Mississippi’s Best Colleges & Universities of 2021

Colleges and Universities in Mississippi

The majority of the learning institutes in Mississippi are public schools, with the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, being the largest. This university, located in Oxford, boasts alumni like William Faulkner, John Grisham, and James Meredith. Tuition at Ole Miss runs about $9,000, just below the national average. The eight private colleges, all of which have religious affiliations, range in tuition costs from $10,000 at Rust College to $40,000 at Millsaps College.

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Students who attend these schools have the option to pursue degrees in fields like nursing, business, dentistry, Christian ministry, education, and literature. Additionally, all of these private schools are considered small schools, serving under 5,000 students. Mississippi also offers up to $12,000 of undergraduate loan forgiveness, over the course of four years, for teachers who work in designated shortage areas or who teach in critical shortage subjects, like special education or mathematics.

From Mississippi mud pie to fried chicken, Mississippi brings a whole new meaning to the term comfort food. The Magnolia State is easy on the eyes too. With nearly endless forests spilling over with hickory, pine, and oak trees, the intricate river system, and the Gulf Island National Seashore, Mississippi is a true destination for lovers of outdoor adventure. And students who plan on earning their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in Mississippi have 31 colleges and universities to choose from.

Explore some of the top schools and career paths Mississippi has to offer.

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Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges

How do we determine Mississippi's best colleges and universities?

The best colleges pound for pound!

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call Concentrated Influence. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.

Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.

If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Find out more about our ranking methodology here.

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Every fall, more than 2 million high-school graduates will enroll in colleges and universities across the United States. Finding the best college for your educational, personal, and professional goals may be challenging. The purpose of this ranking is to help you manage this challenge with an accurate, objective, and up-to-date ranking of the best colleges and universities in Mississippi for earning a bachelor’s degree.

We’ve identified a total of 15 colleges and universities in Mississippi, 9 of which satisfy our criteria. The list below of the best schools in the state focuses on those that offer four-year undergraduate degrees, includes both public and private colleges and universities, and also meet the following two conditions:

1. It must be fully accredited.
2. It must have a graduation rate of greater than 40%.

Best Colleges & Universities in Mississippi

1. 

   #1

   Tougaloo College

   #1602 institution's overall influence

   #538 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $11K

   Acceptance

   71%

   Graduation

   50%

   Student body

   <1K

   Median SAT/ACT

   865/18

   Tougaloo, MS

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2. 

   #2

   Millsaps College

   #1102 institution's overall influence

   #320 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $41K

   Acceptance

   70%

   Graduation

   67%

   Student body

   <1K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1185/23

   Jackson, MS

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   What is Millsaps College known for?

   Millsaps College's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Education
   • Literature
   • History
   • Religious Studies
   • Philosophy
   • Political Science
   • Earth Sciences
   • Biology
   • Sociology
   • Communications

   Most Influential Alumni

   • William C. Lamar
   • E. Burnley Powell
   • James K. Vardaman Jr.
3. 

   #3

   University of Mississippi

   #322 institution's overall influence

   #710 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $9K

   Acceptance

   88%

   Graduation

   60%

   Student body

   21K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1135/25

   University, MS

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   What is University of Mississippi known for?

   University of Mississippi's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Law
   • Literature
   • Medical
   • Business
   • Education
   • History
   • Political Science
   • Biology
   • Communications
   • Engineering

   Most Influential Alumni

   • Robert Foster
   • Kenny Griffis
   • Devontae Shuler
   • M. K. A. Hameed
   • Alison Weisz
   • James K. Vardaman Jr.
   • Raphew Reed Jr.
   • Robert P. Chamberlin
   • Jarvis Summers
   • Dawn H. Beam
   • Bill Courtney
   • Juan R. García Delgado
4. 

   #4

   Mississippi University for Women

   #1933 institution's overall influence

   #445 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $8K

   Acceptance

   99%

   Graduation

   44%

   Student body

   3K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1080/21

   Columbus, MS

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   What is Mississippi University for Women known for?

   Mississippi University for Women's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Literature
   • Education
   • Biology
   • Nursing
   • History
   • Medical
   • Mathematics
   • Physics
   • Sociology
   • Chemistry

   Most Influential Alumni

   • Sally Doty
   • Sara Hoke DeBord
5. 

   #5

   Mississippi College

   #1436 institution's overall influence

   #150 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $19K

   Acceptance

   29%

   Graduation

   59%

   Student body

   4K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1145/25

   Clinton, MS

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   What is Mississippi College known for?

   Most Influential Alumni

   • Anita Raj
6. 

   #6

   Mississippi State University

   #584 institution's overall influence

   #821 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $9K

   Acceptance

   80%

   Graduation

   58%

   Student body

   21K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1175/26

   Mississippi State, MS

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   What is Mississippi State University known for?

   Mississippi State University's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Business
   • Engineering
   • History
   • Education
   • Biology
   • Communications
   • Computer Science
   • Political Science
   • Earth Sciences
   • Medical

   Most Influential Alumni

   • Brandon Ruiz
   • D. J. Stewart Jr.
   • Steve Steinwedel
   • Albert H. Whitfield
   • Iverson Molinar
   • Cameron Dantzler
   • John Green
   • Randy Boyd
   • Iyhia McMichael
   • Brooks Donald-Williams
   • K. J. Costello
   • Robert Woodard II
7. 

   #7

   University of Southern Mississippi

   #1068 institution's overall influence

   #825 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $9K

   Acceptance

   96%

   Graduation

   47%

   Student body

   13K

   Median SAT/ACT

   /22

   Hattiesburg, MS

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   What is University of Southern Mississippi known for?

   University of Southern Mississippi's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Business
   • Education
   • Literature
   • Biology
   • History
   • Religious Studies
   • Medical
   • Chemistry
   • Political Science
   • Mathematics

   Most Influential Alumni

   • Thomas Clausen
   • Tommy Gollott
   • Jay Milner
   • Guy D. Penny
   • Michael Federico
   • Bud Brown
   • Thomas Duff
   • Walter H. Yates Jr.
   • Andrea Spofford
   • Catherine S. Lutz
   • Daniel Guice Jr.
   • William H. Weathersby
8. 

   #8

   William Carey University

   #2910 institution's overall influence

   #211 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $13K

   Acceptance

   55%

   Graduation

   57%

   Student body

   4K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1065/24

   Hattiesburg, MS

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   What is William Carey University known for?

   William Carey University's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Business
   • Education
   • Nursing
   • Medical
   • Literature
   • Religious Studies
   • History
   • Biology
   • Psychology
   • Criminal Justice
9. 

   #9

   Blue Mountain College

   #8400 institution's overall influence

   #704 overall school desirability

   Tuition + fees

   $14K

   Acceptance

   99%

   Graduation

   61%

   Student body

   <1K

   Median SAT/ACT

   1105/20

   Blue Mountain, MS

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   What is Blue Mountain College known for?

   Blue Mountain College's faculty and alumni have been influential in:

   • Education
   • Mathematics
   • History
   • Literature
   • Medical
   • Psychology
   • Religious Studies
   • Criminal Justice
   • Biology

   Most Influential Alumni

   • George Duke Humphrey

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