Mississippi Colleges & Universities

Blue Mountain, MS (Union County; north Mississippi; near New Albany) — Private Baptist liberal arts university, est. 1873; home of the Toppers; one of the oldest colleges in Mississippi; the first institution in Mississippi chartered exclusively for the education of women (now co-educational); affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention; located in the small community of Blue Mountain in the hill country of northern Mississippi; strong education, music, and nursing programs; a small but historically significant institution in the educational history of north Mississippi

Cleveland, MS (Bolivar County; Mississippi Delta) — Public university, est. 1924; home of the Statesmen; Gulf South Conference (NCAA Division II) member; alma mater of Lusia Harris-Stewart (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 2021; led DSU to three consecutive AIAW national championships 1975-1977; the only woman ever officially drafted by an NBA team); Delta State women's basketball under coach Margaret Wade was the dominant program in women's college basketball during the 1970s; located in the Mississippi Delta in Cleveland, one of the most historically rich regions in American culture and music; strong education and business programs

Clinton, MS (Hinds County; Jackson metropolitan area) — Private Baptist university, est. 1826; home of the Choctaws; the oldest institution of higher learning in Mississippi, chartered before the state itself; affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention; strong law school (Mississippi College School of Law), business, and nursing programs; located in Clinton, a suburb of Jackson in Hinds County; one of the most historically significant private universities in the South, with nearly two centuries of continuous operation and a tradition of producing Mississippi's civic, legal, and business leaders

Columbus, MS (Lowndes County) — Public liberal arts university, est. 1884; home of the Owls; the first state-supported college for women in the United States and one of the first public institutions of higher education for women in the world; "The W," as it is universally known in Mississippi, began admitting men in 1982 but its founding mission and identity as a champion of women's education remains central to its purpose; consistently ranked among the top regional universities in the South; strong nursing, culinary arts, and education programs; located in Columbus, one of the most architecturally historic antebellum cities in Mississippi

Hattiesburg, MS — Public research university, est. 1910; home of the Golden Eagles; Sun Belt Conference member; alma mater of Brett Favre (three-time NFL MVP; Super Bowl XXXI champion), Ray Guy (Pro Football Hall of Fame punter; Oakland Raiders), and multiple NFL draft picks; Southern Miss football produced some of the most important players in NFL history from its program despite competing outside the Power Five; strong programs in polymer science, nursing, and education; located in Hattiesburg, the "Hub City" of south Mississippi

Hattiesburg, MS — Private Baptist university, est. 1906; home of the Crusaders; affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention; strong nursing (one of the largest nursing programs in Mississippi), education, and music programs; named for William Carey, the 18th-century English Baptist missionary considered the father of the modern missionary movement; serves the south Mississippi region from its main campus in Hattiesburg; an important institution for producing nurses, teachers, and health care professionals in the underserved communities of south Mississippi

Holly Springs, MS (Marshall County; north Mississippi) — Private HBCU, est. 1866; home of the Bearcats; one of the oldest HBCUs in Mississippi, founded just one year after the end of the Civil War by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church; one of only four HBCUs in the country founded before 1867; Holly Springs was home to Ida B. Wells — one of the most courageous journalists and anti-lynching activists in American history — who attended and briefly taught at Rust College; strong mass communication, social work, and education programs; a deeply significant institution in the history of Black higher education in the Deep South

Itta Bena, MS (Leflore County; Mississippi Delta; near Greenwood) — Public HBCU, est. 1946; home of the Delta Devils; Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) member; alma mater of Jerry Rice (Pro Football Hall of Fame 2010; the greatest wide receiver in NFL history; discovered and recruited here when almost no other program was watching); the Jerry Rice connection alone makes this university one of the most historically significant small HBCUs in the country; also produced Willie Totten (MVSU QB who threw to Rice and was one of the most prolific passers in college football history); located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta near Greenwood

Jackson, MS — Private Presbyterian liberal arts university, est. 1883; home of the Blazers; affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA); one of Mississippi's most respected private Christian universities; strong arts programs (nationally ranked dance, theater, and music conservatory), nursing, and business; the Belhaven dance program is one of the finest Christian college dance programs in the country; located on a beautiful 42-acre campus in the historic Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson; serves students from across Mississippi and the Deep South through on-campus and online programs across multiple campuses

Jackson, MS — Public HBCU, est. 1877; home of the Tigers; Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) member; one of the most athletically distinguished HBCUs in American history; alma mater of Walter Payton (Pro Football Hall of Fame; greatest running back in NFL history), Jackie Slater (Pro Football Hall of Fame; 20-year LA Rams OT), Lem Barney (Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback; Detroit Lions), Devin Hester (greatest kick returner in NFL history), and Robert Brazile ("Dr. Doom"; Houston Oilers LB; Pro Football Hall of Fame 2018); one of the most remarkable talent pipelines in the history of HBCU athletics; Coach Deion Sanders briefly elevated the program to national prominence in 2020-2021

Jackson, MS — Private liberal arts college, est. 1890; home of the Majors; Southern Athletic Association (Division III) member; affiliated with the United Methodist Church; consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the South; one of the most selective private colleges in Mississippi; strong pre-law, pre-medical, and business programs; named for Major Reuben Webster Millsaps, a Confederate officer and banker who donated the founding gift; a genuinely distinguished small liberal arts institution in the heart of the Mississippi state capital; produces a disproportionate number of Mississippi's lawyers, physicians, and civic leaders relative to its enrollment

Jackson, MS — Private graduate Reformed theological seminary, est. 1966; one of the largest Reformed seminaries in the world with campuses in multiple U.S. cities; the flagship campus in Jackson is the original and largest campus; trains ministers, missionaries, and Christian educators in the Reformed and Presbyterian theological tradition; an internationally recognized center of Reformed theological education; while not primarily a sports institution, RTS Jackson is a significant educational presence in the state capital that draws graduate students from across the United States and internationally

Jackson, MS — Private graduate Wesleyan-Arminian seminary, est. 1974; affiliated with the Wesleyan tradition of Methodist Christianity; one of the significant graduate theological institutions in the state capital; trains ministers and Christian workers in the Wesleyan theological tradition; serves students from the United Methodist, Free Methodist, Wesleyan, and related church traditions across the Southeast; a smaller but significant institution in the graduate educational landscape of Jackson, Mississippi

Lorman, MS (Jefferson County; near Natchez) — Public HBCU, est. 1871; home of the Braves; Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) member; the oldest state-supported HBCU in Mississippi; alma mater of Steve McNair (Pro Football Hall of Fame 2024; Tennessee Titans QB; co-NFL MVP 2003) and Jack Spinks (AFL All-Star linebacker); located on a beautiful 1,700-acre campus in the rolling hills of Jefferson County in southwest Mississippi; one of the most historically significant HBCUs in the Deep South; produced a remarkable number of professional athletes relative to its enrollment; strong nursing, agriculture, and liberal arts programs

Oxford, MS — Public flagship research university, est. 1848; home of the Ole Miss Rebels; SEC member; one of the most beloved and atmospheric college campuses in the South, anchored by "The Grove" — a 10-acre natural bowl in the center of campus where Ole Miss fans tailgate in what Sports Illustrated once called "the best college football atmosphere in America"; alma mater of Archie Manning (two-time Pro Bowl QB; father of Peyton and Eli Manning), Deuce McAllister (New Orleans Saints RB), and multiple NFL first-round picks; strong programs in journalism, law, pharmacy, and liberal arts

Starkville, MS — Public land-grant research university, est. 1878; home of the Bulldogs; SEC member; largest university in Mississippi by enrollment; known as MSU or "The Bulldogs"; Davis Wade Stadium and Dudy Noble Field are among the most celebrated venues in collegiate athletics; MSU baseball has been a perennial national contender, reaching the College World Series multiple times; strong programs in agriculture, engineering, and veterinary medicine; Bell's home of the Cowbells — the most distinctive fan instrument tradition in the SEC; located in the Golden Triangle region of northeast Mississippi near the birthplace of Cool Papa Bell

Tougaloo, MS (Madison County; north of Jackson) — Private HBCU liberal arts college, est. 1869; home of the Bulldogs; one of the most historically significant institutions in the history of Mississippi and the American Civil Rights Movement; founded four years after the end of the Civil War by the American Missionary Association on land purchased from a plantation; students and faculty of Tougaloo College were among the most courageous participants in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, with particular significance in the Woolworth's lunch counter sit-ins in Jackson (1963) and voter registration drives throughout the state; one of the most heroic chapters in the history of any American college