Bison to the Bakken
The Bison to the Bakken summer program is a 12-day, three-credit course offering NDSU students an opportunity to explore western North Dakota’s energy sector, connect with top employers and discover internship and job opportunities.
Students set out in May for a packed itinerary filled with industry tours, meet-and-greet opportunities and cultural events across the Bakken region. Highlights of the trip, which ran May 18–30, 2025, included:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 19 | Meeting at Creedence Energy Services in Minot |
| May 20 | A 'Follow the Barrel' tour covering the production lifecycle of a barrel of oil with Hess Corporation in Tioga |
| May 21 | Industry visit with Kathy Neset from Neset Consulting Service in Tioga |
| May 22 | Tour of Bakken Area Skills Center in Watford City |
| May 23 | Tour of ONEOK Natural Gas Plant |
| May 27 | Tour of ALLETE Clean Energy in Glen Ullin |
| May 28 | Tour of Falkirk Mining Company & Rainbow Energy Center |
| May 29 | Tour of Steffes in Dickinson |
| May 30 | Marathon Petroleum Refinery tour in Mandan |
A group of 37 students majoring in agriculture, business, engineering and other fields participated in the program. In addition to the learning opportunities highlighted above, students interacted with leadership and partnered with companies such as Chord Energy, BNI Coal, Sandpro, New Kota, Mountrial-Williams Electric Cooperative, Red Trail Energy and Xcel Energy.
Each student selected to participate in the program received a scholarship to help offset the cost of summer tuition for the course. Travel and lodging expenses are fully covered by the Economic Diversification Research Funds appropriated by the North Dakota Legislature during the 2023 session.
For more information on Bison to the Bakken, email Tom DeSutter, Professor of Soil Science at thomas.desutter@ndsu.edu.
This program is funded by the Economic Diversification Research Funds (EDRF). These funds were initiated by the North Dakota Legislature in the 2023 ND Legislative session to ensure that the state economy generates additional revenue streams, particularly through the investment into the research universities that would stimulate economic growth in the state, in part by innovating new technology, ideas and products.