| Location: | Southeast |
| Setting: | Mid-size City Setting |
| Type: | Public |
| Size: | Large (5,000 to 10,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Tigers |
Jackson State University (also known as Jackson State or JSU) is a historically black university located in Jackson, Mississippi founded in 1877. Jackson State University has been especially noted for its successful business and computer science departments, being among the highest ranked in the United States. Jackson State is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and its current president is Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr.
Jackson State University began on October 23, 1877. The university started as Natchez Seminary, a private school, under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, for the purpose of educating Mississippi’s newly freed and underprivileged blacks. Beginning with only twenty students, the school operated for sixty-three years as a private church school. In November of 1882, the Society moved the school to Jackson, to the site where Millsaps College now stands. A part of this transition was the renaming of the school to Jackson College in recognition of the institution’s new, central location in the City of Jackson. Natchez Seminary soon relocated from its site in north Jackson to a tract of land in the southwest section of the city. Construction on the new site began in 1902 and the university remains on this site today.
In 1924, the first bachelor’s degree was awarded. During this period, the major educational activities were directed toward teacher education for in-service teachers. When the American Baptist Home Mission Society withdrew its support from the institution in 1934, it became apparent that state support was needed to sustain the school. The school was transferred from the private control of the church to the state education system and renamed Jackson State College.
Initially, the school had been specifically designated by the state to train rural and elementary teachers. In 1942, the Board of Trustees expanded the curriculum to a full four-year teacher education program, culminating in the Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. The first four-year graduating class under state support received their degrees in May 1944. A Division of Graduate Studies was organized during the Summer of 1953 and the program of Liberal Arts started in the fall of that year.
|
Full-Time vs. Part-Time
|
Men vs. Women
|
||||
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
|
In State vs. Out-of-State
|
Top States for Incoming Freshman
|
| Percent of Students International: | 2% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 33% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Basketball (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Baseball (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Track (Southwestern Athletic Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | In-State | Out-of-State | |
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 3,964 | $ 8,872 | |
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 20 | $ 20 | |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,561 | 43% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 555 | 9% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 2,997 | 5% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,115 | 77% | |
Any Aid: |
99% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 48% (Highly Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 96% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 16, Verbal: 15, Math: 15 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 20, Verbal: 20, Math: 18 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Not Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
