The first cohort of Collegiate Academy students at Mississippi School of the Arts walked across the stage at Copiah-Lincoln Community College on Tuesday, May 13th, 10 days before high school graduation. Formed in 2023, the pilot Collegiate Academy partnership allows MSA high school students to dual-enroll with Copiah-Lincoln Community College to take college classes and obtain an associate degree while taking advanced high school art classes.
Front Row (L-R): Kendra Quarterman (theatre), Sahra Liban (visual), Anna Walton Shurden (visual), Brianna Fuentes (visual), Lucy Dick (visual), and Magdalene Dezendorf (dance). Back Row (L-R): Eydi Kitchens (dance), Parker Burns (vocal), Cooper Brumfield (literary), Sam Crump (vocal), and Sone’t Robinson (literary).
Since its inception, Mississippi School of the Arts has seen a rise in prospective student interest of the program. “We have been working on this since 2018. Now, MSA juniors who want to save time and money for college will have the opportunity to do so! We are so grateful for the funding to be able to make college accessible to all our students,” said Dr. Suzanne Hirsch, MSA Executive Director in 2023.
“The program offers free tuition to enrolled MSA students, paid for through a grant! These students have completed 60 college credits in addition to the rigorous arts education at MSA. They have worked so hard,” according to a post on MSA’s facebook page.
Dual enrollment is when a student is enrolled in a community college while enrolled in high school and receives college credit for work. Dual Credit is when a student is enrolled at both the community college and high school and receives both high school and post-secondary credit for coursework. To enroll, students must meet minimum ACT and Carnegie Unit requirements as set by the college as well as Mississippi School of the Arts.
Interested students must audition and be accepted into Mississippi School of the Arts before qualifying for Collegiate Academy. More information about application and audition requirements can be found here. The second cohort (Class of 2026) is currently ending its first year of collegiate classes and will graduate next May.
The Collegiate Academy Partnership was formed between the two schools in 2023.