The W recognized among nation’s Best Colleges for Rural America
Mississippi University for Women has been ranked No. 56 among Washington Monthly’s Best Colleges for Rural America, recognizing the university’s contributions to the communities it serves.
“The value of public higher education shows in the benefits it brings to its region: the opportunities it creates, how well it prepares graduates for meaningful careers, and how it helps communities keep the workforce they need to succeed,” said Scott Tollison, interim university president. “Washington Monthly’s latest recognition highlights The W’s commitment to Mississippi, especially to the rural communities that rely on us for an accessible, affordable, high-quality education that changes the trajectory of the lives of the people who call those communities home.”
To be included among the 100 colleges and universities, institutions must be located in rural areas. To do well on the list, they need to recruit and graduate large numbers of in-state students of modest means with degrees that earn higher salaries than would be predicted given the students’ demographics.
To compile the Best Colleges for Rural America ranking, Washington Monthly began with a list of more than 1,000 schools located in rural areas identified by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges’ (AARC) Rural-Serving Post-Secondary Institutions project.
Social mobility, return on taxpayer investments for training and talent retention and the number of students graduating into fields in demand by rural areas were also factored into the ranking. Other metrics used in the ranking include net price, earnings four years after graduation and student loan debt.
Washington Monthly recognized the university at No. 14 in the South and No. 185 nationally, according to Washington Monthly’s 2026 Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars. Released Monday, Aug. 31. TIME additionally recognized the W as one of America’s Best Colleges of 2026-27. Both recognitions placed the university as the highest ranked institution of higher learning, private or public, in Mississippi.
To view the list in its entirety, please visit: https://washingtonmonthly.com/