Northern State University: Courses, Admission, Cost

Commonly called NSU, Northern State University is an open university and is situated in the Aberdeen area of South Dakota. Founded in 1901, it was originated from Northern Normal and Industrial School. In the year 1939, the school became Northern State Teachers College to provide bachelor's degrees. In 1964, the name was changed again to Northern State College seeing the growing sizes and number of programmes. In 1989, the state recognised this achievement and named it the Northern State University. The university is run by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

The campus of the university occupies a land of around 72 acres. It houses various important buildings including the Student Centre. The centre is where all the student services and other activities take place. Moreover, it has a library namely The Beulah Williams Library that can house hundreds of students and has a wide-ranging collection of books. It also has several group study rooms and multimedia stations. The institution of higher education provides 38 major and 42 minor programmes. Other than this, it offers 6 associate, 8 pre-professional and 9 graduate degrees. Rated as No. 2 best small college town in America, it houses more than 3,600 students. The university has a total of 120 academic staff members.

Moreover, Northern State University has the Student Government Association that works as the governing body of the university representing all Northern students. It also manages the workings of organisations and clubs. Other than this, the Exponent is the university publication that serves the surrounding community and students, faculty and staff of the university. The university maintains a Center For Statewide E-Learning that serves students through distance delivery and provides online high school programmes.

The athletic teams of the university are called Wolves that participate in 13 intercollegiate sports. There are various sports offered at the university including cross country, basketball, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, wrestling, fastpitch softball, American football, volleyball, baseball and swimming. NSU is a part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The university has successfully graduated thousands of students. Some of the notable alumni include Ronnie Cruz (Ex-footballer of Dallas Cowboys), Elmer Diedtrich (businessman and legislator), Cecil E. Harris (United States Navy aviator), Sarah and Jennifer Hart (perpetrators of the Hart family crash), Jim Hundstad (politician) and Joe Robbie (Miami Dolphins original owner).