Apply to Audition

The Mississippi School of the Arts consistently scores high on accreditation standards such as Cognia and Art Schools Network. With the new Collegiate Academy program, MSA has partnered with Copiah-Lincoln Community College where qualified students can graduate with an associate degree along with their high school diploma.

A public, residential high school

Mississippi School of the Arts is a public, residential high school for 11th and 12th grade students in Mississippi. MSA, located Brookhaven, Mississippi, is operated by the Mississippi State Board of Education and funded by Mississippi legislature. The arts high school is located on a former, historic college campus (Whitworth College), where most buildings are listed on the national register of historic places. MSA focuses on the advanced study of fine arts, aligned with a college preparatory curriculum. Students apply to audition during their sophomore year and, if accepted, attend their junior and senior years at MSA.

Students pay no tuition to attend

Although Mississippi School of the Arts is tuition-free, there is a Room & Board fee of $500.00 per semester ($1,000.00 per year) to assist with the expenses of housing a student (all meals included). Legislative appropriations support most of the costs for attendance at MSA. Parents will also be responsible for expenses such as incidental fees, laundry, spending money and for individual expenses. Fees vary according to arts disciplines. Students may apply for a hardship waiver to assist with these fees upon acceptance to attend Mississippi School of the Arts.

Six major fine art disciplines

Dance   Literary   Visual   Vocal Music   

Theatre   Media/Film

Criteria for admission

• Be a resident anywhere in Mississippi.
• Be a current tenth (10th) grader with a minimum of 12 Carnegie units of study upon the completion of the tenth-grade year. Click Here for more information about required courses.
• Demonstrate artistic achievement in the visual, literary, or performing arts
• Submit a completed online application with supporting documents
• Audition and/or present a portfolio for review (by invitation only)
• Have a minimum overall high school grade point average of 2.5 (Schools must include all visual and performing arts course grades in calculating overall GPA)
• After auditions and accepted for admission, student must provide results from the ACT (no minimum score required) to complete the enrollment process.