Mississippi State University

Mississippi State, MS · Public · 18,397 undergrads (large, town) · website ↗

Test-optional
$40 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	$14,332
$30,000 – $48,000	$14,372
$48,000 – $75,000	$18,671
$75,000 – $110,000	$20,704
Over $110,000	$22,987
All incomes (average)	$17,595

Sticker tuition and fees: $10,202 in-state, $27,637 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Mississippi State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

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	$13,514
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$13,870
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$6,667
Other expenses, off campus	$6,667

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (3,367 of them) in 2022–23; 97% 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	96%	$13,532
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	30%	$5,475
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	93%	$11,086
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	44%	$5,377

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: 78%
Average SAT: 1219
Median ACT: 26
Students with Pell grants: 29%
Graduation rate (6yr): 67%
Freshman retention: 83%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $51,513
Median debt at graduation: $22,142
International undergrads: 230 (1.3%)

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: $40
Students per faculty member: 16 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 83%
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: 560–670
SAT Math: 540–680
ACT composite: 21–29

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: 20,877
Admitted: 15,934
Enrolled: 3,751

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.

Business19%

Engineering18%

Education7%

Psychology7%

Agriculture6%

Kinesiology & Sports Science6%

Biology & Life Sciences5%

Architecture3%

Social Sciences3%

Environmental Studies3%

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 (57)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	435	$46,362	$55,993national $68,257	$19,500
Psychology, General	266	$27,991	$41,986national $50,706	$22,097
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	257	$40,856	$40,431national $47,382	$19,688
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	243	$34,166	$50,503national $54,562	$21,500
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	233	$36,008	$42,399national $55,693	$21,500
Marketing	177	$50,680	$61,364national $69,303	$20,875
Mechanical Engineering	176	$76,930	$93,893national $92,135	$18,750
Communication and Media Studies	134	$35,600	$48,493national $56,359	$23,035
Biology, General	119	$26,160	$51,221national $57,214	$21,500
Accounting and Related Services	110	$48,316	$70,904national $76,194	$17,665
Civil Engineering	105	$65,781	$81,203national $86,517	$21,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	104	$53,927	$70,367national $83,343	$20,250
Computer and Information Sciences, General	103	$65,393	$82,852national $92,374	$20,500
Animal Sciences	102	$35,740	$52,755national $49,634	$23,531
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	92	$49,043	—national $50,532	$22,000
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	85	$81,976	$106,039national $100,647	$22,500
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	81	$66,172	$79,068national $80,890	$22,500
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	79	$51,776	$62,082national $60,190	$22,979
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	71	$35,421	$44,979national $65,466	$21,693
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	64	$72,167	$88,444national $98,207	$21,500
Industrial Engineering	64	$70,572	$92,332national $98,442	$21,750
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	64	$38,108	$41,446national $53,072	$23,273
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management	53	$30,806	$45,445national $45,338	$20,719
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	53	$64,138	$74,542national $93,451	$21,250
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	53	$32,253	$50,176national $50,523	$25,125
Political Science and Government	50	$32,023	$54,325national $63,293	$26,500
Chemical Engineering	49	$81,884	$95,968national $98,158	$21,500
Criminology	49	$30,704	$48,805national $55,556	$21,640
Engineering, Other	46	$66,007	$91,124national $93,989	$20,500
Visual and Performing Arts, General	46	$32,497	$38,939national $41,688	$27,000
Management Information Systems and Services	46	$54,426	$74,780national $83,290	$22,500
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	45	$35,997	$41,439national $48,568	$20,503
Plant Sciences	43	$42,984	$50,653national $56,567	$19,688
History	41	$24,975	$36,614national $50,680	$23,250
Agricultural Business and Management	39	$47,637	$78,998national $66,647	$20,500
Architecture	37	$58,190	$69,699national $66,914	$30,737
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	36	—	—national $62,582	$21,658
Food Science and Technology	31	—	$39,940national $70,873	$19,500
Forestry	31	$50,109	$58,499national $58,784	$15,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	31	$42,393	$49,541national $51,389	$21,443
Apparel and Textiles	31	$40,646	$46,129national $57,640	$21,000
Interior Architecture	30	$49,575	$61,421national $60,369	$26,820
Mathematics	30	—	$69,787national $69,562	$25,250
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	28	$55,074	—national $49,984	$26,958
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	27	—	—national $55,012	$20,500
Social Work	25	$34,980	$37,656national $51,790	$25,000
English Language and Literature, General	23	—	$35,877national $48,590	$24,500
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	22	$33,438	$36,617national $44,115	$21,000
Computer Engineering	22	$72,203	$85,275national $109,015	$22,950
Special Education and Teaching	21	$42,712	$41,627national $50,499	$22,500
Anthropology	21	—	—national $46,676	$27,000
Agricultural Production Operations	19	$54,023	$69,160national $53,588	$20,375
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	18	—	—national $58,494	$21,500
Educational/Instructional Media Design	15	$46,439	—national $55,308	$26,410
Sociology	9	—	—national $52,657	$26,921
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	0	—	—national $48,460	$27,250
Construction Management	—	$74,803	$94,068national $95,124	$26,292

Master's degrees (17)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	250	$71,214	$128,049national $103,485	$28,598
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	118	$45,141	$46,167national $59,916	$39,004
Educational Administration and Supervision	76	$45,522	$57,090national $71,685	$33,751
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	68	$64,334	$86,410national $79,463	$30,750
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	44	$44,629	$58,226national $60,111	$41,000
Accounting and Related Services	44	$63,154	$90,234national $95,833	$20,500
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	38	—	—national $65,184	$41,000
Special Education and Teaching	25	$44,316	—national $64,397	$39,048
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	25	$54,047	—national $63,707	$30,750
Nutrition Sciences	22	—	$57,622national $67,126	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	20	—	—national $127,347	$141,130
Civil Engineering	18	—	$110,821national $98,323	—
Biology, General	18	—	—national $69,830	$20,468
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	15	—	$51,427national $62,033	—
Public Administration	11	$42,162	—national $81,408	—
Taxation	5	—	$85,149national $114,810	—
Education, General	—	$56,551	—national $65,824	$61,497

First professional degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Veterinary Medicine	95	$118,224	$137,892national $131,316	$162,000

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	14	—	$79,635national $100,573	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 111 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: Lee Boulevard, Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: (662) 325-2323
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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