The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology touted its graduate job-placement rate and salary as the school prepared to wrap up another academic year. Recent figures show that 98 percent of graduates with bachelor’s degrees find a job, or pursue and advanced degree, within a year of graduation.

Of 2014 graduates, 211 had found jobs and 65 had enrolled in graduate school. For those entering the workforce, the starting salary was more than $63,000, according to the school.

“Mines graduates are well-prepared leaders in engineering and science, and industry recognizes it. Our students are in high demand,” said Heather Wilson, president of SD Mines.

In addition, average starting salaries for eight of the school’s majors top the national average. Geology graduates, for instance, start at an average of $73,000 — far above the national average of $55,534.

Graduates went to work at companies like Baker Hughes and Caterpillar.

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is bordered on three sides by the Williston Basin (Bakken, N.D.) to the north, the Powder River Basin to the northwest and the Denver Basin directly south. The university offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. For more information, visit www.sdsmt.edu.