Sisseton Wahpeton College

Quick Facts

Address: BIA Rd 700, Agency Village, Sisseton, SD 57262
Website: https://www.swc.tc/
Founded: 1979
Students: 197 (2017)

About

The Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe founded the Sisseton Wahpeton College in 1979. This tribal college services the northeastern side of South Dakota and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation. An average of 250 students enroll at SWC each year, 80% of whom are tribal members.

The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Council declared a state of emergency for the Dakota language--the official langauge of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate--in 2008. This action led the Sisseton Wahpeton College to create a Dakota Language Teaching Certificate in 2014. Language offers were expanded again in 2017 through the Voices of Our Ancestors adult Dakota language program. Both are two-year programs devoted to strengthening the Dakota language.

SWC students can enroll in associate degree and certificate programs. Associate degrees include Addiction & Diversity Counseling, Behavioral Science, Business Administration, Business Administration: Optional Accounting Emphasis, Business Specialist, Computer Systems Technology, Dakota Studies, Early Childhood Development, General Studies, Multimedia Technology, and Sustainable Environmental Studies. Certificate programs include Culinary Food Science, Dakota Language Teaching, General Building Trades Technology, and Licensed Practical Nursing.