Communications Degree Programs at Mississippi College
Mississippi College appears in our ranking of the Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs.
One of the top communications degree programs in Mississippi is the one that Mississippi College offers. This program allows students to choose between earning a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in communications. Those in the BA program must take 12 credits for foreign language classes, but BS students will take electives and science or research classes instead.
This program is unique because it offers 10 different concentrations for communications majors. They can focus their studies on journalism and learn about different forms of writing. Students in this version of the program will usually work for the college’s newspaper or radio station. The mass media and the mass communications and marketing concentrations help students understand the best ways to spread information to a wide group of people. There are concentrations available in sports media and sports media and marketing, public relations and public relations and marketing and political communication too.
Mississippi College also offers a generalist communications program that is only open to online students. This program looks at the various fields within the communications area. It features a 22-credit core that includes courses such as Communication Research, Public Speaking, Introduction to Graphics Software and Journalism. In the Public Speaking course, the college expects students to give speeches, film their work and upload it for credit. Mississippi College offers several degree and certificate programs for graduate students who want to study communications too.
About Mississippi College
Located in the small city of Clinton, Mississippi College is a private college that has an affiliation with the Christian Church. The college, which received a charter from the state in 1826, opened as the Hampstead Academy but quickly became the Mississippi Academy. Just a few years later, the school changed its name to Mississippi College after changing its focus to college degree programs. Though the college was simply a private school for several years, it later had affiliations with different churches. The college decided to align itself with the Christian Church in 1850.
The college’s Clinton campus sits on just over 80 acres of land. It also operates the Mississippi College School of Law, which is in Jackson. Jackson is the capital of Mississippi and is less than a half-hour drive from the college’s main campus. Mississippi College had a much smaller catalog in its early days than it has today. Many of the programs it first offered focused on the liberal arts. It now offers dozens of programs for both undergrads and grad students. One of its largest programs is its MBA option, which enrolls more than 800 students each year and offers a number of concentrations. The total enrollment at Mississippi College today includes more than 5,000 students.
Mississippi College Accreditation Details
Students applying to Mississippi College will find that they can apply for financial aid at the same time because this private college has regional accreditation, which comes from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). SACS accreditation is also helpful for students who attended another college because it allows those students to transfer any credits they earned. Five other organizations and associations accredited some of the college’s degree programs, including the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
Mississippi College Application Requirements
Mississippi College offers online applications for traditional college students as well as graduate and transfer students. It considers traditional students as those under the age of 25 who never attended college before. The college has a video available on its admissions website that walks students through all the steps in its application process.
Incoming freshmen will fill out the online application for traditional students and pay a $25 application fee. The college accepts payments made online with credit cards or debit cards. Students can submit their applications up to two weeks before the start of the next semester. Home-schooled students must show proof that they completed a high school curriculum that prepared them for college, while students who do not have a high school diploma must submit proof that they have a GED or a similar diploma.
Mississippi College asks students for just a few other things. It requires an official transcript and allows students to submit this document online or through the mail. Students will also submit an official test score. The college requires that incoming students score at least 18 on the ACT or 940 on the SAT. Mississippi College asks for immunization records as well. Online students do not need to submit their medical records. Those accepted into the college who want to live on its campus must put down a $200 housing deposit too.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Part-time students attending Mississippi College will take less than 12 credit hours of classes in a semester. Those students pay $532 per credit hour and fees of around $400 per semester. Full-time students will take at least 12 credit hours, but they can take up to 18 credits and only pay $8,500 per semester. Any student who takes more than 18 credits will pay the part-time tuition rate for those courses. Full-time students face the same amount of fees as part-time students each semester too. The college also offers room and board packages that start at around $4,500 per semester.
Mississippi College offers both standard financial aid packages and some institutional aid. Students should complete the FAFSA, which determines any government aid given to them and the total amount of aid. This form bases their financial aid options on how much their families can contribute to their costs. Undergrads can get grants from both the state and federal government and loans from the federal government as well as take part in the federal work-study program.
Students can find information about all the scholarships that the college offers on its financial aid website. While some of these prizes are only worth $500, the college allows students to stack their awards on top of each other to reduce their total costs. Some scholarships go to students who plan on working for the ministry, while other scholarships go to those who graduated at the top of their high school classes. The college also offers awards for students who need more help. Communications majors can visit the Mississippi College Communication Department website to find out more.