Build Your Future. Build Dakota.

Get Your Tech Degree for Free

Are you a doer, fixer or solver? Do you want a career that uses your hands as much as your mind? If you answered yes, it’s time to get your technical degree. And you can do it 100% free, with the Build Dakota Scholarship. Apply now.

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Start With A Solid Foundation

Nursing, engineering, automotive or ag technology—there are hundreds of high-need jobs waiting for you. But first, you need the proper education. Build Dakota is a scholarship program created for skilled scholars entering high-demand programs at South Dakota technical colleges. And it allows you to earn your degree for free. Just apply in three easy steps.

Start Working on your Application

Your next opportunity to apply for a Build Dakota Scholarship starts January 1, 2026 through March 31, 2026. Find a few tips to get started below, and look for more information in the months ahead.

Please note: applications are managed directly through technical colleges. If you wish to apply at more than one school, you will need to create a separate application at each school. An industry partner is not required to apply. Please contact your technical college for application assistance.

1

Step 1

Apply for admissions at the technical college you’re interested in attending.

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Step 2

Click on the school logo below to go to the Build Dakota Scholarship application for that technical college.

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Step 3

Read the college’s instructions and apply.

Good luck!

South Dakota Technical Colleges

South Dakota is home to four top technical colleges that provide an inexpensive, faster, more flexible path to your future. Each offers hands-on learning that makes a difference in the world. Find your fit.

Southeast Tech offers more than 70 pathways to today’s most innovative fields. Here, you’ll find career-focused two-year programs that prepare you with the skills you need to jumpstart your career in high-need industries.

Sioux Falls, SD

1-800-247-0789

Program Options

At Mitchell Tech, students learn and perform in settings that mirror real-world workplaces. In two years or less, you’ll understand the complexities of your chosen field and have the hands-on experience to get started.

Mitchell, SD

1-800-684-1969

Program Options

Lake Area Tech offers small, interactive classes, new technology and cutting-edge programs to prepare students for the current workforce demands. Learn by doing and work with the most advanced equipment in your field of study.

Watertown, SD

1-800-657-4344

Program Options

Western Dakota Tech—the only technical college in the western South Dakota region—offers programs in some of the fastest-growing fields and industries. Through internships and industry partners, students graduate ready to make an immediate impact.

Rapid City, SD

1-800-544-8765

Program Options

More Than a Donor

When you donate to the Build Dakota Scholarship, you are giving students more than money. You are giving them the opportunities and resources to jumpstart their education, careers and futures.

A special thanks to the Gail & Delores Miller Charitable Fund and the South Dakota Community Foundation for their generous contribution to the students of South Dakota.