Mississippi State University - The Graduate School

Name

Mississippi State University - The Graduate School

Legal name

Mississippi State University - The Graduate School

Website

https://grad.msstate.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1878

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Graduate Education)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAAAF

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Public Research Universities

SECONDARYEDALABAI

Graduate & Professional School Preparation

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Academic Advising, Career Services & Student Success

SECONDARYEDAHALAD

Online Graduate Schools (Master’s & Doctoral Programs)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Distance & Online Universities

SECONDARYEDADAKAD

Enrollment Management & Admissions Administration

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Institutional Governance & Administration (School/College/University Admin)

Keywords

• Graduate education programs
• Master's degree programs
• Doctoral degree programs
• Graduate admissions services
• Research assistantships

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississippi State

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Graduate tuition revenue from degree programs. Students pay tuition based on residency status and program type. Distance education courses incur additional per credit hour charges.
2. Application Fees: $60 non-refundable application fee for domestic applicants per application submitted for processing. International applicants pay $80 application fee.
3. Graduate Assistantships: Financial support for graduate students including research, teaching, and service assistantships. Minimum stipend rate of $600/month. Work schedule must not exceed 20 hours per week. Includes tuition exemption and health insurance subsidy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Graduate School at Mississippi State University administers graduate education across the university, overseeing admissions, funding, degree certification, and student development for master's and doctoral programs in eight colleges. It provides Direct Admit pathways, graduate assistantships and fellowships, cohort programs (McNair, First Generation, Equipping Future Entrepreneurs), and a Summer Research Experience program leveraging high-performance computing. The unit sells admissions and tuition-based enrollment services to prospective graduate students.

Product overview

Mississippi State University - The Graduate School offers a comprehensive portfolio of graduate education services organized as a central administrative unit supporting students across all eight MSU colleges. The core offerings include a graduate programs directory spanning over 100 degree programs, certificates, and concentrations; the Direct Admit Program for streamlined admission to non-thesis master's programs; specialized cohort programs including McNair Scholars, First Generation Graduate Student Series, and the Equipping Future Entrepreneurs (EFE) program; financial support through assistantships and fellowships; and student development programming including orientation, wellness initiatives, and research symposiums. The Summer Research Experience (SRE) program provides interdisciplinary research opportunities in high-performance computing environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Graduate Programs Directory A comprehensive listing of graduate degree programs, majors, concentrations, and certificates offered across all MSU colleges including Architecture, Art & Design, Engineering, Agriculture, Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, Forest Resources, and Veterinary Medicine. Used by prospective graduate students to identify program fit.
• Direct Admit Program Automatic admission pathway for domestic students applying to non-thesis master's degree programs who meet specified criteria including 3.0+ GPA, a bachelor's degree in the major, and three recommendation letters. Enables faster application processing without departmental review.
• McNair Scholars Program Fellowship program providing McNair Scholars with a $2,500 fellowship during their first semester at MSU, along with networking opportunities and cohort community building across disciplines. Part of federal TRIO program preparing underrepresented students for doctoral studies.
• First Generation Graduate Student Series A three-session program with workshops, guest speakers, and panel discussions designed to help first-generation graduate students navigate graduate school, supplemented by networking events to build peer community.
• Equipping Future Entrepreneurs (EFE) Program A five-session interactive program bridging research and entrepreneurship, teaching participants to translate research into marketable products through workshops on patents, licensing, business pitches, and technology commercialization. Includes certificate of completion for attending 4 of 5 sessions.
• Graduate Assistantships Financial support for graduate students including research, teaching, and service assistantships offered on annual or nine-month bases, providing minimum stipend of $600/month with tuition exemption benefits and a $400/year health insurance subsidy. Work schedule must not exceed 20 hours per week.
• Fellowships Graduate fellowship funding opportunities including McNair Scholars fellowships, NSF EPSCoR fellowships, Laura Bassi scholarships, and Fulbright awards for graduate students pursuing master's or doctoral studies.
• Graduate Student Development Programs Various student development initiatives including Graduate School Orientation (e.g., August 12 for Summer/Fall 2026), Wellness Wednesday series, Corn Day celebrations, student retreats, and PhD Hooding Ceremonies.
• Summer Research Experience (SRE) Program A 9-week intensive research program for graduate students focusing on agricultural productivity, environmental ecology, geospatial analysis, AI/ML, epidemiology, genomics, and bioinformatics using high-performance computing environments. PhD students receive $10,000 and MS students receive $9,000 over 35-40 hours/week for 315 total hours.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9 Fulbright recipients in 6 years with placements in Colombia, Finland, UK, South Korea, Taiwan, Netherlands, Germany
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bagley College of EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Bridge Funding program offers year-long assistantships for engineering graduate students (January-December 2024). Focus areas include autonomy, economic development, addressing disparity, and cybersecurity. Requires interdisciplinary collaboration between at least two engineering departments or between engineering and other academic units.
• NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSU geosciences students participate in NOAA oceanographic research expeditions aboard the Okeanos Explorer. The partnership provides hands-on research experience in marine science and geospatial data collection. Support is provided through the Northern Gulf Institute, a NOAA cooperative institute led by MSU.
• NASA Space Technology Mission DirectoratecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA NSTGRO program provides graduate research opportunities for doctoral and master's students. Recipients collaborate with NASA experts, receive funding for tuition/health insurance/stipends, and conduct research with potential end applications of space technology. Over 700 awards made to 110+ universities.
• Fulbright ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerU.S. Student Fulbright program funds graduate/professional study, research, or English teaching abroad. MSU has had 9 recipients in 6 years. Program promotes mutual understanding through exchange of students in education, culture, and science across 160+ countries.
• McNair Scholars ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal TRIO program preparing underrepresented students for doctoral studies. MSU provides $2,500 fellowship to McNair Scholars during first semester. Program connects scholars from across the nation through cohort experiences.
• Archaeological Institute of AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides Elizabeth Bartman Museum Internship Grant for graduate students in archaeology. Grant covers expenses for museum internships, supporting practical experience in museum curation and collections management.
• NASA Applied Sciences - DEVELOP National ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEVELOP addresses environmental and public policy issues through research projects applying NASA Earth observations to community concerns. Students partner with decision makers to conduct feasibility projects and build capacity in NASA Earth science data applications.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Western Governors University: Large-scale nonprofit online university with rapidly growing graduate degree enrollment that competes for non-thesis Master's applicants against public graduate schools' distance programs.
• Mississippi State University (Parent Institution): The parent land-grant research university within which the Graduate School operates, providing broader institutional context including engineering, agriculture, and veterinary medicine colleges that host graduate programs.

Direct peers

• University of Tennessee Graduate School: SEC peer public research university Graduate School with comparable land-grant heritage, research funding pipelines, and multi-college degree program structure.
• University of Mississippi Graduate School: The flagship public university in Mississippi operating a Graduate School with comparable Master's and PhD program breadth, state-funded research mission, and recruitment focus on the same regional market as Mississippi State.
• Louisiana State University Graduate School: SEC regional peer public research university with parallel graduate school administrative unit covering broad disciplines and shared Sun Belt competitive dynamics.
• University of Kentucky Graduate School: SEC-adjacent public research university Graduate School with comparable scope of Master's and doctoral offerings, assistantship framework, and regional recruitment focus.
• University of Alabama Graduate School: SEC peer public research university operating a centralized Graduate School with similarly broad discipline coverage and assistantship/fellowship funding mechanisms.
• Auburn University Graduate School: SEC peer land-grant research university with a comparable Graduate School structure, assistantship funding model, and portfolio of engineering, agriculture, and sciences PhD programs.
• University of Southern Mississippi Graduate School: Another Mississippi public university with a centralized Graduate School offering similar Master's and doctoral programs, shared-state recruitment dynamics, and comparable Carnegie classification.

Regional players

• Clemson University Graduate School: Public research university Graduate School in the Southeast operating similarly structured Master's and PhD programs with overlapping disciplinary coverage and comparable Carnegie tier.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MSStateGrads
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKxyDck1JTUgLAXGSqDyNTQ?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/gradschoolmsu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/msstategrad
• Instagraminstagram.com/msstategrads/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mississippi State University - The Graduate School