College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Mississippi State University

MSLarge public institution · Overall rank #299 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Mississippi State University in the 80th percentile overall.

Who it’s a good fit for

Mississippi State University is a public university in Mississippi where the degree mix is led by Business and Engineering, and mobility is well above average. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The factors the model measures add to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts, and return is around the average.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, yet mobility is well above average and access is well above average. The admission rate is close to the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid fields are much smaller.

Mississippi State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
77.6%
Six-year completion[2]
66.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$59,311

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$18,671
Median student debt[4]
$22,142
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$25,567

Mississippi State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Mississippi State University is a public university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, enrolling 18,397 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper portion of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (80th percentile).

The shape is a broad-access public campus where mobility is the strongest and return the weakest, with access and affordability sitting between them. Mississippi State University admits 77.6% of applicants, a rate that is close to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 82.5% return for a second year. Among first-time full-time students, 66.7% finish within six years.

Peer medians for retention and completion are 83.1% and 65.0%, respectively. An estimated 34.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four pillars are spread out. Mobility (88th percentile) is the strongest, while return (48th percentile) is the weakest. Access and affordability (80th and 63rd percentiles) sit in between.

Mobility is the clearest strength at Mississippi State University, with Azimuth placing it in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access follows in the 80th percentile, and affordability sits in the 63rd percentile.

Return is the weakest pillar at the 48th percentile. The strong mobility and access results sit alongside a more middle-of-the-pack return picture.

Enrolled students who submitted SAT scores posted a middle half from 1,100 to 1,350. The ACT middle half for submitters stretched from 21 to 29.

These ranges describe only the subset of enrolled students who chose to submit test scores. 29.3% of undergraduates receive federal Pell Grants, the measure Azimuth uses to gauge financial access.

Azimuth ranks Mississippi State University #287 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 51.0%, a rate that sits 15.7 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole (66.7%).

That distance between the two completion measures is one of the main inputs to the access score. Azimuth ranks the university #178 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students, the earnings side of the mobility picture.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Mississippi State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#299

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 88
Access & reach
National percentile: 80
Affordability
National percentile: 63
Return on investment
National percentile: 48

Top-ranked majors

  1. Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians#6
  2. Interior Architecture#8
  3. Engineering, Other#9

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Mississippi State University briefing

Mississippi State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, Mississippi State University has an average net price of $17,595, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, against a published cost of attendance of $29,267. The published budget includes $10,202 for in-state tuition and fees, $27,637 for out-of-state tuition and fees, and $12,902 for room and board.

Aid reduces that published cost by an average of $11,672. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634, leaving Mississippi State’s average $1,961 above that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks Mississippi State University #529 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The aid discount is substantial, though the resulting remains above the peer median.

At Mississippi State University, average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies widely by family income, spanning $8,655 from the lowest to the highest band. Before aid, the total published cost is $29,267; after aid, the lowest family-income band averages $14,332, the second-lowest family-income band $14,372, the middle family-income band $18,671, the second-highest family-income band $20,704, and the highest family-income band $22,987.

Azimuth places the university at #529 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 40% of the published cost, lowering the sticker price by $11,672.

The average net price for first-time, full-time in-state aid recipients is $17,595, which sits $1,961 above the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size). In-state tuition and fees are $10,202, and out-of-state tuition and fees are $27,637.

Grant and scholarship aid therefore cuts the published cost substantially, though the typical aid recipient still pays more than the peer median. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,142, and 85.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median is $2,066 above the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $252 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $25,567.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,671

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Mississippi State University

At Mississippi State University, 85.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, so borrowing is part of the cost picture for many students. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $22,142.

The peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, and Mississippi State’s median is above it by $2,066. For the separate population of Parent PLUS borrowers, median borrowing is $25,567.

Mobility is the strongest pillar for Mississippi State University, but the investment picture is mixed. Graduates working and not enrolled have median earnings of $59,311 four years after completion, placing them in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, fall in the 46th percentile. Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios from the program mix range from $41,041 in the downside scenario to $85,819 in the upside scenario, with $59,311 in the typical scenario. Borrowers complete with median federal student loan debt of $22,142, which is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $252 a month if repaid over ten years. Below-expected earnings and debt above the peer median point in the same direction.

For the separate parent-borrower population, Parent PLUS borrowing has a median of $25,567. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $252 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$22,142
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$25,567

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$252/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$325/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Mississippi State University briefing

Mississippi State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

At Mississippi State University, the return picture falls near the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations is negative: Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students. That result is in the 46th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,315. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,828.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers working and not enrolled have median earnings of $59,311, in the 48th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving earnings $6,299 below it. The below-peer median and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Four years after completion, the median for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled is $59,311 at Mississippi State University, drawn from an earnings cohort of 3,777. The comparable-institution median (same type and size) is $65,610; the university is $6,299 below that figure.

That earnings level falls at the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students.

This metric captures the gap between actual graduate earnings and what the model expects for similar students. That outcome sits at the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $41,041 on the downside to $85,819 on the upside, with $59,311 as the typical figure. An estimated 29.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The median sits below both the peer benchmark and the model's expectation, while the scenarios span a wide range around that figure.

Mississippi State University graduates who received federal aid and are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,311 four years after completing a bachelor's degree, in the 48th percentile. Comparable institutions (same type and size) show a median of $65,610, putting this university $6,299 below that level.

Azimuth ranks the university #766 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates actually earn and what the model expects for students with similar backgrounds.

Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the earnings gap at the 46th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,315. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,828.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,422. The degree mix is led by business, engineering and education, with the highest earnings concentrated in engineering and construction management fields.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from a downside of $41,041 to an upside of $85,819. An estimated 29.3% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At Mississippi State University, earnings scenarios indicate that earnings can differ sharply by field. The downside scenario is $41,041, whereas the upside scenario is $85,819 four years after completion; these scenarios model lower- and higher-earning program clusters rather than observed groups.

Chemical Engineering posts $95,968, and Construction Management posts $94,068 on the same basis. Those program figures sit on the higher-earning side of the modeled spread.

Mobility is the strongest pillar at Mississippi State University, but its cost-and-earnings picture is mixed. For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,142, above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,066.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $252 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,595, above the peer median of $15,634. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, have median debt of $25,567. The higher debt and net price point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,315
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$12,828
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$2,513

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Mississippi State University briefing

Mississippi State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Mississippi State University admits a broad share of its reported applicant pool, with an admission rate of 77.6%. That means the rate records how many applicants were admitted in that entering-class cycle, rather than setting a threshold for an individual applicant.

The figure is close to the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Applicants should place their own academic record beside the score ranges reported for Mississippi State University before applying.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
77.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
1100
Reported average
1219
Approximate upper endpoint
1350

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Mississippi State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Mississippi State University?[12]

The selected programs show distinctly different four-year earnings, with higher-earning technical fields alongside more moderate figures elsewhere. Chemical Engineering records median earnings of $95,968 four years after completion and 73 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #72 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Mechanical Engineering shows $93,893 and 165 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national rank of #85 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Interior Architecture has median earnings of $61,421 four years after completion across 29 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #8 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Agricultural Business and Management reports $78,998 with 38 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #11 among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The displayed medians are higher in the first pair of fields than in the latter pair.

Program choice matters here because nationally ranked fields show a wide range of earnings four years after completion. Azimuth assigns national ranks to 47 bachelor's programs, while 48 fields have published earnings data.

Azimuth ranks Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians #6 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; it awarded 36 degrees and its median earnings are $36,617 four years after completion. Engineering ranks #9 nationally, with 29 degrees awarded and $91,124 in earnings.

Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management ranks #10 nationally in its field, awarded 69 degrees, and has median earnings of $45,445. National standing and earnings should be read field by field.

The bachelor's degree mix at Mississippi State University is anchored in Business, which accounts for 19.7% of degrees awarded, and Engineering at 16.2%. Education is a distant third at 8.1%.

The university has 47 ranked programs and 48 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 359 degrees awarded, followed by Teacher Education with 263 and Kinesiology and Physical Education with 254.

The strongest programs by national rank are concentrated in veterinary and animal health, architecture, and engineering fields. Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians is in veterinary and animal health fields, with 36 degrees awarded and median earnings of $36,617 four years after completion.

Interior Architecture ranks #8 nationally within its field and #1 in Mississippi, with 29 degrees awarded. Engineering ranks #9 nationally within its field and #1 in Mississippi, with 29 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning programs are in engineering: Electrical Engineering leads at $106,039 from 72 degrees awarded, and Chemical Engineering follows at $95,968 with 73 degrees awarded, ranking #72 nationally and #2 in Mississippi. The pattern is a broad public university where the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

Business Administration and Management, the biggest by degrees, sits at $55,993, while the engineering fields that top the earnings list are smaller. The strongest ranks are spread across technical fields rather than concentrated in one family, and 30.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings for fields where graduates commonly continue to graduate study understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 359 degrees awarded
$55,993
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 263 degrees awarded
$40,431
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 254 degrees awarded
$50,503
Psychology, General 207 degrees awarded
$41,986
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 187 degrees awarded
$42,399
Marketing 181 degrees awarded
$61,364

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Mississippi State University briefing

How does Mississippi State University serve students from different backgrounds?

At Mississippi State University, mobility is the strongest Azimuth pillar: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 66.7%, while Pell recipients complete at 51.0%, below the overall rate by 15.7 percentage points. Azimuth places mobility in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings picture is less favorable. Graduates earn about $2,513 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 46th percentile nationally. Strong completion sits alongside modeled earnings that fall short of expectations.

With a 77.6% admission rate, Mississippi State University enrolls 18,397 undergraduates across direct and transfer entry. Pell Grants reach 29.3% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 34.9%.

Azimuth puts its access pillar in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures describe a large undergraduate population reached through more than one entry path.

06 / Mississippi State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Mississippi State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Mississippi State University.

Admissions peerThe University of Alabama76.7% admitted
Comparison with Mississippi State University
MeasureMississippi State UniversityThe University of Alabama
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,311$70,439+$11,128 vs Mississippi State University
Average annual net price$17,595$22,420+$4,825 vs Mississippi State University · higher cost
Admission rate77.6%76.7%
Explore The University of Alabama →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Mississippi96.6% admitted
Comparison with Mississippi State University
MeasureMississippi State UniversityUniversity of Mississippi
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,311$66,243+$6,932 vs Mississippi State University
Average annual net price$17,595$13,314-$4,281 vs Mississippi State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.6%96.6%
Explore University of Mississippi →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of MississippiNearby option · MS
Comparison with Mississippi State University
MeasureMississippi State UniversityUniversity of Mississippi
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,311$66,243+$6,932 vs Mississippi State University
Average annual net price$17,595$13,314-$4,281 vs Mississippi State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.6%96.6%
Explore University of Mississippi →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell$81,163 earnings
Comparison with Mississippi State University
MeasureMississippi State UniversityUniversity of Massachusetts-Lowell
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,311$81,163+$21,852 vs Mississippi State University
Average annual net price$17,595$17,163-$432 vs Mississippi State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.6%83.0%
Explore University of Massachusetts-Lowell →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Mississippi$13,314 average net price
Comparison with Mississippi State University
MeasureMississippi State UniversityUniversity of Mississippi
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,311$66,243+$6,932 vs Mississippi State University
Average annual net price$17,595$13,314-$4,281 vs Mississippi State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.6%96.6%
Explore University of Mississippi →
Similar profileEast Carolina UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Mississippi State University
MeasureMississippi State UniversityEast Carolina University
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,311$60,888+$1,577 vs Mississippi State University
Average annual net price$17,595$15,739-$1,856 vs Mississippi State University · lower cost
Admission rate77.6%89.2%
Explore East Carolina University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings