,·Private (Liberal Arts, HBCU, United Methodist Church-affiliated)·Est. 1866
“Mississippi's oldest HBCU — a 159-year legacy of educating Black leaders, from Ida B. Wells to today's first-generation Bearcats.”
Rust College is a private, four-year historically Black liberal arts college in Holly Springs, Mississippi, founded in 1866 by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is the oldest HBCU in Mississippi, the second-oldest private college in the state, and one of only ten HBCUs founded before 1868 that are still operating. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a member institution of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Rust's earliest classes met at Asbury United Methodist Church and welcomed formerly enslaved students of every age — a mission of access for first-generation, Pell-eligible, and historically excluded learners that still defines the college today. Rust's identity is inseparable from the civil-rights tradition. Anti-lynching journalist and NAACP co-founder Ida B. Wells-Barnett studied here in the 1870s; the campus was a hub for 1960s voter-registration and desegregation organizing in northern Mississippi. With an undergraduate enrollment of roughly 430 and a student-faculty ratio of 11:1, classes are small, faculty know students by name, and the academic culture emphasizes mentorship, faith-grounded service, and community uplift. Five academic divisions — Business, Education, Humanities, Science & Mathematics, and Social Sciences — deliver associate and bachelor's degrees across 16 majors, with Biology, Business Administration, Mass Communication, Education, and Social Work among the most popular paths. Life on the 126-acre campus revolves around the Bearcats — eleven NAIA varsity teams competing in the HBCU Athletic Conference — plus a vibrant Greek life, the Student Government Association, gospel and jazz choirs, and chapel programming reflecting the college's Methodist heritage. About 82% of undergraduates live on campus in six residence halls, and 95% receive grant or scholarship aid, making Rust one of the most affordable four-year colleges in the South. For international students, Rust is a SEVP-certified institution with a DSO in the Registrar's Office, a $50 application fee, and TOEFL-based English requirements that can be waived for graduates of English-medium schools.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Required — All applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores.
Official SourceRolling Admission (Domestic)
Rust uses rolling admissions; applying early in the cycle is encouraged.
International — Fall Priority
Priority deadline for Fall 2026 international applicants per the Office of International Students.
International — Spring Priority
Priority deadline for Spring 2027 international applicants.
International — Summer Priority
Listed alternate priority deadline on the main admissions page.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$11,000 – $14,000
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$22,000 – $25,000
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Houses Rust's flagship Business Administration program, one of the most popular majors on campus. Offers concentrations in management, accounting, and entrepreneurship, with strong UNCF-affiliated career pipelines.
Includes the nationally visible Mass Communication / Broadcast Journalism program — a direct legacy of alumna Ida B. Wells-Barnett — alongside English, Religion & Philosophy, Music, and Modern Foreign Languages.
Pre-health gateway division offering Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Computer Science. Biology is one of the highest-earning Rust majors and feeds into HBCU medical-school pipelines (Meharry, Morehouse School of Medicine).
Anchors Rust's civil-rights heritage. Programs in Social Work, Sociology, Political Science, History, and Criminal Justice prepare students for community advocacy, public service, and graduate study.
Trains the next generation of K-12 educators for Mississippi and the broader South. Offers Elementary Education and Early Childhood programs leading to Mississippi teacher licensure.
4 years
Rust's signature program, anchored by an on-campus radio station (WURC 88.1 FM) and TV studio. Connects students to the legacy of alumna Ida B. Wells-Barnett, the pioneering anti-lynching journalist. Strong placement into HBCU media networks and Black-owned newsrooms.
4 years
Pre-health track with strong advising for medical, dental, and pharmacy school. Among the highest-earning Rust majors, with alumni pipelines into HBCU professional programs and graduate research.
4 years
Reflects Rust's Methodist mission of service and its civil-rights legacy. CSWE-aligned curriculum prepares students for MSW programs and direct community-practice roles in the Mississippi Delta and beyond.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $13,265
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
