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Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University (SDSU) is the largest and second oldest higher learning institution in the state. The main campus is based in the city of Brookings, which is less than twenty miles from the Minnesota border.

SDSU is separated into six colleges with academic specialisms; Agriculture, Arts & Sciences, Education, Engineering, Nursing, and Pharmacy. In total there are almost 200 academic programmes for students to pursue at SDSU, and the graduate field offers 35 master¡¯s and 15 PhD programmes. The university offers study aboard programmes ranging from six weeks to an entire academic year, and has active partnerships with institutions in Sweden, France, United Kingdom, Canada, and Norway.

One of the biggest events in the entire state is the homecoming celebrations of SDSU, which are known as Hobo Day. During this jamboree students will dress as hobos or ¡®bums¡¯, and a great parade will travel down the streets of Brookings. This event is completed by the historic ¡®Bummobile¡¯ a Model T Ford once driven by Dwight Eisenhower for the occasion.

Athletics teams at SDSU are known as the Jackrabbits, and the animal also serves as a university mascot. There are nine mens sports programmes and ten women¡¯s, and teams compete in the NCAA Division I. There is an ongoing rivalry between the American football teams of SDSU and North Dakota State University, with the winners of the annual game awarded the Dakota Marker trophy.

Notable alumni of SDSU include Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, computer designer Gene Amdahl, film historian Jeanine Basinger, and Nobel Prize for Economics winner Theodore Shultz.