by our College Data Analytics TeamMissouri Southern State University is a public institution in Joplin, Missouri enrolling 3,019 undergraduates. It accepts 97% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 42%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,672 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 32%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Missouri Southern State University ranks #1,672 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 32%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Missouri Southern State University was awarded 244 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Missouri Southern is ranked #1,672 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
Missouri Southern also holds the #40 spot on the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
See all of the rankings for Missouri Southern State University.
With an acceptance rate of 97%, Missouri Southern State University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 4% of students accepted to Missouri Southern submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 540 and 690. Math scores were between 610 and 730.
Missouri Southern received ACT scores from 71% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 17 and 24.
Learn more about Missouri Southern State University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 15 to 1, Missouri Southern State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Missouri Southern State University is 53%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At Missouri Southern State University this rate is 63%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Missouri Southern the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 42%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Missouri Southern State University.
In the current academic year, there are 3,019 undergraduates at Missouri Southern.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Missouri Southern State University.
The typical net cost at Missouri Southern is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,759 | $10,132 | $11,233 | $14,578 | $15,083 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Missouri Southern, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Missouri Southern, approximately 33% of students took out student loans averaging $6,075 a year. That adds up to $24,300 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 13.9%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Missouri Southern State University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State University make about $42,620 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 13% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at Missouri Southern State University make the most money.
Missouri Southern State University is an public institution located in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Missouri Southern State University.
Get in touch with Missouri Southern State University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin, MO 64801-1595 |
| Phone: | 8668186778 |
| Website: | www.mssu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Southern_State_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/mssulions?ref=ts |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/mosolions |
In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from Missouri Southern State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 1,112 | NA |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 145 | $31,903 |
| Business & Commerce | 144 | $38,297 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 116 | $30,300 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 62 | $29,462 |
| General Biology | 59 | $26,859 |
| Health Sciences & Services | 57 | NA |
| Allied Health Professions | 54 | NA |
| General Psychology | 35 | $29,594 |
| Health & Physical Education | 34 | $31,440 |
2,419 students took at least one online class at Missouri Southern State University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Missouri Southern State University.
Curious how schools stack up against Missouri Southern? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.