At Ole Miss, your future is limited only by your imagination
With more than 100 challenging and stimulating academic programs to choose from, Ole Miss students can prepare for virtually any future they can imagine. These programs include all the traditional programs you’d expect to find at a state flagship university, in addition to several programs that stand out from the usual fare.
Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College
The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College looks for students who seek opportunities to figure out their own solutions to problems, not just step into a role already prepared for them, said Debra Young, assistant dean of the college.
“That’s the concept behind Freshman Ventures [which sends students on a weekend trip to explore a destination in the United States], the fellowships to help with study abroad, our exploratory research requirement and our community-action component. All are ways to challenge students to challenge themselves through experiences beyond the traditional classroom,” Young said.
The Honors College, named as one of the three best honors colleges in the nation by Reader’s Digest, was established in 1997 through a gift from alumni Jim and Sally Barksdale. It offers an education similar to that at prestigious private liberal arts schools and universities but at a far lower cost. Small, discussion-based classes, dedicated faculty and a nurturing staff enable honors students to experience intellectual as well as personal growth.
“The Honors College does its utmost to provide something for everyone,” said Jasmine McKee, honors student and sophomore pharmaceutical sciences major from Hernando, Miss. “Whether it’s a group to play intramural sports with or a chance to take a service trip, the Honors College staff and students will do their best to make it happen for you. The best part about it is no one forces you to do anything. If you want to go on the Freshman Ventures trip, you have to help plan it yourself and get all the paperwork turned in on time. This allows us, as young adults, to grow comfortable with our potential.”
Croft Institute for International Studies
The Croft Institute for International Studies curriculum comprises four components: a heavy emphasis on foreign-language training where students achieve a high level of proficiency in the language of their choice; an interdisciplinary approach in which students study a region and global theme of their choice; a quantitative component that ensures students understand math and economics as well as they understand humanities; and either a semester or year studying abroad.
“Not many places combine those four things,” said Croft Institute director Kees Gispen.
Many graduates of the Croft Institute go on to postgraduate education. Others have gone on to work in homeland security, set up a school in Rwanda, develop real estate in Panama, join Teach for America, teach Spanish in high school, trade cotton in Japan and start a charter school in Philadelphia, Pa.
“The Croft Institute has provided me with numerous opportunities that will be essential to my future career in international affairs,” said Kyra McDonald, a sophomore international studies major from Madison, Miss.
Public Policy Leadership
UM has a long tradition of producing leaders at the state and national levels, including governors, U.S. senators and representatives, and Supreme Court justices. The Bachelor of Arts in public policy leadership, approved in 2007, assures the tradition will continue.
“We want students who are driven, ambitious and willing to make a commitment to change the world,” said Robert Haws, chair of public policy leadership and associate professor of history. The public policy leadership program is under the umbrella of the Lott Leadership Institute, named for former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott (BPA 63; JD 67).
Students majoring in public policy leadership acquire the quantitative skills necessary for policy analysis, an understanding of the ethical imperatives of leadership and a clear appreciation of the global nature of responsible decision making.
“Being involved in this major has made my freshman-year experience so unique,” said Chelsea Caveny, a freshman from Hattiesburg, Miss. “We are constantly presented with opportunities to meet with elected officials ranging from the Oxford mayor to former senators Trent Lott and Tom Daschle.
“Also, this summer I will be traveling to South Korea with the Lott Leadership Institute exchange program. I am looking forward to being exposed to a new culture and learning about leadership from a different perspective. I cannot speak highly enough of the institute and the public policy leadership major. To look around my classroom every day and realize that the people sitting next to me are the next leaders of this state and nation is an amazing feeling.”
Southern Studies
UM graduates with B.A. and M.A. degrees in Southern studies have gone on to work for such institutions as Teach for America, CNN, Southern Living magazine and the National Endowment for the Arts. Others have entered law school, business school and graduate programs in the humanities. But before they graduate, Southern studies majors get a lot of hands-on experience in the field.
“One day, we may be walking down the streets of Oxford to examine the roadside historical markers, and the next we are in the Delta, filming a documentary about folk art,” said Jennifer Lawrence, a junior from Finchville, Ky. “The Southern studies program thrives on this sense of diverse learning, and the camaraderie provided by such exploration is an experience you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.”
Southern studies provides a solid liberal arts background that gives students skills in reading and interpretation, analytical writing, research and oral presentation. The program seeks to document the American South in all of its complexity.
“Students like the fact that our laboratory is everywhere they look—in the dorms, in the Grove, in movie theatres, in books, in their hometowns, in their family stories,” said Nancy Bercaw, undergraduate advisor for Southern studies and associate professor of history and Southern studies. “In Southern studies, students … might conduct oral histories, take photographs and poke around in archives, and they are just as likely to write a paper about Elvis Presley or B.B. King as they are about William Faulkner.”
Forensic Chemistry
Students who are interested in helping law enforcement solve crimes through the application of analytical chemical methods should consider majoring in forensic chemistry at UM. They will have the opportunity to train on instruments similar to those used in crime laboratories throughout the country and will complete a summer internship in a crime laboratory.
“This summer, two of our students will take part in the FBI’s Honors Internship Program in Quantico, Va.,” said Murrell Godfrey, director of the forensic chemistry program and assistant professor in chemistry and biochemistry. Only 100 students nationally were selected for this prestigious internship.
UM’s forensic chemistry program is the only one in the South that offers a Bachelor of Science degree accredited through the American Academy of Forensic Science and grants nonresident tuition (the Academic Common Market Scholarship) to eligible majors from participating Southeastern states through the Southern Regional Education Board.
Students who have completed a Bachelor of Science in forensic chemistry from UM have gone on to careers as doctors, 
lawyers, FBI agents, forensic scientists, crime-scene investigators and crime-laboratory directors.
Chinese Language Flagship Program
UM undergraduates can benefit from a federally funded, intensive language-training program designed to help students achieve superior proficiency in Mandarin Chinese.
The program provides financial aid to assist in covering tuition, fees and housing expenses for the initial summer program on campus and also provides significant subsidies for study in China in the subsequent summers. Students who have not achieved superior proficiency by the end of four years of undergraduate study spend a fifth undergraduate or a postbaccalaureate year in China, which is also subsidized significantly by the program.
Prior Chinese-language experience is not required, but those who have it also are urged to apply.
“Not only is Chinese a fascinating language and China a rising world power, but the United States has a great shortage of highly proficient speakers of Chinese,” said Michael Metcalf, UM associate provost for international affairs. “It is a tremendous career booster to become highly proficient in this still less commonly taught language; not only can such proficiency increase an employee’s salary, but it also can put that employee into more senior circles of the company or organization for which she or he works.”
