University of Southern Mississippi Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Psychology, General
- Public university
- Hattiesburg, MS
- About 167 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Southern Mississippi psychology graduates earn less than graduates of most psychology programs nationally, $28,130 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $22,685 in federal loans, less than at 76% of psychology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying psychology degrees in Mississippi.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Mississippi and national columns are the medians across all psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Southern Mississippi graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Mississippi median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Mississippi psychology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Mississippi medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 30% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $24,000 against $19,502.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $240 a month, or 10.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 31 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $10,051.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
72% of graduates (61 of 85) were working in Mississippi one year after graduating. Prices in the Hattiesburg area are about 12% below the national average, so a $28,130 salary here buys what about $32,100 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
$76,000Median pay in Mississippi. 210 people work in this job in Mississippi. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$61,990Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
$193,950Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About University of Southern Mississippi
Psychology ranks 19th of 22 bachelor's programs at University of Southern Mississippi by first-year earnings. The top three are Architectural Engineering Technology ($76,114), Industrial Technology ($75,493), and Nursing ($70,068).
Other psychology bachelor's programs near Hattiesburg
Common questions
The median graduate earns $28,130 one year after graduating and $36,600 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in Mississippi is $24,592.
The median federal loan balance is $22,685, which ranks 3rd lowest of 10 psychology bachelor's programs in Mississippi. That works out to about $240 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 81% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%. Compare the cost with other Mississippi programs before deciding.
Most do. 72% (61 of 85) were working in Mississippi one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Mississippi comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the psychology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024