Vet Tech Programs in South Dakota
AVMA lists 1 CVTEA-accredited veterinary technology program in South Dakota: Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls, which awards an associate degree.
That single entry is the whole in-state list, and its status line is worth reading first — AVMA places the program on initial accreditation, the status it gives newly accredited programs.
South Dakota's registration also asks something specific of a school: the Board requires graduation from a Veterinary Technician course of study in an accredited school it approves, and the VTNE after that.
Accredited programs
1
Offer an associate degree
1
Offer a bachelor's
0
Status to check
1
Source: AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA), “Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA” and “Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA CVTEA”, retrieved 2026-09-23. “Status to check” counts programs whose AVMA status line reads anything other than plain full accreditation.
Check the list and the board before you enroll
AVMA-accredited programs in South Dakota
AVMA lists 1 accredited veterinary technology program in South Dakota, alphabetically below, with each degree, date and status line exactly as AVMA prints it. A struck-through degree is one AVMA marks as discontinued.
Veterinary Technology Program · Sioux Falls, SD
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: January 27, 2022 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2027
INITIAL ACCREDITATION
From AVMA’s CVTEA program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
What AVMA's status lines mean
Initial accreditation. “INITIAL (formerly called Provisional) accreditation is not punitive and is simply the terminology given to newly accredited programs for their first five years. Initial accreditation means the program is officially accredited. Initial accreditation does not mean programs are at a higher risk of losing accreditation or that they are “less” accredited. Graduates of an Initially accredited program are considered graduates of an AVMA CVTEA accredited program and would be eligible in nearly all states to take the Veterinary Technician National Exam.” — AVMA
One program, and it awards an associate degree
AVMA's list carries 1 entry for South Dakota: Southeast Technical Institute, in Sioux Falls, for a program it names Veterinary Technology Program.
The entry shows a single degree, an Associate of Applied Science, with initial accreditation dated January 27, 2022, and the next evaluation set for 2027.
No renamed institution or distance-list entry complicates the picture — this is the whole list, and every applicant reads the same card.
What the list does not tell you is everything else: schedules, admissions details and clinical placements are questions for the school.
The status line, printed on the card below, is the one item to read first.
The one status line to read before you apply
AVMA lists Southeast Technical Institute on initial accreditation, with initial accreditation dated January 27, 2022 and the next evaluation set for 2027.
AVMA's own definition says initial accreditation is not punitive and is simply the terminology given to newly accredited programs; the program is officially accredited, and AVMA says graduates of an initially accredited program are considered graduates of an AVMA CVTEA-accredited program and would be eligible in nearly all states to take the VTNE.
For an applicant, the concrete question is where the program stands in that initial period — ask Southeast Technical Institute directly, and ask for its published first-time VTNE pass rate in the same conversation.
What South Dakota's registration asks of a program
The South Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners registers veterinary technicians, and registration is mandatory before a licensed veterinarian may employ a technician.
The Board's qualifications document asks for a high school course of study or its equivalency, then successful completion of a Veterinary Technician course of study in an accredited school approved by the Board, with the program's director certifying graduation.
After graduation comes the VTNE, with a minimum score of 425 transferred to the Board from AAVSB.
The documents read show no on-the-job or experience-based alternative, so floor years in a practice do not substitute for the program.
The registration application itself is filed by the employing veterinarian, so the credential anchors to a specific practice rather than traveling with the technician.
Confirm a program's standing with the Board before you enroll.
South Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (SDVMEB)
A registration, not a license — the statute speaks of registered veterinary technicians, spelled out, and the letters RVT appear nowhere in the SDCL text read or on the Board's own forms.
A high school course of study or its equivalency, then successful completion of a Veterinary Technician course of study in an accredited school approved by the Board; no on-the-job or alternate route was found in the documents read.
The VTNE with a minimum score of 425 under Criterion Based Scoring, transferred to the Board from AAVSB; no state jurisprudence exam was found in the documents read.
AVMA’s distance-education list
AVMA names 13 programs on a separate distance-education list. Each is listed under the state where it is based. Whether a program admits students living in South Dakota, and how it arranges clinical placements there, is a question for the program.
From AVMA’s distance-education program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited vet tech programs are in South Dakota?
AVMA's CVTEA list, retrieved September 23, 2026, names 1 accredited veterinary technology program in South Dakota: Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls, which awards an Associate of Applied Science.
None of the 13 programs on AVMA's separate distance-education list is based in South Dakota.
Accreditation status changes, so check AVMA's own list for the current entry before you apply.
Is Southeast Technical Institute's vet tech program still accredited?
Yes.
AVMA lists Southeast Technical Institute on initial accreditation, with initial accreditation dated January 27, 2022 and the next evaluation set for 2027.
AVMA's definition says initial accreditation is not punitive, means the program is officially accredited, and that graduates of an initially accredited program count as graduates of an AVMA CVTEA-accredited program.
Check AVMA's list for the current entry, and the program card on this page, before you apply.
Is there a bachelor's degree vet tech program in South Dakota?
No. AVMA's list shows no bachelor's program in the state: the single entry, Southeast Technical Institute, awards an Associate of Applied Science, and no other in-state entry exists to check.
A student set on studying at the bachelor's level would need a program outside South Dakota, and should confirm any such program's current accreditation and degree listing on AVMA's own list before applying.
Can I become a registered veterinary technician in South Dakota without an accredited program?
Not through any route in the documents read.
The Board's qualifications document asks for a high school course of study or its equivalency, then graduation from a Veterinary Technician course of study in an accredited school approved by the Board, followed by a VTNE score of at least 425.
No on-the-job or experience-based alternative appears in those documents.
Ask the Board directly about any program that is not on AVMA's list before you enroll in it.
Are there distance-education vet tech program options for South Dakota residents?
AVMA's distance-education list names 13 programs, none based in South Dakota, so any online route would run through a program based in another state.
Each is listed on this page's distance list under its home state.
A South Dakota resident considering one needs answers from the school on whether it admits students living in South Dakota and how it arranges the supervised clinical hours every accredited program requires at a practice near the student.
More South Dakota Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- AVMA CVTEA — Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (South Dakota section and status definitions) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVMA CVTEA — Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- South Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners — Veterinary technician registration, as summarised on the South Dakota requirements page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Program list: AVMA CVTEA, retrieved 2026-09-23. Page last updated 2026-09-23.