Aviation degree · Brookings, SD
What an aviation degree at South Dakota State University costs
A 4-year bachelor's (BS) program. Tuition, room & board, and flight fees, each from the school's own published pages, summed into an all-in estimate. Flight fees are billed separately and on top of tuition. This is a planning estimate, not the school's quote.
PilotBound all-in estimate
$174K
In-state, all-in
$189K
Out-of-state, all-in
Tuition + room & board (4years) + whole-program flight fees. Sourced figures summed, not the school's quoted package. Tuition changes yearly.
The numbers, with sources
- Tuition (in-state)
- $39,120
- Tuition (out-of-state)
- $53,916
- Room & board
- $44,096
- Flight training (whole program)
- $90,827
- All-in (in-state)
- $174,043
Cost-of-attendance tuition and fees line, full time at 15 credits per term. Per credit it is $273 tuition plus a $53 general activity fee.
Non-resident tuition is $396.30/credit plus the same $53/credit fee. The resident-to-non-resident gap here is among the narrowest of any public school in this directory.
SDSU publishes housing and food as one combined figure.
SDSU's own stated total for the average student: Private through CFII and MEI (AVIA 171, 181, 372, 377, 474, 475). It publishes BOTH an average and a required-minimum figure, which is rare and worth using: the VA-approved required charge for the same courses is $65,120, so the average student pays about 39% more than the minimum-hours price. Everything is itemised to the hour at $210 for the single, $325.50 for the Seminole, $75 for instruction and $70 for the training device, and checkride and knowledge-test fees are included in each course. One caveat: SDSU's headline total of $90,827 is $1,405 BELOW the sum of its own six published course averages ($92,232), so budget toward the higher end.
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Compare the pathsCommon questions about South Dakota State University
- How much does an aviation degree at South Dakota State University cost?
- Summing South Dakota State University's own published tuition, room and board, and flight fees over 4 years, PilotBound estimates about $174,043 all in for an in-state student and $188,839 out of state. That is a sum of the school's published figures, not the school's own quoted package price, and flight fees are billed pay-as-you-go on top of tuition rather than as a fixed bill.
- How much are flight fees at South Dakota State University?
- South Dakota State University publishes about $90,827 for the whole flight sequence its 4-year bachelor's degree trains (2026-27), separate from and on top of tuition. Flight fees move with your pace and the hours you actually fly, which is why they are the least predictable line in a collegiate aviation budget.
- What is tuition at South Dakota State University?
- South Dakota State University publishes about $9,780 per year in-state and $13,479 out of state for 2026-27. Over the 4-year program that is roughly $39,120 versus $53,916, before room and board and before any flight fees. Residency is usually the largest single lever on a collegiate aviation budget.
- Does an aviation degree from South Dakota State University lower the airline hour requirement?
- Yes. South Dakota State University's 4-year bachelor's aviation degree is a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160, which lets you hold a restricted ATP at 1,000 hours instead of the standard 1,500. That is the concrete thing the degree buys beyond the credential itself, and it is worth weighing against the tuition and room and board a non-degree path does not carry.
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Figures are South Dakota State University's own published tuition, room & board, and flight fees, summed by PilotBound into a planning estimate. They are not the school's quoted program price, and they will differ from a student's actual cost. Flight fees are pay-as-you-go and vary with a student's pace. Confirm current numbers with the school. The 1,000-hour airline minimum comes from a qualifying degree under 14 CFR 61.160. PilotBound is not affiliated with South Dakota State University. Disclaimer & removal policy.
Primary sources: sdstate.edu·sdstate.edu·sdstate.edu