Delta State University

Public · Moderately Selective · MS

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationMS · South

SettingRural

Undergrads1,620

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate31.8%

6-yr grad rate48.1%

Drop-out rate33.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$9k

Out-of-state tuition$9k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity51.8%

Gender diversity53%

International5.4%

Identity—

Overview

Delta State University, in Cleveland, Mississippi, serves the Mississippi Delta region and carries a strong regional identity tied to that specific place — its history, its music, and its economy. It began as a teachers college and still reflects that origin, while adding professional programs that meet real regional workforce needs.

Academics

Teacher education remains a core strength, alongside nursing, and Delta State's commercial aviation program is unusual for a school its size — one of the few flight-training programs at a regional public university, drawing students specifically for that pathway into airline and aviation careers.

Campus & student life

Delta State has embraced its unofficial mascot, the Fighting Okra, with genuine affection rather than irony, which says something about the campus's self-aware, unpretentious character. The surrounding Mississippi Delta carries deep blues-music heritage, and that history is part of the region's cultural life beyond campus, not just a historical footnote.

Worth knowing

The aviation program is a real differentiator — it comes with actual flight training and access to aircraft, not just an aviation-management major taught entirely in a classroom, and it draws students from well outside the Delta region specifically for that reason.

deltastate.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate100%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 925–1210 · ACT 17–23

Test policyrequired

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying