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University of Southern Mississippi Comprehensive Profile

342 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
99% Acceptance Rate

This overview covers the essential stats on University of Southern Mississippi, including its rankings, majors, diversity, and more.

Want to know more about a specific stat? Just click on its tile, and you’ll go to a page that goes more in-depth on that subject. You can also use the links below to go directly to any section on this page.

* Rankings

How Well Is University of Southern Mississippi Ranked?

#1,148 Best Colleges in Nation
#3 Best Colleges in MS
University of Southern Mississippi ranking badge

2026 College Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

University of Southern Mississippi was awarded 342 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Quality

College Factual ranked Southern Miss as #1,148 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list.

Southern Miss is also ranked #3 on the Best Colleges in Mississippi list.

See all of the rankings for University of Southern Mississippi.

How Difficult Is Admission to University of Southern Mississippi?

99% Acceptance Rate
99% Of Accepted Are Women

Admission Selectivity

With an acceptance rate of 99%, University of Southern Mississippi 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.

SAT and ACT Scores

Southern Miss received ACT scores from 99% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 20 and 29.

ACT Composite Scores for University of Southern Mississippi  ( 20 to 29 )
1
36

Learn more about University of Southern Mississippi admissions.

Instructors at University of Southern Mississippi

18 to 1 Student to Faculty
100% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at University of Southern Mississippi is about average at 18 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at University of Southern Mississippi is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  100 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at University of Southern Mississippi

70% Freshmen Retention
51% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at University of Southern Mississippi is 70%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  70 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Southern Miss the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 51%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  51 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of Southern Mississippi.

Diversity Profile of University of Southern Mississippi

9,899 Undergraduate Students
37.6% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
63.1% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 9,899 undergraduates at Southern Miss.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of Southern Mississippi.

What Does University of Southern Mississippi Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
48% Take Out Loans
$26,696 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at Southern Miss is $16,772. 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.### Net Price by Income Group for Southern Miss

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$12,798 $11,574 $16,248 $18,212 $19,561

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 Southern Miss, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Borrowing and Loans

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 Southern Miss, approximately 48% of students took out student loans averaging $6,674 a year. That adds up to $26,696 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 8.8%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for University of Southern Mississippi.

How Much Money Do U of Southern Mississippi Graduates Make?

$44,140 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $44,140 in their early years. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.

See which majors at University of Southern Mississippi make the most money.

Location of University of Southern Mississippi

Mississippi State
9,899 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

University of Southern Mississippi is a public institution found in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of University of Southern Mississippi.

Location of University of Southern Mississippi

Get in touch with University of Southern Mississippi are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 118 College Drive # 0001, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Phone: 6012661000
Website: www.usm.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/usm.edu
Twitter: twitter.com/southernmiss

University of Southern Mississippi Majors

28 Majors With Completions
7,974 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 28 majors graduated from University of Southern Mississippi. 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 3,987 NA
Business Administration & Management 350 $43,113
Health & Physical Education 235 $25,638
Nursing 228 $77,225
Library & Information Science 205 NA
General Psychology 201 $29,384
Teacher Education Grade Specific 189 $33,313
Liberal Arts General Studies 153 $24,511
Social Work 143 $33,017
Educational Administration 126 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at University of Southern Mississippi along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at Southern Miss

78% Take At Least One Class Online
26% Take All Classes Online

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

7,690 students took at least one online class at University of Southern Mississippi.

Learn more about online learning at University of Southern Mississippi.

Data Sources and References

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

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