---
title: University of Southern Mississippi — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Hattiesburg, MS
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# University of Southern Mississippi

Hattiesburg, MS · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $44,140 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $28,070 – $66,054 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,250 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 49% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $26,566 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 68% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.32× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $16,140 | derived |

**49% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $14,250 (≈ 32% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $20,801 to $157,573 across 32 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $157,573 | $143,995 |
| Psychology, General. | Doctoral Degree | $76,825 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,957 | $24,327 |
| Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,555 | $22,875 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $52,332 | $20,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $51,726 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,563 | not reported |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $46,917 | $24,180 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,129 | not reported |
| Data Processing. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,705 | $22,500 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,213 | $20,000 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $38,130 | $33,632 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,779 | $18,425 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,313 | $21,924 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,050 | $19,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,630 | $20,183 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,483 | not reported |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,091 | $24,990 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,840 | not reported |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,919 | $21,172 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,722 | $27,518 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,418 | $25,575 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,793 | $25,411 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,534 | $27,000 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,614 | $25,125 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,652 | not reported |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,638 | $22,506 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,247 | $20,500 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,511 | $25,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,817 | $20,548 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,898 | $29,677 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,801 | $18,267 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore University of Southern Mississippi by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?176372

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/university-of-southern-mississippi-ms.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`