OXFORD, Miss. — The University of Mississippi in Oxford has set an enrollment record for the fourth year running, with 28,960 students counted on its rolls this fall, a gain of about 2% over a year ago.
The new total marks a sixth straight year of growth for the flagship school, and university figures point to a rise in Mississippi freshmen as a driver of the increase.
Of the overall count, 25,690 students attend classes on the main campus in Oxford. The medical center campus in Jackson accounts for the other 3,270, and that campus added 87 students of its own. All told, the university grew by 555 students compared with fall 2025.
The numbers came out Monday from IHL, the state board that oversees Mississippi’s eight public universities. Its counts are unduplicated head counts as of Oct. 30, so each student is counted only once no matter how many programs he or she is in.
Ole Miss led a group of five public universities that grew this fall, along with Mississippi State, Mississippi University for Women, Delta State and Alcorn State. Mississippi State, the state’s second-largest school by these counts, reached 23,721 students.
Statewide, the broader picture was flatter. Enrollment across the public system came to 81,771 students, down 190 from the year before, as Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State and Southern Miss all lost students. Commissioner of Higher Education Al Rankins Jr. said every campus needs to stay focused on recruiting students, keeping them enrolled and helping them succeed in a crowded higher education market.
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