Motto | Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve |
---|---|
Type | Public |
Established | 1918 |
Endowment | $8.9 million |
President | Thomas M. Mitzel, Ph.D. |
Academic staff
|
63 |
Administrative staff
|
212 |
Students | 1,300 |
Location | Dickinson, ND, USA |
Campus | Urban (110 acres) |
Nickname | Blue Hawks |
Mascot | Buster Blue Hawk |
Affiliations |
NAIA North Star Athletic Association |
Website | www.dickinsonstate.edu |
Dickinson State University (DSU) is a four-year public university located in Dickinson, North Dakota, United States, and is a part of the North Dakota University System. It was founded in 1918 as Dickinson State College, and granted full university status in 1987.
Dickinson was established as a normal school to fill a need for qualified teachers in rural western North Dakota, where fewer than one-quarter of the people working as teachers in the early 1900s were certified as teachers. The university considers June 24, 1918, to be its founding date; this was the first day of classes for the Dickinson Normal School. When first established, the school was tuition-free and operated in the facilities of Dickinson High School. The first campus building, May Hall, was built in 1924.
During World War II, Dickinson State Teachers College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.
Dickinson State offers four-year degrees in more than 75 fields of study through 10 academic departments. The school also offers pre-professional and two-year coursework. However it specializes in business management, teacher education, and nursing. Most students attending DSU are business management majors although education (both elementary and secondary), nursing, natural science, and agriculture majors constitute significant areas of study. Dickinson has recently started a Graduate Course program in the field of teacher education. This gives participants a head start in graduate school courses but is not an actual graduate program.
The University long ago outgrew its original teachers’ college status and has since adopted a broader mission. The present programs include not only teacher education and the liberal arts, but also specialized programs in business, nursing, agriculture, and computer science. There is also opportunity for pre-professional study and vocational training in selected areas.
Student programs are based on a core of General Education courses, including fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, and the social and behavioral sciences. Dickinson State University students are encouraged to complete their general education requirements by the end of the sophomore year. Students are then free as juniors and seniors to explore a major field of study.