Six major fine art disciplines:
Dance Literary Visual Vocal Music Theatre Media/Film
» Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA) is a public, residential high school, operated by the Mississippi State Board of Education/Mississippi Department of Education and funded by Mississippi legislature. MSA is located on a former, historic college campus, 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 MSA. However, 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. 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.
Criteria for Admission to MSA
- 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.
Ready to Apply? Start Here!
Begin the process by submitting your online application to audition. Please provide the following:
- Student’s contact information (including an email address).
- Contact information for two parents/guardians (including email addresses).
- Choose which arts discipline(s) you’re applying for.
- Type a self-descriptive essay. You can upload a file or type the essay in an online text box. (Microsoft Word or PDF file recommended. See essay prompts)
- Copy of applying student’s photo identification, such as any official government ID with name, yearbook photo with name or any other official document with photo and name.
→ Submit Online Application
NEXT…
Mail Documents to Admissions Office
✅ After certifying and submitting your online application, please gather and mail the following documents (with tracking number) to the Admissions Office for processing. Your application is not considered complete until these are received by the Admissions Office:
- Arts Recommendation Letter (one for each area the student is auditioning in) (download)
- Non-Arts Teacher Recommendation Letter (download)
- Principal or Counselor Recommendation Letter (download)
- 8th grade transcript (may be unofficial)
- 9th grade transcript (may be unofficial)
- 10th grade transcript showing first two nine-weeks (may be unofficial)
- Completed Declaration of Residency (download)
- Completed Information Release form (download)
- Two (2) proofs of residency (mortgage/lease, utility bill, driver’s license, etc)
Once you submit your application and mail required documents, the Admissions Office will begin verifying your information. If you meet the requirements for audition, you’ll receive an invitation to audition.
