Career outcomes brief

University of Southern Mississippi Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

How much do University of Southern Mississippi graduates earn?

The reported median is $48,593 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is -$17,017 per year.

Return is the weakest at University of Southern Mississippi, in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion sit at $48,593, in the 15th percentile, which is $17,017 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $1,807 less than expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 48th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,538. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,345.

Earnings vary substantially by program mix: the downside scenario is $37,087 and the upside scenario is $71,055. These are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians graduates earn $89,904 four years after completion, from 51 degrees awarded. Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians follows at $82,848, with 98 degrees awarded.

An estimated 28.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, those continuing their education are outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $48,593
Rank for difference from expectations: 48th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

University of Southern Mississippi reported median: $48,593
Peer schools comparable schools · $17,017 above University of Southern Mississippi: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $1,807 above University of Southern Mississippi: $50,400

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $37,087
Median · reported: $48,593
Higher estimate: $71,055

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do University of Southern Mississippi graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

University of Southern Mississippi graduates’ reported earnings are $1,807 below that expectation, the 48th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending University of Southern Mississippi caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at University of Southern Mississippi report the highest earnings?

The highest-earning programs at University of Southern Mississippi are concentrated in technical fields, but the largest programs earn more moderately. Nursing is the exception: it awards 149 degrees a year and posts a median of $72,411 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #298 nationally within its field. Psychology is another large program, with 146 degrees awarded and median earnings of $37,925.

Azimuth ranks it #337 nationally within its field. Liberal Arts and General Studies awards 161 degrees and reports median earnings of $44,963.

Azimuth ranks it #157 nationally within its field, and it is the top-ranked program in Mississippi for that field.

Business accounts for 16.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 12.0%. The university has 19 nationally ranked programs, and earnings data is available for 42 fields.

Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians holds the strongest national rank at #2, and it is also ranked #1 in Mississippi. It awarded 98 degrees and its completers earned a median of $82,848 four years after completion.

Nursing is the highest-earning large program, with 149 degrees awarded and median earnings of $72,411. Azimuth ranks it #298 within its field.

Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians is another ranked program, awarding 51 degrees and showing median earnings of $89,904; it ranks #6 nationally.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians: $89,904
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians: $82,848
Computer and Information Sciences, General: $81,740
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing: $72,411
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other: $70,328
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences: $66,142
Accounting and Related Services: $65,861
Chemistry: $63,856

Explore University of Southern Mississippi program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $37,087 to a typical outcome of $48,593 and an upside of $71,055. The spread reflects variation by field.

Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians reaches $89,904 four years after completion, while Psychology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, stands at $37,925.

Federally aided graduates from University of Southern Mississippi who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $48,593 four years after completion, measured among a cohort of 2,856 completers. That median sits at the 15th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That is $17,017 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $1,807 less than the model expects for similar students.

It is the gap between actual earnings and the model's expectation for similar students. Estimated from the program mix, the earnings scenarios run from $37,087 on the downside to $71,055 on the upside, with $48,593 as the typical outcome.

An estimated 28.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

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

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

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.