There are three main types of colleges:

Public Universities - Mississippi has eight (8) public universities. All offer bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in a variety of subjects. They range in size from 1,500 to 11,000 undergrads.

Community Colleges - Sometimes called junior or technical colleges, community colleges are schools that offer students two-year associate degrees, certificates, or workforce training. Programs are geared toward either providing specific job training or preparing students to transfer to a 4-year institution. There are 15 community colleges in Mississippi, and many have multiple campuses.

Private Colleges - As the name implies, private colleges are privately funded (not state-funded) schools. In Mississippi, there are 11 private schools. All offer bachelor's degrees and some offer graduate degrees. Private colleges tend to be smaller, but not always.

Alternative Programs:

Distance Learning - Sometimes it's not possible, practical, or desirable to attend college classes in person. Many Mississippi colleges and universities offer distance-learning programs via the Internet, televised classes, CD-ROM or videotape, or mail.
Distance learning options include:

• The Mississippi Virtual Community College allows students to attend classes at any of the state's 15 community colleges - via the Internet.
• Community colleges also offer online workforce training classes through the Mindleaders program.
• The Mississippi Electronic Campus, or MS e-Campus, is a program of Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning that offers searchable listings of accredited distance learning programs offered at the eight public universities.

Academic Common Market:
If you are interested in a field of study that isn't offered at one of Mississippi’s eight public universities, then the Academic Common Market (ACM) may be available to you.  The ACM allows Mississippi residents to attend college in a neighboring state without paying out-of-state tuition, IF the program you enroll in is not offered in Mississippi.

See a list of programs available to Mississippi residents through the ACM: SREB

For information on admission to any of the programs, contact the out-of-state college or university offering the field of study directly.

Once you've been accepted into an ACM college and program, contact the Mississippi Academic Common Market Coordinator Pearl Pennington at 601.432.6482 to request an application packet, or download one here.

Now you know!

After graduation, people often call the college they attended their alma mater. It’s Latin for “nourishing mother,” taken from the motto, “Alma Mater Studiorum,” of the University of Bologna – which just happens to be the world’s oldest continually operating university. Kinda loses something in translation!