Jackson State University

Jackson, MS · Public · 4,600 undergrads (small, city) · website ↗

HBCU
94% Black undergrads
Test-optional
$25 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$22,869
$30,000 – $48,000	$22,516
$48,000 – $75,000	$26,236
$75,000 – $110,000	$26,388
Over $110,000	$27,576
All incomes (average)	$23,836

Sticker tuition and fees: $8,965 in-state, $11,965 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$12,004
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,004
Books and supplies	$1,400
Other expenses, on campus	$11,051
Other expenses, off campus	$11,051

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,068 of them) in 2022–23; 98% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	92%	$8,133
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	77%	$6,626
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	71%	$2,483
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	84%	$5,756

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 93%
Average SAT: 965
Median ACT: 18
Students with Pell grants: 72%
Graduation rate (6yr): 51%
Freshman retention: 62%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $39,060
Median debt at graduation: $30,470
International undergrads: 59 (1.2%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $25
Students per faculty member: 14 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 60%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 430–550
SAT Math: 390–520
ACT composite: 15–20

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 14,141
Admitted: 12,873
Enrolled: 978

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business16%

Education14%

Health & Nursing10%

Biology & Life Sciences8%

Criminal Justice7%

Engineering6%

Social Sciences4%

Communications & Media4%

Psychology3%

Computer Science3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (23)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Criminal Justice and Corrections	75	$38,219	$46,799national $55,378	$27,750
Biology, General	73	$32,598	$38,027national $57,214	$26,000
Social Work	66	$35,187	$41,566national $51,790	$24,625
Education, Other	55	$34,914	$36,481national $49,113	$33,500
Business Administration, Management and Operations	51	$41,500	$50,246national $68,257	$26,625
Health and Medical Administrative Services	49	$36,171	$45,308national $58,716	$29,000
Psychology, General	41	$33,537	$44,881national $50,706	$22,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	37	$43,462	$40,365national $51,389	$25,125
Communication and Media Studies	34	$35,480	$46,472national $56,359	$26,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	27	$43,563	$56,747national $47,382	$27,920
Accounting and Related Services	26	$47,861	$59,996national $76,194	$24,125
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	22	$30,364	—national $58,928	$22,584
Political Science and Government	19	$34,208	—national $63,293	$25,000
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	16	$45,985	$42,260national $53,072	$28,310
Marketing	16	—	—national $69,303	$25,500
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	15	$42,103	$52,107national $80,890	$30,901
Civil Engineering	13	$58,578	$78,824national $86,517	$25,425
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	11	—	$45,707national $61,027	—
Visual and Performing Arts, General	10	$28,572	$33,213national $41,688	—
Computer Engineering	7	$49,408	$89,702national $109,015	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	6	—	$37,959national $83,343	—
Computer Science	—	$77,117	$90,577national $107,009	$25,000
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	—	$41,269	$49,299national $50,532	$27,844

Master's degrees (8)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	115	$45,337	$46,522national $59,916	$47,217
Business Administration, Management and Operations	53	$62,963	$76,656national $103,485	$23,504
Social Work	46	$43,858	$48,920national $65,123	$41,000
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	17	$45,261	$58,096national $60,111	$71,977
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	17	—	$49,499national $63,707	—
Accounting and Related Services	15	—	$59,254national $95,833	—
Public Health	14	$50,771	$57,970national $82,751	$51,250
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	9	$53,618	$60,039national $67,030	—

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	16	$75,405	$70,684national $100,573	—

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Education, General	92	$53,179	$51,856national $69,448	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 58 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1400 John R. Lynch Street, Jackson, MS 39217
Phone: (601) 979-2121
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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