Finance, Social Science Programs Launching in Fall 2026

South Dakota State University officials are preparing to launch two new academic offerings next fall: a bachelor’s program in finance and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in social science.

Both have been approved by the South Dakota Board of Regents and the Higher Learning Commission.

Offered by SDSU’s Ness School of Management and Economics, the new Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences degrees in finance will provide students advanced training in finance theory and practice, with applications in financial analytics, portfolio investments and corporate finance.

The program will draw on the Ness School’s demonstrated record of teaching, research and outreach outcomes in economics and finance. It would extensively use the facilities of its e-trading lab.

“The opportunity to offer B.A. and B.S. degrees in finance enables SDSU and the Ness School of Management and Economics to satisfy, in the state and across the nation, a deep intellectual curiosity in and workforce demand for major programs in finance,” said Joe Santos, director of the Ness School.

“The degrees align tightly with the Ness School’s vision to advance decision making informed by business and economic analysis. The school is ideally positioned and excited to include B.A. and B.S. degrees in finance to its rich portfolio of undergraduate major programs.”

With a major in finance, graduates enter careers in banking, money management, investment banking, insurance, corporate treasuries and federal, state and local governments. Professional positions include chief financial officers, financial analysts, personal financial advisers, trust officers, portfolio analysts, stockbrokers and traders, commodity brokers and traders, financial accountants, compliance officers, budget analysts and credit analysts.

Offering a major in finance will address the high demands of the labor market and student demand within the unique academic environment of South Dakota State, supporting the South Dakota Board of Regents’ strategic plan.

The new Ph.D. program is housed in the School of Psychology, Sociology and Rural Studies within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Rather than focusing on a single discipline such as sociology or psychology, the new Ph.D. brings together faculty expertise from across SDSU’s colleges — including nursing, natural sciences, agriculture, pharmacy and allied health professions — to train scholars equipped to tackle today’s “wicked problems.”

“The world’s complex issues require interdisciplinary teams,” said Paul Markel, professor and director of the School of Psychology, Sociology and Rural Studies.

The university’s sociology program dates back to 1925, once producing nearly a quarter of all doctorates on campus during its peak. Admissions to the previous sociology Ph.D. were suspended in 2020 due in part to faculty staffing and shifting academic focus.

Rather than simply reviving the former program, faculty and administrators chose to reimagine it. The resulting social science Ph.D. program addresses the current, complex research needs of the university in alignment with Pathway to Premier 2030 and the “R1 Our Way” initiative — SDSU’s commitment to reaching high research activity designation.

“The interdisciplinary approach allows complex problems to be taken seriously and explored in depth, so that you can come up with real practical solutions in a way that no single discipline could do alone,” Markel emphasized.

Written by University Marketing & Communications