At Mississippi State University, they believe in getting personal. Their university provides the academic, leadership, and social opportunities to help each person excel. Your success—in whatever field of study or career goal—is their success. They take that mission seriously. Here, faculty, staff and students share a common goal: to make the Mississippi State University experience a lifetime opportunity.
University History
Mississippi State University forms a cohesive higher education-municipal community with Starkville, a growing agricultural-commercial-industrial city of nearly 24,000. Located in the eastern part of north-central Mississippi, MSU is 125 miles northeast of Jackson and 23 miles west of Columbus. It is served by U.S. and state highways 82,12 and 25, along with feeder air service through the Golden Triangle Regional Airport 14 miles to the east.
The communities enjoy many intellectual, cultural and recreational advantages. Among them are the MSU-Starkville Civic Symphony and Chorus; Starkville Community Theater; University Lyceum series, continuing intercollegiate athletic events in modern facilities, and varied recreational opportunities on playing fields and courts in neighboring forests, fields and lakes, and along the nearby Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
University Today
Mississippi State University in the 21st century comprises the following academic units: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including the School of Human Sciences; College of Architecture, Art and Design; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Business, including the Adkerson School of Accountancy; College of Education; Bagley College of Engineering, including the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering; College of Forest Resources; Office of the Graduate School, and College of Veterinary Medicine.
The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station operates 16 branch stations throughout the state to conducts research in a variety of areas and assists in the university's teaching and service functions.
Finally, the Mississippi State University Extension Service offers programs and services to state residents through campus and county offices and personnel.
Supporting the academic and educational programs of the total university are the Mitchell Memorial Library and it branches.
Within the institutional framework, several units perform specialized teaching, research or service activities. Among these are the Center for Distance Education, Shackouls Honors College, Advanced Research Projects Laboratory, Center for Safety and Health, Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology, Electron Microscope Center, Portera High Performance Computing Center, Institute for Digital Biology, Institute for Neurocognitive Science and Technology, Franklin Furniture Institute, Forest and Wildlife Research Center, Sustainable Energy Research Center, Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory, Research and Curriculum Unit, Center for Education and Training Technology, GeoResources Institute, Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, Social Science Research Center, Carl Small Town Center, Design Research and Informatics Laboratory, Educational Design Institute, Jackson Community Design Center, Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, Biological and Physical Sciences Resources Institute, Center for Computational Sciences, Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Institute for the Humanities, John C. Stennis Institute of Government, Center for Educational Partnerships, Early Childhood Institute, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision, Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute, Martin Center for Technology and Disability, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Center for Computer Security Research, Center for DoD Programming Environment and Training, Computational Simulation and Design Center, Institute for Clean Energy Technology, High Voltage Laboratory, and Raspet Flight Laboratory.
Mississippi State University also operates an off-campus, degree-granting center in Meridian where both undergraduate and graduate programs are offered, as well as a program center at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County. In cooperation with the U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, the engineering college offers a master of science degree in Vicksburg.
The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning has designated Mississippi State as a comprehensive, doctoral degree-granting institution. This designation, in concert with its original land-grant mission, make the university a major contributor to the state’s educational system. For more than a century, Mississippi has benefited greatly from the university and its graduates, most of whom have remained in the state and aided in its economic, social, and educational development.
Through membership in such organizations as the Southern Regional Education Board, American Council on Education and National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, Mississippi State is recognized for educational and technological contributions to the national and international communities.
Today, the commitment of faculty, administrators and staff personnel is to continue the high quality of teaching, research and service to Mississippi.
