2020-21 Academic Catalog

Campuses

This is an archived copy of the 2020-21 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.msstate.edu.

Starkville Campus

The main campus of Mississippi State University adjoins the city of Starkville, 25 miles west of Columbus and 120 miles northeast of Jackson. Highways 82, 12, and 25 provide easy access to the University. Air service is available through the Golden Triangle Regional Airport located between Starkville and Columbus. The University has its own postal designation and zip code: Mississippi State, MS 39762. The Starkville zip code is 39759.

Meridian Campus

Mississippi State University-Meridian is a regional, upper-division, degree-granting campus of Mississippi State University (MSU).  Located in east-central Mississippi, the campus is non-residential and provides site-based credit and non-credit coursework.  Courses are taught by highly qualified faculty, who are experts in their fields.  Junior, senior, and graduate-level courses offered at MSU-Meridian enable students to fulfill all or some requirements for bachelor’s, master’s, specialist’s, and doctoral degrees.  Students may also elect to enroll in specific classes for professional or personal growth.

A friendly atmosphere providing personal attention through small classes, a convenient location, and a diverse student population flavor the educational experience at MSU-Meridian. Through the flexibility of day and evening classes at the MSU-Meridian Campus, both non-traditional adult students and traditional college-age students are able to continue employment, maintain important roles in family life, contribute to their communities, and still obtain a quality Mississippi State University education.

MSU-Meridian serves as a proud representative of the University’s heritage as “The People’s University” and of its commitment of providing quality higher education through the mission of teaching, research, and service.

Location

Mississippi State University-Meridian is comprised of two campuses.  The College Park Campus is located on 26 acres at 1000 Highway 19 North in Meridian, a short drive northwest of Exit 150 off Interstates 20/59.  The Riley Campus is located in the heart of Meridian’s downtown area, off 22nd Avenue and 5th Street, where the Division of Business is housed in the Deen building and the Kinesiology program is housed in the Rosenbaum building.  The Riley Campus is also home to the Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts.

Teleclassrooms

Interactive “video conference classrooms” allow students on the Meridian and Starkville campuses to receive instruction and interact through two-way video and audio distance technologies.  This greatly improves MSU-Meridian’s ability to expand the scope of its service and still maintain courses of the highest quality.  The development of web-based (direct-to-desktop) delivery systems is also being utilized to facilitate the delivery of asynchronous and synchronous real time audio and video through computer-based technologies and the internet.

Library Facilities

The MSU University Libraries, with the Phil Hardin Foundation Library on the College Park Campus and the Riley Campus, support  the teaching, research, and service needs of the MSU-Meridian Campus community. Meridian Campus faculty, students, and staff have full access to all the electronic collections offered by the University Libraries, including scholarly journals, government documents, books, newspapers, and reference materials. Physical items located on the Starkville Campus are accessible through Interlibrary Loan and the Library Express document delivery service at no charge to the MSU-Meridian community.  An “Electronic Library Room” is available so that individuals at MSU-Meridian may access these online resources and services, including online workshops and podcasts.  

Students

Approximately one-half of the MSU-Meridian students reside in Lauderdale County. The remainder commute from Alabama and from 32 surrounding Mississippi counties, including Clarke, Jasper, Jones, Kemper, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott, and Wayne.  

Degrees

For graduate degrees (all or in part) offered at MSU-Meridian, please refer to the section titled Degrees and Majors Offered.

Online Education

Dr. Susan D. Seal, Executive Director
301 Memorial Hall
PO Box 5247
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Telephone: 662-325-3473
http://online.msstate.edu

Mississippi State University offers a variety of online graduate courses and academic programs for online students. For a list of academic programs offered online, please refer to the section titled Degrees and Majors Offered, where a table lists all graduate programs and indicates the campus (Starkville, Meridian, or Distance) at which each is offered.

The University's Center for Distance Education (CDE) is a service unit that provides working and place-bound individuals with an alternative to traditional on-campus programs and courses and is dedicated to fostering the success of online students. The website for the Center for Distance Education provides detailed information for prospective and current online students as well as services that are unique to their needs, such as an online orientation, technical assistance, online tutoring, and information about online exam proctoring. 

CDE is also committed to working with faculty and staff to research, develop, and market online education programs and to recruit students to those programs. CDE also specializes in quality student and departmental support for any online needs. All online courses and programs offered through Mississippi State University are fully accredited and possess the same rigor and standards as courses and programs offered at the main campus.

Students enrolled in graduate programs offered online and requiring a thesis or dissertation must meet established research requirements as stated in the Mississippi State University Graduate Catalog. Should the student request, or be required, to conduct research at an off-site research facility, appropriate certification must be completed prior to beginning the research process. Details can be found in the Distance Certification subsection of the Academic Requirements section of this catalog.