Program Overview

Academic Common Market

The Academic Common Market (ACM) is a tuition savings program allowing residents of a participating state to pursue specific academic degree programs not offered in their home states without having to pay non-resident tuition charges. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) coordinates the ACM program for the fifteen participating states, which include Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the ACM, a student must be a legal resident of an SREB member state, select a participating program that is approved for the ACM for his or her state, and be admitted unconditionally to that program of the host institution.

Application Deadlines

A letter of Certification of Residency for the student should be obtained from the ACM state coordinators. This letter must be received and approved by the Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President by:

• June 30th for Fall semester
• October 31st for Spring semester
• March 31st for Summer semester(s)

Admission Requirements

Effective January 1st, 2023, to receive the Academic Common Market tuition remission for approved programs, Mississippi State University requires that an entering student meet the following criteria:

• ACT composite score of 22
• Minimum ACT sub-score of 19 for Math and English
• 2.75 core GPA on High School transcripts

Transfer Student Requirements

In addition to the ACT and High School requirements, transfer students (4 year and Community College) must have a 2.75 GPA on college transcripts. To be considered a community college and/or 4-year college transfer student, a student must have a minimum of 30 earned credit hours on their transcript.

Currently Enrolled Student Requirements

For currently enrolled MSU students transferring to an Academic Common Market eligible major, students must also have:

• 3.0 Overall GPA

Graduate Program Requirements

To be admitted into an ACM approved graduate programs, applicants must meet the minimum university admission requirements for the Graduate School as well as any specific departmental requirements that may apply.

Program Requirements

As part of the Academic Common Market application, a student must secure a letter from the home department confirming that:

1. The student has been admitted into the appropriate ACM-eligible major at Mississippi State University.
2. The student meets the Mississippi State University Academic Common Market criteria as stated above.

Tuition Remission

The ACM Non-resident Tuition Remission is 100 percent and will remain at the 100 percent level if the student meets the following criteria:

• The student must remain a legal resident of the state from which the student received ACM residency certification.
• The student must remain in the approved academic degree program for which the student was certified.
• The student must be and remain enrolled as a full-time student each semester.
• The student must maintain academic good standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all attempted coursework at MSU and comply with all the requirements of the approved academic program.

Probation and Appeal

If a student does not have an overall 3.0 GPA, then they will be placed on ACM probation. There is only one ACM probation semester for ACM recipients. Appeals of loss of the ACM non-resident tuition remission may be made based on mitigating circumstances. The MSU ACM Appeals Committee has authority over all appeals and its decisions are final.