Hattiesburg, MS · Public · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.

How to pay for University of Southern Mississippi

What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.

Paying for four years here

Household income
Saved for college

Four years here, after grants

$92,852

A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,900.

A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.

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A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓

A year at University of Southern Mississippi

Full price, in state$24,248
Full price, out of state$26,248
After grants, at your income$22,100

At this income, 7 of Mississippi's other 7 colleges cost less after grants, and 0 cost more. See them all →

What can bring it down

Merit scholarships. $1,500 to $10,000 a year, up to full tuition, from a 3.0 GPA.

Pay less for college

A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.

At University of Southern Mississippi, our scenarios for Mississippi households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,900 over four years. How we worked this out ↓

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Merit scholarships

What University of Southern Mississippi says it awards for grades and test scores.

  • $1,500 to $10,000 a year, up to full tuition, from a 3.0 GPA

    GPA 3.0 or higher, and SAT 1420 or ACT 32$4,500 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.0 or higher, and SAT 1360 or ACT 30$3,000 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.0 or higher, and SAT 1230 or ACT 26$2,500 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.0 or higher, and SAT 1130 or ACT 23$1,500 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1420 or ACT 32Full tuitionAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1390 or ACT 31$10,000 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1360 or ACT 30$9,000 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1330 or ACT 29$7,000 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1260 or ACT 27$6,000 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1200 or ACT 25$5,250 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1130 or ACT 23$4,500 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1100 or ACT 22$3,000 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1060 or ACT 21$2,500 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship
    GPA 3.25 or higher, and SAT 1030 or ACT 20$1,500 a yearAcademic Excellence Scholarship

    To keep it, your student needs a 2.5 GPA in college. Your student must also take 15 credit hours each fall and spring to keep it.

    Source

Enter your student's GPA in our college comparison to see this scholarship beside your family's price.

How we worked these out

The family

A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what University of Southern Mississippi reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.

What a SmartTuition plan saves

The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit. For a family that lives in Mississippi, it also counts Mississippi's tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan.

The $6,900 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in University of Southern Mississippi's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Mississippi, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price University of Southern Mississippi at the aid it reports for that income.

Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.

The prices by income

  • They describe students who got aid.
  • “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
  • Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.

Where the prices come from

Where the prices come from: University of Southern Mississippi's own 2027-28 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% a year. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.

University of Southern Mississippi's own budget for 2027-28 is $28,140 in state and $30,140 out of state. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.

SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by University of Southern Mississippi. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.

Nearby at your income

What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Mississippi college →