public, coeducational institution of higher learning near Starkville, Mississippi, U.S. It is a land-grant university that is made up of eight colleges and schools. There is also a branch at Meridian. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees are awarded in such fields as accounting, agriculture, architecture, arts and sciences, business and industry, education, engineering, forestry, and veterinary medicine. Notable among its research facilities are the Engineering Research Center at John C. Stennis Space Center, the Social Science Research Center, the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, and the Water Resources Research Institute. Mississippi State also operates statewide branches of the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and of the Cooperative Extension Service. Total student enrollment is approximately 16,000.