Note to homeschool applicants: Your transcript can be a portfolio that summarizes your homeschool education, but ACT or SAT scores are required.
Note to domestic applicants who did not complete high school: Qualifying scores on a state-approved high school equivalency exam are required (i.e., the GED), along with transcripts reflecting academic performance or a secondary school leaving form and your ACT or SAT scores.
If you are seeking fall 2024 freshman admission, click here to view admission requirements.
Students planning to enter the University as freshmen must complete the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) listed below and submit a composite ACT, a superscore ACT (calculated and provided by ACT), or a combined SAT (verbal/quantitative) score. Please note that the writing components of the ACT and SAT are not used in evaluation for admission.
Please note that admission to some academic programs may require students to meet additional requirements.
College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC)Option I: Foreign Language I and Foreign Language II; Option 2: Foreign Language I and one unit from Option 3; Option 3: (1) Any combination of advanced electives above the required Carnegie units in: (a) as noted in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs CPC Manual and/or (b) any Advanced Placement (AP), Academic or Career and Technical Dual Credit (DC), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) course. (2) Completion of any two-year Career and Technical course may count as one unit. Example: completion of both Health Sciences I and II will count as an advanced elective.
A first-time undergraduate applicant is one who is a recent high graduate and enrolls in the first fall term after graduation regardless of their summer school academic activity between graduation and their first fall term of enrollment. A December graduate who attends any postsecondary institution before enrollment would be considered a first-time transfer student. (Dual enrollment courses taken while in high school are not considered previous enrollment. The following criteria are established for both traditional and nontraditional first-time undergraduates. Traditional undergraduates are defined as those who are under 25 years of age; nontraditional students are defined as individuals 25 years of age or older.
Full admission will be granted to all students who meet the following criteria:
Students who fail to meet the full admission standards of first-time undergraduate applicants may, as a result of an admission appeal, be admitted. The appeal process will involve a consideration of high school performance, ACT or SAT scores (if available), placement testing, special interests, and skills, as well as other noncognitive factors. If the admission appeal is granted, students will be required to be enrolled in selected college-level courses equivalent to high school courses in which their background is inadequate. (These courses will yield University credit.) Additionally, students will be required to participate in a Year-Long Academic Support Program. The Year-Long Academic Support Program is designed to help students navigate through their first year of college studies with a positive experience and complete it with great success. The program offers individualized one-on-one advisement and counseling sessions with a specified University staff member. The student will be required to meet with the staff member throughout their first year of college prior to enrolling for each upcoming semester.
The Mississippi Articulation and Transfer Tool (MATT) enables students to compare current community college courses against equivalent courses at Southern Miss and learn how those courses meet degree requirements for a specific major.
If you are seeking fall 2024 transfer admission, click here to view admission requirements.
Any student entering the University for the first time who previously attended another postsecondary institution, excluding summer school academic activity between high school graduation and their first full fall term of enrollment, must apply for admission as a transfer student. (Students entering the University the fall semester following high school graduation are considered first-time undergraduates, even if they took dual credit courses in high school.)
A transfer applicant can accomplish admission to Southern Miss through several possible routes. Please also note that admission to some academic programs may require students to meet additional requirements.
Transfer Admission through Traditional RequirementsFull admission will be granted to all transfer students who have completed 30 or more transferable hours at their previous institutions and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 on college-level coursework
Transfer Admission through Freshman RequirementsStudents must meet freshman admission requirements and have earned a minimum 2.0 cumulative college GPA for admission.
Please note that transfer students admitted through this route must submit transcripts from all colleges/universities attended after high school and that transfer credits will be applied toward their degree at Southern Miss.
Transfer Conditional Admission through the Adult StatusAn applicant who is at least 21 years old and does not meet any other admission requirements may apply for admission as a nondegree-seeking student, which is commonly referred to as the conditional status. Students seeking admission through this route must have a minimum cumulative college GPA of 2.0.
Students with this status may enroll in no more than 12 semester hours and must earn a minimum 2.0 GPA during the first 12 hours of enrollment at the University. Once these requirements are satisfactorily met, all restrictions are lifted, and the student is considered degree-seeking. Students admitted on this status may experience financial aid restrictions, including Pell Grant ineligibility. Once conditional status requirements are satisfied, all financial aid restrictions will be lifted.
How to Apply for Readmission to the University
Readmission Requirements
A student will be granted readmission so long as the following circumstances exist:
Please note that if you left the University under academic probation, academic probation continued, or academic suspension, you will have to work with an academic adviser in your intended program of study on an academic improvement plan in order to register for classes, but those statuses will not prevent you from being readmitted to the University. However, because of the amount of time it takes to get readmitted through the Office of Admissions and to meet with University staff regarding your academic status, students who fall into this category are strongly urged to work as early as possible ahead of the stated readmission deadline for their intended semester of reenrollment.
A dual enrolled student is a student who is enrolled at Southern Miss while enrolled in high school and is earning college credit. To be eligible for dual enrollment, you must have
A minimum overall GPA of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all high school courses and
Successful completion of 14 core high school core units and/or junior status and
A written recommendation from your school principal or guidance counselor
OR
A minimum overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all high school courses and
a minimum composite ACT score of 30 (or equivalent SAT score) and
A written recommendation from your school principal or guidance counselor
To apply for dual enrollment on a USM campus, click here to access the application. Please pay careful attention to admission deadlines.
If you are a high school representative interested in the possibility of a dual enrollment partnership with the University, please click here.
Those who wish to be visiting/temporary/nondegree-seeking students should apply using either the First-Time Transfer application (if never previously enrolled at the University) or using the Previous USM Student application (if seeking temporary readmission). Students will indicate their visiting/temporary/nondegree-seeking status by answering “no” on the application when asked if they plan to earn a bachelor’s degree from USM. Students who are seeking temporary admission to the University and are nondegree-seeking can access the application for that status by clicking here . Please pay careful attention to admission deadlines.
Once temporary admission has been granted, the Office of Admissions will communicate with you regarding course enrollment and registration.
