To be eligible for the Dakota Corps Scholarship, applicants must: graduate from an accredited South Dakota high school with a 2.8 GPA (home-schooled students will be allowed to provide supplemental information if this requirement is not applicable); have an ACT score of 27; agree to stay in South Dakota and work in a critical need occupation after graduation for as many years as the scholarship was received, plus one year; apply for this award for a school period that begins within one year of high school graduation, or within one year of release from active duty of an active component of the armed forces; attend a participating South Dakota college as an undergraduate student in a program that will prepare the student to work in a critical need occupation; and be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. Dollar amounts for this scholarship will vary.
The Dakota Corps Scholarship Program was created by Governor Rounds to encourage South Dakota’s high school graduates to: obtain their postsecondary education in South Dakota; remain in the state upon completion of their education; and contribute to the state of South Dakota and its citizens by working in a critical need occupation. The intent of the program is that the recipients do not pay anything towards tuition and generally applicable fees. Remaining tuition and generally-applicable fees must be covered by the participating college through institutional scholarship or tuition waiver.