Such careers may include secondary science teaching, biomedical engineers, biologists, dairy scientists, soil scientists, forensic psychologists, physicists and many others.

The commodity risk management minor focuses on the quantitative skills needed to analyze agricultural commodities – hedging techniques, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, price forecasting, risk analysis and more. The minor will utilize the resources of the First Dakota National Bank e-Trading Lab to train student in all aspects of risk management of agricultural commodities, including but not limited to use of futures and options contracts to manage input and output price risk. Graduates going into any agribusiness anywhere along the food, fiber and fuel supply chain that is interested in controlling costs and pricing byproducts will benefit from this minor. It is important for agricultural producers and their industry partners to understand prudent risk management.

A minor in communication studies prepares students to understand the central role that communication plays in people’s lives. Students in this program will receive the training, expertise and background that will promote professional success in a wide variety of career areas where communication is a critical requirement. The minor offers flexibility and can easily be added to a variety of degree plans.

Computer engineering is the engineering field that integrates topics in computer science and electrical engineering for the development of hardware and software specific to computers and embedded systems. Computer engineering deals with designing, developing and operating computer systems.  At its core, computer engineering concentrates on digital hardware devices and computers, and the software that controls them. Advanced courses focus on standard designs and techniques for specific application domains and emphasizes solving problems in digital hardware and at the hardware-software interface.

The computer science minor offers students a flexible program well suited to enhance any major curriculum and increase a graduate’s marketability. Employment of computer scientists is soaring above the national average for all occupations according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the world evolves toward internet of things and internet of everything, your preparation in this field will be key to advancing your career.

The concrete materials science minor provides graduates with a solid background in concrete and related materials technology. The concrete industry is a large part of the growing construction industry. There is strong demand for graduates with knowledge to work in the construction field at many levels including construction management, cost estimator or contractor. Graduates will learn about the concrete industry - specific safety practices and potential hazards, concrete mix design technology, cost estimating skills and specific properties of plastic and hardened concrete. Majors that would benefit from the minor include, but are not limited to, architecture, construction management, mechanical engineering, operations management, civil engineering and entrepreneurial studies.

Students in programs related to the construction industry including architecture, interior design, hospitality management, mechanical engineering and civil engineering should consider the minor in construction. This minor will enhance the understanding of the design-build process for future architects, interior designers, hotel managers, HVAC designers, civil engineers and land developers.