Best Psychology Programs in Mississippi for 2027

Ole Miss offers psychology as a BA or a BS, on the Oxford campus and at regional campuses. The BA is the flexible one and requires a minor or a double major, so it combines easily with law, medicine or another field. The BS requires more psychology coursework and more quantitative classes, with an optional minor, which suits students planning graduate study. Majors cover social, cognitive, personality, abnormal, developmental and behavioral neuroscience courses and learn experimental design, data collection and analysis, and communication. Both degrees offer an Applied Behavior Analysis emphasis, new for fall 2025, that aligns with Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst requirements. Majors can also work with faculty on research or as teaching assistants.

BA Structure

More flexible, with a required minor or double major.

BS Structure

Additional psychology and quantitative coursework, with an optional minor.

Emphasis

Applied Behavior Analysis, aligned with BCaBA certification, available in both degrees.

Locations

Available at the Oxford and regional campuses.

Program Sources: Psychology, B.A. | Ole MissUndergraduate Programs | Ole Miss

Required courses at Mississippi State cover research design, behavioral statistics, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, abnormal behavior, learning theory and developmental psychology, and you fill out the schedule from a wide range of electives. The degree has also been offered online since fall 2018, so it can be completed away from campus. If you want lab experience, you apply to the department's research labs, and a faculty member who accepts you supervises a PSY 4000 Directed Individual Studies course where you might enter data, run participants, analyze results and present at conferences. An applied neuroscience minor, a neuroscience club, Psychology Club and Psi Chi add more ways to get involved.

Required Courses

Research design, behavioral statistics, biological, cognitive, social, abnormal, learning and developmental psychology.

Delivery

On campus, and online since fall 2018.

Lab Experience

Apply to faculty labs and complete PSY 4000 Directed Individual Studies.

Related Minor

Applied neuroscience minor with a neuroscience club.

Program Sources: About Us | PsychologyUndergraduate Programs | Psychology

Twenty-seven of the major's hours at Southern Miss are open psychology electives, which is where you shape the degree. The fixed part is smaller: Orientation to the Psychology Major in your first semester, Careers in Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, a writing-intensive Research Methods course, Cognitive Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychological Perspectives in Adult Mental Health, Social Psychology and a Senior Seminar capstone. Internship credit through PSY 491 is pass/fail and doesn't count toward the major, though up to 12 hours can count toward the degree. The degree is available at the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses.

Research Courses

Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences and a writing-intensive Research Methods course.

Open Electives

Twenty-seven hours of additional psychology courses.

Capstone

PSY 475 Senior Seminar in Psychology, taken senior year.

Locations

Hattiesburg campus and Gulf Park campus.

Program Sources: Program: Psychology BS Degree Requirements (120 hours) - University of Southern MississippiProgram: Psychology BS - University of Southern Mississippi

Checkpoints come early in the Jackson State psychology BS: a C in each introductory psychology course before the next one, a 2.5 GPA in psychology courses to graduate, and a passing score on the departmental exam. The 46-hour major includes two statistics courses, Developmental, Abnormal, Personality, Social and Physiological Psychology I, Learning, a four-credit Experimental Psychology and 12 hours of electives. The plan of study puts two semesters of General Biology with labs in the first year. Moving into psychology from another major or university takes a 2.5 GPA. The department also runs a Community Health Program research division and an APA-accredited Clinical Psychology PhD.

Statistics Sequence

Statistics I and Statistics II, six hours.

Experimental Course

Experimental Psychology, four credits.

Graduation Requirements

2.5 GPA in psychology courses and the departmental exam.

Transfer Into the Major

A GPA of 2.5 or higher from another major or university.

Program Sources: Department of Psychology | Jackson State UniversityPsychology (B.S.) | Jackson State University

Southern Mississippi’s experimental psychology doctorate trains students in cognitive, social, and quantitative research. You join a faculty research laboratory directly, working in teams that include graduate and undergraduate researchers. Research topics include perception, attention, language, memory, and cultural or political psychology. Available methods include eye tracking, motion tracking, and virtual reality. Coursework in statistics and research methods accompanies thesis and dissertation projects, with opportunities to present findings and take classes alongside students in other psychology doctoral programs.

Experimental Research

Cognitive, social, and quantitative psychology.

Laboratory Entry

Students join a faculty-supervised research laboratory directly.

Program Sources: Psychology PhD

The Psychology PhD at Ole Miss has two emphases, Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychology. The clinical emphasis follows the scientist-practitioner model, with training from cognitive behavioral approaches, and GRE scores are optional. The experimental emphasis lets students specialize in behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology including cognitive development, or social psychology, with individualized, career-oriented study, close mentorship, conference participation and pedagogical training. Experimental applicants should not submit GRE scores, and only full-time applicants are considered. The program does not accept part-time applications or applications for a terminal master's degree in the experimental emphasis.

Emphases

Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychology.

Experimental Specializations

Behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology and social psychology.

Clinical Model

Scientist-practitioner with cognitive behavioral training approaches.

Admission

Full-time only; GRE not considered for experimental and optional for clinical.

Program Sources: Ph.D. in Psychology | Ole MissExperimental Psychology Graduate Program | Ole Miss

Two research-intensive doctorates, Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Science, are housed at Mississippi State. The clinical program trains clinical psychological scientists with coursework in research methods, statistics, psychopathology, assessment and intervention, plus a master's thesis and a doctoral dissertation, and it is APA accredited, most recently reaccredited in 2023. The cognitive science program emphasizes research involvement from day one, with areas such as memory and metamemory, decision making, visual attention, perception, computational modeling and language. Graduate students are funded through teaching or research assistantships. Both programs set a December 1 deadline, and GRE scores are optional.

Doctoral Programs

Clinical Psychology and Cognitive Science.

Funding

Teaching or research assistantships, with duties from grading to teaching statistics or experimental psychology labs.

Cognitive Science Research Areas

Memory and metamemory, problem solving, decision making, attention, perception, learning, computational modeling and language.

Application

December 1 deadline; GRE scores optional.

Program Sources: Graduate Programs | PsychologyClinical Psychology Program | Psychology

Co-Lin's psychology concentration uses a recommended four-semester transfer map, totaling 63 hours. You'll take General Psychology alongside a broader plan of biology and physical-science labs, sociology, marriage and family, and social problems. Notes for Mississippi universities explain differing science, math, and humanities requirements, so your destination matters when choosing electives. The college lists psychology as an online concentration, with live proctored exams required in its online courses.

Recommended Map

Four semesters; 63 hours

Format

Psychology concentration listed among online options

Program Sources: Copiah–Lincoln Psychology Academic MapCopiah–Lincoln Online Program Options

Graduating with an Associate of Arts and transferring to a university psychology program are both built into the psychology pathway at Holmes. The 62-hour plan has a 35-hour general core, where General Psychology, Introduction to Sociology and history electives are recommended, and a lab science such as Principles of Biology or General Biology. Beyond the core you take Computer Concepts or Computer Applications, Introduction to Philosophy, six hours of foreign language electives, six hours of literature electives and nine hours of social and behavioral science electives. Some universities want nine or twelve hours of foreign language, so check the receiving school and the Mississippi Articulation and Transfer Tool before you pick electives.

Degree Length

62 hours, including a 35-hour general core.

Recommended Core Courses

General Psychology and Introduction to Sociology.

Social And Behavioral Electives

Nine hours chosen to fit the transfer university.

Language Electives

Six hours, with some universities requiring nine or twelve.

Program Sources: Psychology - Programs - Holmes Community College2026-2027 District Bulletin - Holmes Community College

Spanish I through III sit alongside General Psychology in the psychology curriculum at Coahoma Community College, which totals 61 credit hours across four semesters. The plan includes General Biology I and II with labs, Introduction to Sociology, College Algebra and a major elective that can be Child Psychology or Human Growth and Development. English Composition, American or World Literature, history, Public Speaking, Computer Concepts and art or music appreciation fill out the university-parallel general education core. Under the articulation agreement between Mississippi's university and community college boards, each university accepts the listed courses without loss of credit toward the four-year degree.

Program Credits

61 credit hours over four semesters.

Psychology Courses

PSY 1513 General Psychology, plus a major elective of EPY 2513 Child Psychology or EPY 2533 Human Growth and Development.

Science and Math

General Biology I and II with labs, plus College Algebra.

Language

Spanish I, II and III.

Transfer

University-parallel courses accepted under the Mississippi articulation agreement.

Program Sources: University Parallel Degree Programs of Study - Coahoma Community College