Master's · Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Is Social Work at University of Southern Mississippi worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 19 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $47,773; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $55,342; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $38,270; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $41k (likely $41k – $41k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $2k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MS; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 19 years (likely 10.2–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$170k (likely −$226k – −$119k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$109k (likely −$243k – $17k); Today's dollars
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: ≤ 20% / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.