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Mississippi · high school · 2026-2027 school year

Mississippi homeschool graduation requirements, diploma, and transcript

Trellis has no step-by-step law page for Mississippi yet. The state's own statute and agency sources at the end of this page are the primary references.

Mississippi issues no diplomas or transcripts to home-schooled students and sets no required subjects or curriculum (Miss. Code § 37-13-91). The parent creates the diploma and transcript; only an annual enrollment certificate is filed.

The short version

  • Who sets the requirement: the state's graduation rules bind public schools, not homeschools. The parent issues the diploma.
  • The reference standard: the public-school minimum is 24 credits, and that table is the common starting point a transcript is read against; colleges set their own expectations on top of it, below.
  • What colleges actually look for: the universities in the table below publish their own course expectations.
  • What a transcript must show: courses by year, credits, and grades, kept by the parent, with the same subject headings the reference table uses.
  • Across states: compare what 51 flagship universities ask.

The public-school credit table, for reference

Mississippi's public-school diploma requires 24 credits. A homeschool is not held to it. It is shown as the reference a transcript is commonly read against. A recruited athlete also registers with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which grades home-school core courses against its own worksheet, separate from this table.

SubjectCreditsWhat that means
English 4 Traditional diploma, public-school reference only.
Math 4
Science 3
Social studies 3.5 US History; World History; Government; Economics.
Foreign language 0 Not required for the Traditional diploma; required for the Academic/Distinguished Academic endorsements.
PE and health 1 0.5 health, 0.5 physical education.
Arts 1
Electives 5.5
Other 2 1 credit technology/computer science; 1 credit college and career readiness.

Assessments in the public-school rules: State accountability testing exists for public schools; none required for a homeschool-issued diploma.

What Mississippi colleges ask a homeschooled applicant for

Mississippi's public universities all use one shared statewide College Preparatory Curriculum (the Institutions of Higher Learning's CPC, IHL CPC), so a single transcript plan works for any in-state public university. Sources vary slightly on the CPC unit counts.

Years of each subject. 0 means the university lists no requirement in that subject; a dash means it publishes no figure for it.

flagship University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)

SubjectMinimumRecommended
English4
Math34
Science3
Social studies3
Foreign language
Arts

2 advanced electives, one of them foreign language or world geography (foreign language, world geography, a fourth year of lab science or of mathematics), and one-half unit of computer applications; 15.5 Carnegie units in all

Ole Miss's catalog table, read in a browser on 2026-09-05: English 4; mathematics 3 (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II; a fourth highly recommended); science 3 with two laboratory courses; social studies 3 (U.S. history, world history with geography, a half unit each of government and of economics or geography); 2 advanced electives with one in foreign language or world geography; a half unit of computer applications. Algebra I or first-year foreign language taken in eighth grade counts. Foreign language and the arts are not itemised as their own lines. University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) requirements (source), checked 2026-09-05.

Mississippi State University

SubjectMinimumRecommended
English44
Math44
Science34
Social studies33
Foreign language
Arts11

2 Carnegie units of advanced electives: Foreign Language I plus one unit from the CPC's Option 3 list (AP, dual credit or an approved career and technical course), not necessarily two years of one language

Same statewide IHL College Preparatory Curriculum used across all 8 Mississippi public universities. Mississippi State University requirements (source), checked 2026-09-05.

Questions families ask

Does Mississippi require a homeschool diploma?

Show answer
No. The graduation rules above bind public schools; the parent issues the diploma, and the state neither reviews nor accredits it.

How many credits does a Mississippi homeschool diploma need?

Show answer
None by law. The public-school minimum is 24 credits; it is the table colleges commonly read a transcript against.

Who signs a homeschool transcript in Mississippi?

Show answer
The parent. The state does not review, sign, or accredit it. What makes it credible is that it is complete, consistent, and kept as the work happened.

What does University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) expect from a homeschooled applicant?

Show answer
The course pattern in the table above, and the same application everyone files; the note under that table summarises the university's published admissions guidance.