South Dakota State University is the largest university in South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land grant university, SDSU continues that tradition with a special focus on academic programs in agriculture, engineering, nursing, and pharmacy. The university also offers an array of liberal arts studies, in addition to those required by the 1862 Morrill Act, to which the university owes its founding.

The university was founded in 1881 as Dakota Agriculture College. The name was changed in 1904 to South Dakota State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts. In 1964, the name was changed to South Dakota State University, reflecting the more holistic education offered at the university.

SDSU awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees. Total enrollment sits at 10,000+ with a record high enrollment of over 10,500 recorded in October, 2003.

The first building, with funding from the territorial legislature, was built in 1883, six years before the State of South Dakota was incorporated.

The SDSU campus features the H.M. Briggs Library, the South Dakota Art Museum (featuring works by Harvey Dunn and Oscar Howe, among others), and the Coughlin Campanile. The university operates it own dairy plant, processing 10,000 lb (4.5 t) of milk weekly into cheese and ice cream, operates a cattle and sheep breeding operation, has an on-campus meat processing facility, and has a student-operated pharmacy.

SDSU's athletic mascot is the jackrabbit. The homecoming celebration, Hobo Days, is billed as "The Biggest One-Day Event in the Dakotas." The 250-member SDSU Band, "The Pride of the Dakotas," marched in the 1981 and 1997 Presidential Inaugural Parades in Washington, D.C.

Well-known alumni include:

• Tom Daschle, Senate Majority Leader in the United States Senate.
• Mike Rounds, South Dakota governor.
• Adam Vinatieri, kicker for the NFL New England Patriots.
• Theodore Schultz, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics.
• Sandy Johnson, chief of the Associated Press Washington Bureau.