University of Missouri-Columbia

Public · Moderately Selective · MO

Photo: Jay Buffington (CC BY-SA 2.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationMO · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads23,929

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate55.7%

6-yr grad rate74.9%

Drop-out rate7.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$15k

Out-of-state tuition$36k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity20.8%

Gender diversity55%

International1%

Identity—

Overview

Mizzou, the flagship of the University of Missouri System, is built around a red-brick quad centered on the iconic Columns, the last remnants of the original Academic Hall, and carries a strong sense of institutional history as a result. It combines Southeastern Conference athletics culture with a genuine claim to academic firsts, most notably founding the world's first school of journalism and, by long-standing tradition, originating the modern concept of collegiate Homecoming itself.

Academics

Journalism remains the defining academic identity, taught through the Missouri Method of learning by doing, where students staff real newsrooms, radio stations, and television broadcasts as part of coursework rather than only studying theory in a classroom. Health professions and agriculture are similarly strong, practical fields tied closely to Missouri's economy, and the university is one of a relatively small number in the country with a full academic medical center, a veterinary college, and a nursing program all situated on one contiguous campus alongside the undergraduate college. The Trulaske College of Business rounds out the university's strongest professional programs.

Campus & student life

The Columbia campus is a traditional, expansive public-flagship setting, with SEC football and basketball forming a major part of the social calendar and school identity, and a large, visible Greek system shaping much of undergraduate social life. Columbia itself is a mid-sized college town that revolves substantially around the university, giving students a classic flagship-town experience without a major city's distractions.

Getting in

Admission for the general university is relatively accessible for a flagship, though the journalism school in particular draws students specifically for its reputation and hands-on model, and demonstrated interest in that program, or in the pre-veterinary and pre-health tracks feeding the university's medical campus, is often a distinguishing factor in an application.

After graduation

Journalism graduates have an unusually strong record of entering real newsrooms directly out of undergraduate study, aided by the Missouri Method's built-in professional experience, and veterinary and health-sciences graduates benefit from the university's integrated medical campus. The broader alumni network is large and active across the Midwest, with particular density in Missouri and Kansas City and St. Louis media and business circles.

Worth knowing

The Missouri Method means journalism students are working in real, publicly broadcast or published newsrooms as undergraduates, a meaningfully different experience from a program built around classroom simulation alone. Mizzou's veterinary college is also one of relatively few in the country, giving pre-vet students a rare in-state path all the way through professional school.

missouri.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate78.5%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1150–1330 · ACT 23–30

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App or Own application.

Priority / scholarshipDec 1

Financial aid formsFeb 1

Mizzou reviews applications on a rolling basis with no binding early plan, so the December 1 date only affects priority merit-scholarship consideration.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗