Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology at Mississippi State University

Mississippi State's psychology bachelor's leads to starting salaries around $27,800—about $6,700 below the national median for this degree and trailing even Belhaven University within Mississippi. While this lands at the 40th percentile statewide (meaning it's middle-of-the-pack for Mississippi), that speaks more to the state's overall wage environment than program quality. The $26,000 in typical debt is actually $7,900 less than the state average for psychology programs, offering some protection in a field where early earnings are modest. Graduates see their income reach $30,500 by year four, representing solid 10% growth but still lagging national benchmarks significantly.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.93 means you'd owe nearly a full year's salary—manageable but tight when your starting wage barely covers $2,300 monthly before taxes. For context, psychology graduates nationally earn 24% more in their first year. The particularly low national percentile (20th) is concerning given Mississippi State's reasonable selectivity. However, the small sample size here matters: with fewer than 30 graduates tracked, one or two outlier career paths could skew these numbers considerably.

If your child is committed to staying in Mississippi and plans graduate work (where most psychology careers truly begin), the lower debt load provides flexibility. But if they're comparing to out-of-state psychology programs or considering stopping at the bachelor's level, understand they'll be earning well below what peers at other schools typically see.