South Dakota Mines Virtual Tour

Established in 1885, we’re nestled in the eastern slope of the Black Hills in Rapid City. As one of the leading STEM institutions in the nation, our students have a 97% placement rate, but it’s not all work, no play. Mines features over 100 student organizations, so there are endless ways to get involved on campus. Mines features an on-campus museum, athletics facilities, student union, and housing in addition to classrooms, cutting-edge research spaces, and a newly renovated library.  You can see more photos here.

We’re located in close proximity to Mount Rushmore and outdoors activities in the Black Hills (think skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and hiking) and Badlands National Park in addition to shopping, restaurants, theater, and arts in Rapid City, the second largest city in South Dakota.

You can see more photos here.

The Surbeck Center is the heart of student activity on campus. The facility features our dining hall, bookstore, student engagement offices, Ivanhoe International Center, Rich and Trudy Wells Veterans Resource Center, residence life, and the eSports Center in addition to plenty of spaces where students can relax and connect with fellow Hardrockers. 

You can see more photos here.

The O’Harra building houses many of our administrative offices on campus. It’s home to the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Office of the Registrar, Admissions, Financial Aid, and more. Plus, the building is home to our free Museum of Geology, which features mounted skeletons of dinosaurs, mammals, marine reptiles, and fish in addition to rare fossils from the White River Badlands, minerals, and a gift shop.

You can see more photos here.

The King Center is the hub for all things athletics on campus. It houses our wellness center featuring 34,000 square feet of newly remodeled space to enjoy including a large fitness and workout area, a bouldering gall, two-court gm, locker rooms, and squash and racquetball courts, our Goodell Gym where our men’s and women's basketball teams and our volleyball team plays, and our athletics department offices.

You can see more photos here.

The Classroom Building is home to our Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, where students can pursue a degree in our multidisciplinary Science, Technology, and Society degree as well as our Associate of Arts in General Studies degree. The Classroom Building also is home to our Military Science/ROTC program as well as the Apex Gallery. As the name suggests, the building is filled with classroom spaces.

You can see more photos here.

The Pearson Alumni Center is where you’ll find the South Dakota Mines Center for Alumni Relations and Advancement, or CARA for short. CARA is responsible for developing and managing private resources to support the mission and priorities of the university.

You can see more photos here.

Our newly renovated Devereaux Library is where you’ll find the Vanderboom Office of Student Success in addition to student study spaces, a makerspace, Einstein Bagels, our collection of books, and our archives. The basement is also home to the Department of Industrial Engineering and the Tiospaye Center for American Indian Scholars.

You can see more photos here.

There is a strong link between music and STEM. Mines has a strong music program to prove it, featuring fantastic orchestras, choirs, and bands. And our Music Center is home to all of those, featuring practice spaces and a recital hall.

You can see more photos here.

McLaury is one of the oldest buildings on the Mines campus and probably the most picturesque, too. McLaury houses our applied and computational mathematics and computer science and engineering programs and classrooms as well as the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program and 3D print labs.

You can see more photos here.

O’Harra Stadium brings the campus together for football games and other sporting events like track and field. It’s located on the east side of campus and features a grandstand, which is surrounded on three sides by a natural horseshoe bowl. Three terraces were graded into the banks so sports events could be viewed from the approximately 350 automobile parking spaces. Viewing from the automobiles allowed additional bleacher seating for spectators.

You can see more photos here.

The Chemical and Biological Engineering and Chemistry building, or CBEC for short, is where you’ll find our chemical and biological engineering, biology, chemistry, and health sciences programs. The building features ample lab spaces in addition to classrooms, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and study spaces. 

You can see more photos here.

If you study paleontology or geology at South Dakota Mines, chances are you’ll be in close contact with the PRL. The 33,000 square foot James E. Martin Paleontology Research Laboratory, or PRL for short, provides a safe, environmentally controlled location for the Museum of Geology’s paleontological, geological, and archival collections. The PRL also acts as a repository for federal, state, and tribal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Forest Service. The PRL currently holds over 500,000 specimens.

You can see more photos here.

Your housing options at South Dakota Mines will be your home away from home. Hardrockers have lots of choices when it comes to housing in a residence hall or in an apartment. Mines has four residence halls open to underclassmen: Palmerton, Connolly, Peterson, and Placer. For returning juniors, seniors, and graduate students, there is Rocker Square I and Rocker Square II, which features apartment-type housing.

You can see more photos here.

South Dakota Mines is unique is that we are one of the few universities in the United States to feature all mineral industries programs: geology and geological engineering, mining engineering and management, and materials and metallurgical engineering. These programs, in addition to atmospheric and environmental sciences, can be found in our Mineral Industries building. The building has classroom spaces in addition to lab spaces. 

You can see more photos here.

If you’re into building it, breaking it, and creating it, chances are you’ll spend some time in our Civil and Mechanical building. The Civil and Mechanical building is home to the Department Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The building has classroom spaces in addition to lab spaces and also houses our CAMP program.

You can see more photos here and here.

Located on the east end of campus, the Electrical Engineering/Physics building houses our electrical engineering, physics, and nanoscience/biomedical engineering departments, and if you’re a computer science and engineering major, chances are you’ll be taking classes in here, too. The building features lab spaces in addition to classroom spaces. 

You can see more photos here.