Research brief & institution hub

University of Mississippi

MSLarge public institution · Overall rank #179 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 21, 2026

Azimuth ranks University of Mississippi #179 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The fit is clearest for a student who wants a large public university in Mississippi and expects to work after the degree, and the mobility is well above average. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study, and the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The measured factors—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market—add to that, while the unexplained remainder subtracts.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and access is above average. Mobility is well above average.

A large share of Pell students at University of Mississippi move toward completion even with that gap. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and the largest programs span nursing, media and business. The largest programs include nursing, media and business.

University of Mississippi at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 96.6%
Six-year completion^[2]: 71.7%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $66,243

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $14,794
Median student debt^[4]: $20,000
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $29,387

University of Mississippi rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

University of Mississippi is a public university in University, Mississippi, enrolling 21,473 undergraduates. The university sits in the top fifth among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Admission is broad: the university accepts 96.6% of applicants, well above the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 87.2% return for a second year, against a median for comparable institutions of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 71.7%, compared with a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 19.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a specific group: first-time, full-time students.

The four pillars sit close together, with mobility the strongest (89th percentile) and access the weakest (56th percentile). Return and affordability fall in between (81st and 78th percentiles).

Mobility is the strongest pillar in the Azimuth profile for University of Mississippi, at the 89th percentile. Access is the weakest of the four, at the 56th percentile.

Return sits at the 81st percentile and affordability at the 78th percentile. Azimuth ranks the university #179 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

21.7% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 47.9%, 23.8 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks University of Mississippi #643 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #163 for mobility. Graduates earn about $6,446 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Mississippi rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#179

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 89

Access & reach: National percentile: 56

Affordability: National percentile: 78

Return on investment: National percentile: 81

Top-ranked majors

Radio, Television, and Digital Communication#4
Public Policy Analysis#7
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness#10

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 / University of Mississippi briefing

University of Mississippi cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

The published cost of attendance at University of Mississippi is $28,660 for the standard budget. In-state tuition and fees are $9,772, while out-of-state tuition and fees are $28,600.

Room and board on campus are published at $12,600. After aid, the average recipient at the university pays $13,314 each year.

That figure is $2,320 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Financial aid reduces the sticker price by $15,346 on average for those students.

Azimuth ranks the university #310 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at University of Mississippi is $28,660. Azimuth ranks the university #310 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $8,945, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $14,794, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $21,313. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,368.

Aid covers about 54% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The for first-time, full-time aid recipients is $13,314, which is $2,320 below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $20,000 in federal student loans, $76 below the peer median of $20,076. 86.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $29,387 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month. It estimates costs and payments for your own situation.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,794

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Mississippi

Borrowers who finish at University of Mississippi carry a median of $20,000 in federal student loans, and 86.3% of federal aid recipients take out federal loans. That figure sits $76 below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The spread shows how much debt varies. Parent borrowers hold a separate median of $29,387.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 43% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $32,545 per borrower. Of graduates, 40% held federal loans, averaging $18,675. Of graduates, 11% held private loans, averaging $54,224.

At University of Mississippi, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $66,243 four years after completion. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median sits at the 69th percentile.

Graduates earn about $6,446 more than the model expects for similar students. The gap sits at the 75th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $46,508 on the downside to $88,671 on the upside. The typical earnings scenario is $66,243.

For borrowers who complete, median federal debt is $20,000. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, leaving the university's median $76 below that mark.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $29,387. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 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: $20,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $29,387

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

Estimated student payment · monthly: $227/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $373/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 / University of Mississippi briefing

University of Mississippi career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

Program choice shapes a wide earnings range at University of Mississippi. The downside earnings scenario is $46,508 and the upside scenario is $88,671; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Chemical Engineering graduates earn $107,548 four years after completion, from 26 degrees awarded a year. Mechanical Engineering follows at $93,311, with 67 degrees awarded. The largest program, Nursing, reports $87,701.

Federally aided graduates of University of Mississippi who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $66,243 four years after completing a degree. That figure is $633 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The median falls in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawn from a cohort of 2,090 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a wide range for completers: the downside scenario is $46,508, the typical scenario is $66,243, and the upside scenario is $88,671.

An estimated 27.7% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Federally aided graduates of University of Mississippi who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $66,243 four years after completing a degree. That places them at the 69th percentile for earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Against a peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), the university's median stands $633 above. For return, Azimuth places the university at #277 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,446 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,405. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $959.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $257. The program mix leans heavily toward business and health professions, with communication and journalism also well represented, while the highest earnings cluster in engineering and nursing.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $46,508 on the downside to $88,671 on the upside. An estimated 27.7% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At University of Mississippi, the published cost of attendance is $28,660, though most aid recipients pay less. Aid recipients in the lowest income band pay $8,945 on average, while those in the highest band pay $21,313.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,368. Those who borrow and finish hold a median of $20,000 in federal student loans, $76 below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Repaying that median if repaid over ten years requires an estimated payment of $227 a month. Graduates earn about $6,446 more than the model expects for similar students.

The Parent PLUS median, for parents who borrow, is $29,387, a figure separate from student debt.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$7,405
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: -$959
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: +$6,446

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 / University of Mississippi briefing

University of Mississippi acceptance rate & admissions^[1]^[10]^[11]

The University of Mississippi admits 96.6% of applicants, a rate above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 37,621 first-year applicants and 36,635 admitted applicants, with 5,458 enrolling.

SAT: reported composite scores

Admission rate: 96.6%

25th percentile: 990
Median: 1080
75th percentile: 1175

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Mississippi briefing

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

The largest programs at University of Mississippi show a clear split between high-earning professional fields and a large social-science program with more moderate pay. Nursing awards the most degrees, at 327, and its graduates earn $87,701 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #117 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Accounting and Finance are also large, with 262 and 171 degrees awarded, and both post earnings above the university median.

Accounting graduates earn $85,482, ranking #53 nationally. Psychology is the fourth-largest program at 186 degrees awarded, and its median earnings of $49,974 sit well below the other large programs.

Its Azimuth national rank is #200. The highest-earning field, Chemical Engineering, is much smaller at 26 degrees awarded, with graduates earning $107,548 and a national rank of #30.

University of Mississippi has 23 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with 24 fields reporting earnings data. The strongest national ranks sit in communication and public policy, not in the largest departments.

Business is the largest degree family at 23.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 18.8%. The largest single program is Nursing, with 327 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,701 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #117 within its field. The best-paid program is a much smaller one: Chemical Engineering graduates earn $107,548 four years out, from 26 degrees a year.

Radio, Television, and Digital Communication is the highest-ranked program nationally at #4, with 309 degrees awarded and earnings of $69,082.

University of Mississippi awards bachelor's degrees across 24 programs with published four-year earnings data, 23 of which carry an Azimuth national rank. Business is the largest program family, accounting for 23.6% of degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 18.8% and Communication & Journalism at 9.0%.

The largest single programs are Nursing with 327 degrees awarded, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication with 309, and Accounting with 262. Radio, Television, and Digital Communication is the highest-ranked program, earning the top spot in Mississippi within its field.

It has a benchmark ratio of 1.37x against the national median for its field, and graduates earn a median of $69,082 four years after completion. Public Policy Analysis ranks #7 nationally and #1 in Mississippi, with 55 degrees awarded and median earnings of $85,338.

Chemical Engineering is the highest-earning program, with graduates earning a median of $107,548 from a smaller cohort of 26 degrees awarded. Nursing, the largest program, reports median earnings of $87,701 and ranks #2 in Mississippi.

The strongest national ranks appear in Radio, Television, and Digital Communication and Public Policy Analysis, while the highest raw earnings come from a small engineering program. 11.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings for fields where graduate study is common may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 327 degrees awarded: $87,701
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication 309 degrees awarded: $69,082
Accounting and Related Services 262 degrees awarded: $85,482
Psychology, General 186 degrees awarded: $49,974
Finance and Financial Management Services 171 degrees awarded: $80,488
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 170 degrees awarded: $42,535

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 / University of Mississippi briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Mississippi?^[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 University of Mississippi.

Admissions peerUniversity of Southern Mississippi99.1% admitted

Comparison with University of Mississippi
Measure	University of Mississippi	University of Southern Mississippi
Peer earnings · 4 years	$66,243	$48,593-$17,650 vs University of Mississippi
Average annual net price	$13,314	$21,708+$8,394 vs University of Mississippi · higher cost
Admission rate	96.6%	99.1%

Explore University of Southern Mississippi →

Nearby alternativeMississippi State UniversityNearby option · MS

Comparison with University of Mississippi
Measure	University of Mississippi	Mississippi State University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$66,243	$59,311-$6,932 vs University of Mississippi
Average annual net price	$13,314	$17,595+$4,281 vs University of Mississippi · higher cost
Admission rate	96.6%	77.6%

Explore Mississippi State University →

Higher-earnings alternativeWashington State University$73,467 earnings

Comparison with University of Mississippi
Measure	University of Mississippi	Washington State University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$66,243	$73,467+$7,224 vs University of Mississippi
Average annual net price	$13,314	$14,971+$1,657 vs University of Mississippi · higher cost
Admission rate	96.6%	86.6%

Explore Washington State University →

Lower-cost alternativeChristian Brothers University$9,854 average net price

Comparison with University of Mississippi
Measure	University of Mississippi	Christian Brothers University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$66,243	$68,058+$1,815 vs University of Mississippi
Average annual net price	$13,314	$9,854-$3,460 vs University of Mississippi · lower cost
Admission rate	96.6%	86.7%

Similar profileVirginia Commonwealth UniversityMatched across several measures

Comparison with University of Mississippi
Measure	University of Mississippi	Virginia Commonwealth University
Peer earnings · 4 years	$66,243	$64,703-$1,540 vs University of Mississippi
Average annual net price	$13,314	$23,433+$10,119 vs University of Mississippi · higher cost
Admission rate	96.6%	92.6%

Explore Virginia Commonwealth 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 September 27, 2026Governed hub narrative September 28, 2026Governed spoke corpus September 28, 2026

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.

Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
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
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
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
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