Bismarck State College

Bismarck, ND · Public · 2,839 undergrads · website ↗

Open admission
$35 application fee

Does anyone get out?

The point of starting here is finishing somewhere else. This is how often that happens.

15.1%

of students transfer to a four-year institution

Completed after transferring: 1.9%
Still enrolled after transferring: 5.4%

What it costs

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$6,140
$30,000 – $48,000	$5,828
$48,000 – $75,000	$8,524
$75,000 – $110,000	$12,160
Over $110,000	$13,979
All incomes (average)	$10,270

Sticker tuition and fees: $5,247 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Bismarck State College's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$8,770
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,508
Books and supplies	$1,300
Other expenses, on campus	$3,000
Other expenses, off campus	$3,400

Outcomes

Completion rate: 47%
Students with Pell grants: 15%
Earnings @ 10yr: $54,277
Median debt: $11,533

Admission and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Open admission
Application fee: $35
Students per faculty member: 13 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 92%

What students study

Computer Science13%

Health & Nursing12%

Business7%

Foreign Languages5%

Agriculture3%

Visual & Performing Arts2%

Kinesiology & Sports Science0%

Social Sciences0%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Associate degrees (10)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	316	$37,269	$51,767national $44,125	$12,000
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians	82	$87,388	$115,316national $67,792	$11,531
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	43	$74,565	$66,683national $80,813	$17,750
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications	42	$52,967	—national $54,971	$12,000
Agricultural Business and Management	41	$50,120	$58,392national $47,825	$12,000
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians	27	$99,056	$118,853national $73,046	$12,000
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	23	$101,448	$121,039national $73,593	$12,691
Design and Applied Arts	15	—	$37,776national $38,127	—
Business/Commerce, General	15	—	$44,242national $49,927	—
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers	8	—	$101,828national $70,808	—

Undergraduate certificates (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants	45	$69,228	$65,425national $56,073	$11,500
Electrical and Power Transmission Installers	33	$69,717	$68,875national $53,078	$6,350
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians	22	—	$94,634national $49,492	—
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians	18	$49,503	$62,014national $51,586	—

Bachelor's degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	51	$113,408	$122,948national $68,257	$14,482

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 54 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Best transfer rates elsewhere in ND

United Tribes Technical CollegeBismarck17.3%Sitting Bull CollegeFort Yates13.5%

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1500 Edwards Ave., Bismarck, ND 58506-5587
Phone: (701) 224-5400
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

Where would you transfer to?

Find four-year colleges ranked by what they'd cost your family and what graduates earn — then check which of your credits they accept before you commit.

Find four-year matches →

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Transfer rate is the share of entrants transferring to a four-year institution; it is published for roughly a third of community colleges, and a blank means unpublished rather than zero. Which specific credits transfer is set by agreements between individual institutions and is not published nationally — confirm with both colleges before enrolling.

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