Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 19.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 170 Title IV programs, 59 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 110 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing59 · 34.7%
- No Data110 · 64.7%
- Failing1 · 0.6%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Near the line (±5%)
Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 19
Action history · 29
- Jul 2025Deferral of ActionAmerican Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Clinical Psychology (CLPSY) - PhD Doctoral programs
- Jul 2025Deferral of ActionAmerican Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · School Psychology (SCPSY) - PhD Doctoral programs
- Oct 2024Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Apr 2024Approved for Distance EducationAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics
- Apr 2024Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 5,541 students received $33.0M in Pell grants, alongside $67.5M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 4,140 borrowers who entered repayment, 124 (2.9%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at USM
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 12
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus4
- Non-campus1
Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
USM vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions USM selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectUniversity of Southern Mississippi | 49% | — | 13,170 | $21,708 | R1 Research |
| 67% | 77.6% | 23,150 | $17,595 | R1 Research | |
| 72% | 96.6% | 26,449 | $13,314 | R1 Research | |
| 53% | 87.0% | 15,665 | $13,530 | R1 Research | |
| 64% | 68.6% | 8,564 | $18,796 | R1 Research | |
| 64% | 88.2% | 20,905 | $18,749 | R1 Research | |
| Peer group median | 64% | 87.0% | 18,285 | $18,172 |
Institutions like USM
Explore the federal data for institutions in USM's comparison group.
- R1 ResearchMississippi
Mississippi State University
Grad rate67%Admit rate77.6%Enrollment23,150Net price$17,595View data - R1 ResearchMississippi
University of Mississippi
Grad rate72%Admit rate96.6%Enrollment26,449Net price$13,314View data - R1 ResearchLouisiana
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Grad rate53%Admit rate87.0%Enrollment15,665Net price$13,530View data - R1 ResearchAlabama
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Grad rate64%Admit rate68.6%Enrollment8,564Net price$18,796View data - R1 ResearchAlabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Grad rate64%Admit rate88.2%Enrollment20,905Net price$18,749View data
USM Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The process of assessing the Institution’s academic programs and administrative and support units is supported by the staff in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. IE encourages continuous self-evaluation and improvement and ensures that the University complies with accreditation standards.
Visit IR office page- Mike BuckleyOffice Director
- Kathryn LoweryDirector, Office of Institutional Effectiveness
- Claire B. VillarrealInstitutional Assessment Coordinator
- JB AmackerInstitutional Effectiveness Data Coordinator
Common Data Set
USM's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about University of Southern Mississippi
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about USM.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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