Explore Majors and Careers

From billboards to television to social media, advertising is everywhere.

In today’s evolving media landscape, advertising professionals must be more creative and strategic than ever. In this program, you will develop a versatile set of skills in writing, promotion, business, marketing, graphic design and digital media. A major in advertising will prepare students with effective written and visual communication, critical thinking, strategy, design and research skills. Graduates gain experience working on teams to develop solutions for applied projects, clients, and competitive campaigns.

Become an agricultural problem solver

Agricultural and biosystems engineers have a passion for using engineering skills to solve agricultural problem. Agricultural engineers design equipment and facilities that increase agricultural productivity while protecting the environment. Most employment opportunities are located regionally in production agriculture areas.

Agricultural engineers will continue to be in high demand for as long as there is a need for food production. Agricultural engineers work in a wide variety of settings. Projects include: designing tractors and other agriculture and off-highway equipment, planning climate control systems that increase the comfort and productivity of livestock, creating systems for animal waste disposal, integrating artificial intelligence and geospatial systems, improving efficiency in fertilizer application and automating harvesting systems. Many graduates balance their career while continuing help with farming operations.

Good to Grow

Agricultural business blends a strong foundation in business training with specialized coursework in agricultural topics to prepare students for careers in 21st century agribusiness. Coursework focuses on the following agriculture topics: management, marketing, finance and policy. Agricultural business majors tend to work for agricultural lenders, local cooperatives, implement companies, etc. in roles like commodity merchandiser and farm management specialist.

Inspire future generations of agriculturalists.

Agriculture education graduates are prepared for careers teaching agriculture, food and natural resources content. Graduates will qualify for a secondary teaching certificate and will also be prepared for a variety of careers in the agriculture industry.

Teaching agriculture and providing leadership for a local FFA chapter is a very rewarding and promising profession. A national shortage of agricultural educators, extending to many states across the country, means that numerous positions are available each year. 

Advocate for agriculture

Agricultural communication graduates have a broad understanding of the agriculture industry and its challenges, along with effective communication and journalism skills to share these topics with others. They hold a wide variety of communications related positions in agribusiness, advertising, marketing, news media and public relations. 

Serve as a leader in the Agriculture and Food Industry.

The leadership specialization requires courses in leadership skills development, basic science and agriculture. It allows considerable flexibility for students to choose supporting elective courses.

Graduates of the leadership specialization will pursue careers of service to such entities as agricultural commodity organizations, breed associations, community development organizations, government and businesses.

Flexible program providing a competitive edge in agriculture.

Agricultural science offers students a practical, well-rounded education in agriculture. Because of their comprehensive background, ag science majors are placed in a wide variety of professional capacities in the agricultural industry, including sales, business, management and production.

Specific positions are determined in part by students’ academic coursework, internships, work experiences and extracurricular involvement.

Often students seek this major because of a career goal to own or operate a farm or ranch. Additionally, students frequently select this major to pursue multiple areas of interest in agriculture or to explore their interest within agriculture.

Creating the future of agriculture.

Agricultural systems technology (AST) offers hands-on, real world experience with the latest agricultural equipment, software, facilities and techniques. Industry feedback on class content coupled with strong student support prepares for their dream profession. Students get a flexible program with opportunities to establish their network of leading agriculture professionals.

With job placement consistently near 100%, AST offers job security across a wide variety of agriculture professions. Some students want to learn how to improve their family farm and ranch operations while others want to start their own agriculture business. We help students develop strong managerial, leadership, interpersonal and communication skills to go anywhere they want in agriculture. Our graduates stand apart from other degrees because they have a strong, versatile foundation of both technical and agriculture business skills. Many graduates balance their career and continue helping with farming and ranching operations.

Feed the world.

The agronomy major provides broad training in the crop and soil sciences. Agronomy involves the science of producing and using plants in agriculture for food, feed, fuel, fiber and land restoration. We offer a high-quality education and training experience for undergraduates to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in pursuing well-paid and highly respected careers.

This program provides students with an integrated understanding of crop development and management, entomology, natural resource management, plant breeding, plant pathology, weed science, seed technologies, soils and crop production systems with precision agriculture integrated into many areas. The major also prepares students for entry agricultural careers throughout the United States and into research and graduate study in plant science and other related fields.

The agronomy major prepares students for many careers, such as crop consulting, precision agriculture, sales and marketing, seed production, grain production, ecosystem management, product research and development, seed testing and soil and natural resource conservation. There are tremendous opportunities for agronomy majors!

Leading scientific discoveries and preparing for veterinary school.

Innovations in animal science contribute to improved management, growth, efficiency, health and performance of livestock. Discovering new knowledge in animal nutrition, reproduction and growth, as well as meat science requires a strong background in the sciences, which this specialization will provide. The food animal health specialization is designed to meet course requirements of the pre-veterinary medicine curriculum for the SDSU professional program in veterinary medicine and some other veterinary schools.

Students will be required to complete at least one year of courses at South Dakota State University and be successfully admitted to the accelerated track for the SDSU professional (DVM) program in veterinary medicine program to declare this specialization. The accelerated program will allow students to complete 19 credits of coursework for their bachelor’s degree and the PPVM program.

As a veterinarian, you will use your knowledge of science and problem-solving skills to directly help animals, ensure a wholesome and safe food supply and help protect public and environmental health. Veterinarians have a broad set of skills that make them valuable in clinical, research, educational and government settings.

Communicating the Science of Animal Agriculture

Blending written and oral communication training with a strong science background positions graduates of this specialization to communicate and advocate regarding animal agriculture and the science involved in today’s livestock production. Graduates hold positions as public relations and communications directors and other communications related positions focused on telling the stories and explaining the science of today’s animal agriculture businesses and organizations.

Feeding the world.

Whether you choose direct involvement with animals through managing a ranch, feedlot or swine operation, working with reproductive technologies or nutrition or assuring the safety and quality of meat animal products, there are many opportunities for animal science graduates to contribute to the responsibility of providing high quality protein foods for the world.

In this program you will explore how to manage, feed, breed and care for livestock through topics like nutrition, reproduction, growth and development and breeding and genetics. You will gain management skills in capstone classes on cow-calf or feedlot management, horse, swine or sheep production or value-added meat products. Much of your education will involve hands-on experiences at the livestock units or meat lab.  

Leading scientific discoveries and/or preparing for veterinary school.

Innovations in animal science contribute to improved management, growth, efficiency, health and performance of livestock. Discovering new knowledge in animal nutrition, reproduction and growth, as well as meat science requires a strong background in the sciences, which this specialization will provide. It also is designed to prepare students for a future in veterinary medicine and fulfills the undergraduate academic requirements for admission to a doctor of veterinary medicine program.  Courses and hands-on experiences focused on livestock production will complement the strong science core.  

Creating aviation educators.

The aviation education specialization is for students who wish to become certified flight instructors and later be professional pilots in industry. Many of our graduates are in the airlines, military, government and corporate workplaces. Top performing students of this option are often brought on as flight instructors in the SDSU program during their junior and senior years.

When it comes to biochemical pathways, life is a delicate, intricate series of reactions.

Those who study such pathways and understand those reactions hold the key to providing solutions for some of our biggest questions - Why do we age and can that process be decelerated? What causes Alzheimer's? Can the metastasizing of cancer be blocked?

One of the fastest growing scientific disciplines is also one of the youngest – biochemistry. Biochemistry is the application of atomic and molecular principles to the function of life processes. Biochemistry is the science that studies the molecular basis for the processes that take place in all living organisms-plant, animal or human. The B.S. in biochemistry curriculum at SDSU builds upon a solid foundation in chemistry, and incorporates selected aspects of biology, physics and mathematics to complete the undergraduate degree. Training in biochemistry at the undergraduate level positions students well for careers in biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, government laboratories and is very appropriate as a pre-professional course of study.

The study of life: evolution, structure, function, information flow, pathways and biological systems.

The biology major can prepare students for entry into occupations related to life science in industry and government. Students select from microbiology, botany and animal-based classes based on their desired career path.

Create well educated and engaged citizens by preparing to teach scientific literacy, critical thinking skills, scientific inquiry and the study of life.

The curriculum in the biology secondary education specialization is designed to provide students with the background needed for a successful career teaching biology in middle and high schools. Students complete a broad distribution of courses that include all the major areas in biology as well as coursework in pedagogical and professional development. For secondary education majors that may teach in a rural school or apply to graduate school, speak to an advisor about taking additional chemistry, physics and math classes.

Biotech harnesses the power of living systems in plants, animals, and microbes to develop new processes and products to improve lives.

This interdisciplinary program helps prepare students in fundamental sciences so that they may successfully compete for career opportunities in the growing life sciences industries. Graduates with expertise in biotechnology fill increasing demand from employers utilizing technologies such as molecular biology, genetic engineering, tissue culture, reproductive intervention and biomass conversion in a variety of applications, such as vaccine and pharmaceutical development, agronomic seed production, livestock breeding, genetic diagnostic testing, identity and parentage verification, criminal forensics, biorenewable product development or biomedical research.

Life is an exciting business.

Business economics provides students with the tools and abilities to succeed in the highly-competitive business environment from small, local companies to Fortune 500 companies. Coursework focuses on management, finance, banking, retail, sales and marketing. Graduates tend to work in: management, sales, finance and marketing.

The world around you is full of riddles waiting to be solved.

Some have been small, like designing artificial sweetener by chlorinating a sugar compound. Others are monumental, like continually testing and modifying a compound that targets human cancer cells. Whatever the puzzle, the world needs creative thinkers to imagine and implement solutions.

At SDSU, we train and equip such thinkers to conduct sound research and engage the challenges of our modern day. We give you plenty of opportunities to experiment, direct research initiatives and discover your unique interests. Chemistry courses are divided into fie general areas: analytical, organic, inorganic, physical and biochemistry. In addition, we offer courses in instrumentation and environmental chemistry. SDSU's curriculum is designed so you have freedom to seek training in the areas that fascinate and motivate you - whether you hope to be a doctor, a teacher, a researcher or an entrepreneur.

To make an impact - teaching.

Anything you touch, smell or see contains natural or man-made chemicals. Chemistry is often referred to as the central science because of its strong connections to the other natural sciences and mathematics. Chemistry is therefore an area of study that allows students vast opportunity to explore the unknown and to address some of human society’s most pressing scientific problems. The chemistry education program will prepare students for careers in high-quality teaching of chemistry at the secondary/high school level.

Advancing the built environment while preserving natural resources.

If you are intrigued by landmark structures or dream of a career that revolves around meeting the challenging infrastructure needs of modern society while protecting human life and the environment, then civil engineering is a profession to consider. Civil engineers are custodians of the built environment. The field of civil engineering includes the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the built environment such as airports, bridges, buildings, dams, earth retaining structures, highways, irrigation and drainage systems, river and harbor improvements, water supply and distribution systems, waste water collection and treatment and other infrastructure facilities.

The art of communication.

A major in communication studies prepares students to understand the central role that communication plays in people’s lives. Graduates of 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 major offers flexibility and can easily be added to another major.

To make an impact - teaching.

The speech education specialization is designed for the person who plans to become a communication educator. While the emphasis is primarily on secondary education, the area can serve as a specialization for teaching higher education as well.