Colleges in Mississippi

Mississippi schools of higher education have been governed by the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation since its establishment in 1972. The commission approves all Mississippi colleges and universities that award degrees or diplomas of graduation to students from schools in Mississippi.

The commission is directed by the Board of Trustees. The twelve Board members are appointed from each of three Mississippi Supreme Court districts so that there are four members from each District. The term of office is nine years. The Board Office headquarters is located in the Education and Research Center of Mississippi. The Commissioner of Higher Education assists the Board in administrating policies and bylaws. Divisions of the Board Office include academic and student affairs, finance and administration, construction and physical affairs, research and planning.

Colleges in Mississippi offer students many higher education options. The public colleges in Mississippi include eight four-year universities and 15 community and junior colleges. In addition to public Mississippi colleges, there are four private liberal arts colleges and seven private colleges and universities located throughout the state.

All eight four-year universities in Mississippi offer Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in a variety of disciplines. Additionally, six of the universities offer educational specialist degree programs and five have doctoral degree programs. The universities also have excellent research and public service programs. The two-year Mississippi schools offer Associate's degrees in a vast array of disciplines as well as prepare students to transfer to a four-year program of higher education.

Several universities and colleges in Mississippi are recognized as being among the best in the Southern United States and the nation. Among the top 8 are the following:

Alcorn State University

Belhaven University

Delta State University

Jackson State University

Mississippi College

Mississippi Valley State University

Mississippi State University

University of Mississippi

Alcorn State University is a small, private Mississippi school located in Lorman. The school offers Bachelor's, Master's and specialists degrees in programs such as liberal arts and sciences, business, education, psychology

agriculture, applied sciences and more.

Belhaven is a Christian liberal arts university in Jackson. Undergraduate and graduate classes meet once a week which allows people to have flexibility in work and other schedules.

Delta State university in Bolivar has a curriculum that includes the arts, humanities and sciences. This university also grants nine Master's degrees and has one doctoral program.

Jackson State University has programs of study in early childhood and elementary education, management and marketing, entrepreneurship and professional development, sociology and criminal justice, health sciences and planning and engineering.

Mississippi College is the oldest Baptist college in the nation. It offers majors in several areas including computer science and Christian studies.

Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Benna is a historically black college that offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in several programs of study.

Mississippi State University has pre-professional programs in 15 concentrations including veterinary medicine, seminary, nursing, medicine, dental and law.

The University of Mississippi in Oxford is the state's primary university. It offers a range of Bachelor's and Master's degree and carries out important scientific research.

Economy

In 2012, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated the gross state product(GSP) of Mississippi to be $98 billion. In 2006, the personal per capita income was listed as $26,908. This is the lowest of all states, but this is offset by the fact that it has the nation's lowest living costs. Admirably, the state's citizens rank consistently as one of the highest per capita in charitable donations. This is perhaps due to repeated natural disasters of flooding that developed a sense of empathy in the residents throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hurricane Katrina later took its toll on the residents.

The state's rank as being among the poorer states is due to its dependence on cotton crops both before and after the Civil War. Much flooding and late development of the Mississippi bottomlands also contributed to earlier economic woes. Despite hardships, the state made large investments in levees and ditching and draining the bottomlands. Slowly but surely they linked the bottomland towns with river cities by railroad.

Industrialization finally came to all areas in the state by the late 20th century. The state slowly invested in infrastructure such as public schools, road and railroads. However agriculture continued to be the state's main economic support. Agriculture employs about 29 percent of the workforce directly or indirectly. It is a 6.3 billion dollar industry. The state has approximately 41,700 farms that cover 11 million acres. The agriculture industry is significant in all of the state's 82 counties.

Some of the agricultural outputs in the state include poultry, lumber, soybeans, corn, rice, catfish, cattle, hogs, hay, cotton, milk, peanuts, wheat, sweet potatoes and grain sorghum.

Many jobs in the state are provided by the government. The trade, transportation and utilities industries also provide jobs for the labor force in Mississippi. Recently, the financial sector has grown in providing employment.

In 1990, the state legislature voted to legalize casino gambling along the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River. This included the resort towns of Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Tunica, Greenville, Vicksburg and Natchez. Additionally, Federally recognized Native Americans have opened casinos on their reservations. These casinos are helping to build revenue for economic support and education.

Despite economic and natural disasters of the past, the state of Mississippi appears to be well on its way to recovery providing a great place to live, work, study and play.

Found 67 Post-Secondary Schools In Mississippi


Title City State Type Enrollment
Academy of Hair Design Four Pearl MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 48
Academy of Hair Design One Grenada MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 40
Academy of Hair Design Three Jackson MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 76
Alcorn State University Alcorn State MS 4-year public 2936
Antonelli College Hattiesburg MS 2-year private, for-profit 215
Antonelli College Jackson MS 2-year private, for-profit 215
Belhaven College Jackson MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 1594
Blue Mountain College Blue Mountain MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 371
Board of Trustees - State Insts of Higher Learning Jackson MS Central office or Administrative Unit No Data
Booneville Academy of Cosmetology Booneville MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Chris Beauty College Gulfport MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 139
Coahoma Community College Clarksdale MS 2-year public 277
Commercial Driver Institute Inc Gulfport MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Cooks Institute of Electronics Engineering Jackson MS 4-year private, for-profit No Data
Copiah - Lincoln Community College Wesson MS 2-year public 1885
Copiah - Lincoln Community College - Natchez Campus Natchez MS 2-year public 779
Creations College of Cosmetology Tupelo MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 57
Delta Beauty College Greenville MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 121
Delta State University Cleveland MS 4-year public 3875
Douglas Aviation Inc Olive Branch MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
East Central Community College Decatur MS 2-year public 2291
East Mississippi Community College Scooba MS 2-year public 2534
Final Touch Beauty School Meridian MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 69
Fosters Cosmetology College Ripley MS 2-year private, for-profit 32
Gibson Barber and Beauty College West Point MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 60
Harris School of Cosmetology Columbus MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Hinds Community College Raymond MS 2-year public 16032
Holmes Community College Goodman MS 2-year public 3022
Ics the Wright Beauty College Corinth MS 2-year private, for-profit 17
Itawamba Community College Fulton MS 2-year public 3467
J & J Hair Design College Carthage MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 49
Jackson College of Ministries Jackson MS 4-year private, not-for-profit No Data
Jackson State University Jackson MS 4-year public 6820
Johns Cosmetology School Hattiesburg MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Jones County Junior College Ellisville MS 2-year public 4514
Kc S School of Hair Design Pontotoc MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Magnolia Bible College Kosciusko MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 37
Magnolia College of Cosmetology Jackson MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 78
Mary Holmes College West Point MS 2-year private, not-for-profit 292
Meridian Community College Meridian MS 2-year public 3096
Millsaps College Jackson MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 1280
Mississippi College Clinton MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 3423
Mississippi College of Beauty Culture Laurel MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 40
Mississippi Delta Community College Moorhead MS 2-year public 2673
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Perkinston MS 2-year public 8768
Mississippi State University Mississippi State MS 4-year public 16561
Mississippi University for Women Columbus MS 4-year public 2814
Mississippi Valley State University Itta Bena MS 4-year public 2687
North Mississippi Medical Center Medical Tech Prog Tupelo MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 5
Northeast Mississippi Community College Booneville MS 2-year public 2796
Northwest Mississippi Community College Senatobia MS 2-year public 4776
Pearl River Community College Poplarville MS 2-year public 2800
Pearl River Community College - Forrest County Ctr Hattiesburg MS 2-year public No Data
Rust College Holly Springs MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 853
Southeastern Baptist College Laurel MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 11
Southwest Mississippi Community College Summit MS 2-year public 1651
State Board for Community and Junior Colleges Jackson MS Central office or Administrative Unit No Data
Tougaloo College Tougaloo MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 1000
Traxlers School of Hair Jackson MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit 79
University of Mississippi Main Campus University MS 4-year public 12118
University of Mississippi Medical Center Jackson MS 4-year public 1674
University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg MS 4-year public 14509
Vaughns S Beauty College Aberdeen MS Less than 2-year private, for-profit No Data
Wesley Biblical Seminary Jackson MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 78
Wesley College Florence MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 85
William Carey College Hattiesburg MS 4-year private, not-for-profit 2402
Wood College Mathiston MS 2-year private, not-for-profit 194

Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/