The growth, prosperity and energy of the original Roaring ’20s are back at Mississippi State as the Magnolia State’s leading land-grant institution ushers in a new era of learning.
From researching, implementing and teaching students to use advanced technologies to initiating innovative healthcare programs, MSU is taking care of what matters by producing graduates who will solve the issues of tomorrow through knowledge gained today with the university’s new, innovative academic offerings.
Since 2020, the university has created more than 50 new degree, certificate and other academic programs, founded two new colleges and transformed MSU-Meridian into a vital hub for healthcare education in the Southeast. In comparison, the university created 34 new programs in the 2010s. Other than a reorganization that formally established the College of Architecture, Art and Design in 2004, the last all-new college launched at MSU prior to 2020 was the College of Veterinary Medicine, created by the Legislature in 1974.
All of these new additions reflect MSU’s commitment to transforming education and meeting the wants and needs of today’s students so they’re prepared to make the world a better place for all.
“What we’re doing here at Mississippi State is being intentional and strategic, especially when looking at the rate of change we’re seeing today in society and the economy in general—not just locally and nationally, but from a global perspective,” said Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw.
“President Keenum articulates this so well,” he continued. “‘We need to be preparing students for jobs that do not exist today—the ones we haven’t even imagined yet.’”
Shaw explained that not only is MSU focusing on training students in specific fields but it’s also teaching the critical-thinking skills that will make Bulldog graduates successful for years to come, no matter where they go or what they do.
“Our goal is to deliver instruction that not only teaches skills but also makes our students view the world differently, with a sense of curiosity they might not have had before,” he said. “If we can inspire curiosity and develop their critical thinking, those skills will pay off for a lifetime.”
When Dean Jamie Dyer, talks about university collaboration and his vision for the College of Integrative Studies, he describes creating a web of interconnected, cross-disciplinary curricula and resources.
“The three words I use for the college are facilitation, integration and incubation,” he explained. “Our data science program is truly interdisciplinary, and the students are happy because they get a degree more workforce oriented and personalized to their interests.”
Approved earlier this year by the state’s Institutions of Higher Learning board, the College of Integrative Studies is the newest academic college at the university and home to two new degree programs—the Bachelor of Science in data science and Master of Applied Data Science—as well as a certification program for data science pedagogy designed for K-12 and college educators.
Students enrolled in the undergraduate program—the first of its kind in the Southeast—take general education classes to develop critical-thinking, writing and other skills. Those foundational courses are followed by the program core, which includes computer science, statistics, mathematics, business information and communication. Finally, students transition into applications of data science fundamentals in one of 10 concentrations spanning seven of the university’s other colleges.
When visualizing how students can progress through lower- and upper-level classes of their choosing across campus disciplines, the web comes into focus with the College of Integrative Studies as its hub.
“The student is the customer, and we have to work together to ensure they’re prepared for life after college,” Dyer said. “They don’t want to be told, ‘Take these last three classes, and you’ll graduate.’ They want to hear, ‘The job market requires these skills, and these classes will develop those skills. Pick the ones that apply to what you want to do after you graduate.’
“We’re allowing them an educational pathway that makes their degree track unique,” he continued. “It’s almost like they’re building their own discipline.”
Dyer, who is more of a facilitator than a traditional administrator, comes from a diverse academic background, including physics, hydrology and meteorology. A professor in the Department of Geosciences and associate director of the Northern Gulf Institute, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Institute managed by MSU, his research touches a wide range of topics. He also leads the university’s Gulf Scholars Program, another avenue for students enrolled in science-focused majors to gain a cross-disciplinary education tailored to their interests.
The program, which is entering its third year of funding through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, highlights how the college is charged with incubating programs Dyer says “simply couldn’t exist under one roof” while providing these diverse learning opportunities. MSU will soon offer a minor through the program.
“We’re making change agents for the whole Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida,” Dyer said. “We’ll take students studying anything from wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture to geosciences, look at their major’s requirements and develop courses that can be integrated into their current track.
“None of those classes deal specifically with science, and that’s the point. We want to create well-rounded, well-informed graduates,” he added.
To continue growing this web of connections to the College of Integrative Studies, Dyer links up with industry representatives to keep tabs on job demands. He also maintains communication with MSU’s various academic departments and monitors new class reports from the University Committee on Courses and Curricula. With an eye on the future, he said he hopes the college can develop programs that fill needs and meet opportunities in the state, including tourism, event management and economic development.
“It’s fun; it’s challenging; it’s the future,” Dyer said of the college’s work.
“We now have a pathway for these universitywide initiatives to be developed,” he continued. “Students see value in these collaborative programs, and seeing them graduate and move into meaningful careers is what makes me feel successful at the end of the day.”
Each year at MSU-Meridian, Bulldogs graduate with the life-changing—even life-saving—skills needed to take care of what really matters: people.
To address the current and future shortages of healthcare providers in the Magnolia State and beyond, the university has introduced a plethora of innovative, first-of-their-kind degree programs and learning opportunities in the first half of the 2020s. These efforts further solidify the university’s Meridian campus as a leader in healthcare education.
The Meridian campus’ School of Nursing, School of Health Professions and Division of Education house these opportunities, which have benefited from immense university, community and state support. Among the resources benefitting MSU Meridian’s growing catalogue of academic programs are innovative technologies, like a cutting-edge simulation lab where students can practice hands-on learning; supportive community partnerships with local philanthropic groups including the Riley, Phil Hardin and Paul and Sherry Broadhead foundations; and a local base of established healthcare systems, featuring Ochsner Rush Health and Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center-South.
By providing not only healthcare education but also a space to hone their skills, MSU-Meridian is helping address a need affecting all of Mississippi’s 82 counties, most of which are federally designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas. This means most of the state’s population lives in areas without enough primary care, dental or mental service providers.
“One of the things Dr. Keenum always talks about is our land-grant mission of being here to serve the people. Simply put: We’re the people’s university, and we’re responding to the emerging needs of the state, region and nation—the shortage of healthcare providers—in a very real way,” said David Buys, MSU-Meridian associate vice provost of Health Sciences and interim head of campus. “We’re always looking for ways to help improve the state’s standing and make the population healthier by adding programs that fill the gaps in education.”
Filling these gaps takes a coordinated effort, and the healthcare programs established this decade at MSU-Meridian focus on patients’ complete care.
In 2021, the university founded the Magnolia State’s first physician assistant program at a state institution. This pathway prepares graduates to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients under the guidance of a general practitioner without the need for a Doctor of Medicine degree.
Each January, approximately 30 students begin a 29-month program divided into classroom studies and multiple clinical rotations at sites dedicated to internal medicine, family medicine, women’s health, pediatrics, behavioral health, emergency medicine, general surgery and other specialties.
Growing more competitive in terms of applicants, the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program seated its fifth cohort this year—a group of 32 students representing states from California to Florida. Since 2023, the program has graduated more than 60 needed healthcare practitioners.
The Master of Science in nursing’s inaugural class of 34 graduates received their degrees this summer after the program—the first one in the state to offer an accelerated, direct-entry pathway into the field—began last year. The 12-month, patient-centered program provides those holding non-nursing degrees a fast track to national licensure through NCLEX exams as registered nurses. Nationally accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the program is expected to expand to approximately 60 students in the future.
Also in the near future, MSU-Meridian will begin addressing another crucial patient need: physical therapy. Receiving State College Board approval in June, this 120-hour, hybrid program is expected to enroll approximately 250 students in its first five years. The university is in the planning-and-development phase, and implementation and national accreditation are projected in approximately five years.
As a forthcoming School of Health Professions offering, the Doctor of Physical Therapy program will follow a hybrid delivery model, with coursework offered in online formats and on-campus and in-person learning settings, including time spent in labs and clinical environments.
Moving to address mental-health needs, the board approved MSU-Meridian’s first doctoral program—the Doctor of Psychology in combined health service psychology—in 2023, joining it with existing master’s and education specialist programs in the Division of Education.
The 91-hour program includes three concentration options—clinical, counseling or school psychology—and students can earn a master’s in health services psychology or school counseling, or an Education Specialist degree in school psychology while completing the doctoral program. Graduates are eligible for licensure as psychologists in Mississippi and can specialize in a variety of areas including marriage and family, substance abuse, trauma, and child and adolescent therapy.
Even the business side of the industry is covered through the School of Health Profession’s healthcare administration program. Its Bachelor of Science in healthcare administration, established in 2023 and offered both in-person and online, prepares graduates to handle organizational leadership roles anywhere from small practices to larger facilities and systems. A similar Bachelor of Applied Science debuted one year later. Tailored to transfer students holding an associate degree in a healthcare-related field, it allows them to transfer and apply technical credits toward their new degree.
Tying all of these and other established mental- and physical-health and social-welfare programs together is the MSU-Meridian Interprofessional Simulation Center, a cutting-edge training facility where students take classroom lessons and apply them in real-world scenarios.
The interdisciplinary laboratory is housed in an almost-8,000-square-foot facility located in the Riley Campus’ I.A. Rosenbaum Health Sciences Building. It features practice exam rooms for clinical and surgical scenarios, observation areas, and pre- and debriefing rooms with recording and reviewing capabilities.
First open to PA and nursing students, the simulation program now integrates learners from a wide array of healthcare-related degree programs and concentrations at MSU-Meridian, including those studying social work, mental-health counseling and applied behavior analysis.
“It’s amazing—just like you see in the real world, in a hospital or clinic setting, there are far more than just one discipline engaged to care for patients,” Buys said. “For example, in a recent scenario, our PA students worked on the diagnostic piece, the nurses worked on the care piece and our social workers handled the aspects of what would happen to these patients when they go home.
“The more experiential, hands-on learning opportunities we can provide, the more our students can say, ‘I’ve done this,’” he continued. “Not only does that help them get hired, but it makes them better caregivers from the start of their careers. Everything we’re doing in Meridian illustrates our commitment to supporting Mississippians now and in the future.”
Susan Seal isn’t an expert on hockey, but when it comes to education, she said she follows one of the sport’s guiding principles. To be effective on the ice, players must skate to where the puck is going, not where it is at the moment.
“We’re focused on meeting students where they are. The way we see it, anyone can be a student at any point of their lives,” she said. “Maybe you’re in high school and receiving dual credits that’ll be ready to use when you come to the university for the first time; maybe you’re a 40-year-old going through a career change, so you need to upskill through an online certificate program; or maybe you’re 60 and interested in some of our enrichment opportunities. No matter where you are on your educational journey, there’s a place for you at Mississippi State.”
Seal is leader of the MSU College of Professional and Continuing Studies, a central example of the university’s commitment to serve nontraditional students. From professionals seeking new career advancements to learners who engage better through self-guided, virtual instruction, the college’s blend of services offered by the university’s Center for Distance Education and Center for Continuing Education are for anybody who wants to learn.
Since its founding in 2023, CPCS offerings have grown to include bachelor’s of applied science degrees with majors in applied science, public management and business office technology, and noncredit credential programs for those looking to add new skills to their resumes. Leadership is also a college focus, with opportunities including the noncredit Promoting Innovation, Leadership, Learning, Advancement and Resilience Institute, a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership, a 12-credit hour graduate certificate of applied leadership and a master’s in applied organizational leadership.
As CPCS dean, Seal is tasked with positioning MSU to offer tailor-made learning experiences that meet students on their own schedules, terms and needs across the entire university, all while the college offers its own degrees and programs.
To do this, Seal and MSU are turning an old adage on its head.
“We have to be student-ready instead of making sure students are college-ready, and that requires us to truly understand their needs,” she said. “Since learning is a lifelong process, meeting these students requires multiple pathways so they can come in where they are at that stage of their life. Many of them are working or have families—different responsibilities than your traditional college freshmen. We have to offer them the support they need to be successful now and into the future.”
With this in mind, CPCS staff maintain connections with students—prospective, current and alumni—industry partners and community groups to continually monitor how MSU can better serve its stakeholders, gaining input on developing trends in employment and education to plan for future opportunities. Specialists also work to better understand new pedagogy, including how to better supplement instruction with emerging technology like artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Leveraging these tools will better connect students to subject matter through immersive learning opportunities, thereby increasing their opportunities to succeed in the virtual or traditional classroom, Seal said.
“Students can’t feel like they’re stepping back 10 years when they take a university-level course,” Seal said. “These efforts are all about meeting students where they are. We talk all the time about how we’re training students for jobs that don’t exist yet but we’re also focused on teaching them transferable skills they can build on, regardless of how the future goes.”
As MSU lays the foundation for what the education of tomorrow looks like through the expansion of opportunities and offerings seen during the 2020s, Seal said it’s growing a culture of innovation and collaboration that will ensure success throughout the rest of the century and beyond.
“At MSU, we really do care about students and their lifelong success, and it takes collaboration to make them successful,” Seal said. “We have many resources and areas of expertise that we can bring together for the benefit of our students, whether they are seeking an academic degree or engaged in a continuing education program.
“When our university operates as a unified community, our collective expertise and shared commitment elevates our impact far beyond what any individual could achieve alone,” she continued. “I’m excited by how our leadership has embraced these ideas of collaboration and innovation to help meet student needs, and we’re truly seeing so many transformational changes now that will shape the future.”
By Carl Smith, Photos by Grace Cockrell
Mississippi State kicked off the 2020s with a roar, reaching the midpoint of the decade making historic strides on all fronts. From new construction and record enrollment to economic impact and landmark partnerships, great things are happening in the Bulldog family. And with more than 50 new academic offerings, combined with our existing, world-renowned programs, the university has something to support all career goals—including the study of cutting-edge fields in which we are leading the way.
New degree programs include:
- Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Office Technology
- Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity
- Bachelor of Applied Science in Healthcare Administration
- Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership
- Bachelor of Applied Science in Public Management
- Bachelor of Applied Science in Weather and Environmental Science
- Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Design and Built Environment
- Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship
- Bachelor of Business Administration in Supply Chain Logistics
- Bachelor of Music in Performance
- Bachelor of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis
- Bachelor of Science in Applied Sociology
- Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence
- Bachelor of Science in Data Science
- Bachelor of Science in Educational Psychology
- Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration
- Bachelor of Science in Learning and User Experience Design
- Doctor of Education in Educational Policy and Organizational Design
- Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Leadership
- Doctor of Psychology in Combined Health Service Psychology
- Education Specialist in Professional School Counseling
- Education Specialist in School Psychology
- Master of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership
- Master of Agriculture in Animal and Dairy Sciences
- Master of Agriculture in Agricultural and Extension Education
- Master of Agriculture in Entomology
- Master of Agriculture in Plant Pathology
- Master of Agriculture in Poultry Science
- Master of Applied Data Science
- Master of Arts in Communication
- Master of Arts in Teaching-Elementary Level Alternate Route
- Master of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation
- Master of Public Health
- Master of Science in Architecture
- Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence
- Master of Science in Conservation Education
- Master of Science in Construction Management
- Master of Science in Data Science
- Master of Science in Early Intervention
- Master of Science in Fashion Design and Merchandising
- Master of Science in Nursing
- Master of Physician Assistant Studies
- Master of Science in PK-12 Student Support Specialist
- Master of Science in Student Affairs and Educational Leadership
Visit www.msstate.edu/academics to explore all of Mississippi State’s academic options including undergraduate and graduate degrees; minors; certificates and continuing education, as well as flexible delivery options to fit every lifestyle.