Mississippi state guide
ABA Programs in Mississippi (2026): Mississippi State, USM, Ole Miss, and the Online Pathway
Mississippi's BCBA market is anchored clinically by the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, the state's only academic medical center. The Mississippi Autism Board, created in 2015, governs behavior-analyst licensure separately from the Board of Psychology. Mississippi State, the University of Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss, and out-of-state online programs prepare new MS BCBAs. Outside Jackson, the Gulf Coast (Biloxi-Gulfport), and the Memphis-metro suburbs in north MS, the state is rural-heavy with pronounced ABA service gaps that telehealth bridges. Persistent HRSA HPSA designations across rural counties open federal loan-repayment programs for BCBAs willing to serve there.
Key Takeaways
- 01University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson is the state's only academic medical center and the primary autism services and developmental pediatrics anchor.
- 02Mississippi licenses behavior analysts through the Mississippi Autism Board, a separate body from the Board of Psychology that specifically governs behavior-analyst practice.
- 03Mississippi has one of the highest concentrations of rural counties and lowest household-income demographics in the country. ABA service gaps are pronounced outside Jackson, the Gulf Coast (Biloxi-Gulfport), and the Memphis-metro suburbs in north MS. Telehealth bridges much of the rural delivery gap.
- 04Mississippi State (online M.S. in Educational Psychology: ABA), the University of Southern Mississippi (M.S. Psychology, ABA emphasis), and Ole Miss (M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction, ABA specialization) anchor in-state academic preparation. UMMC's clinical training relationships connect students to autism-specialty placements.
- 05Mississippi Medicaid plus state autism insurance mandate cover ABA for eligible children. Persistent HRSA HPSA designations across rural counties make NHSC and PSLF loan-repayment programs meaningfully available.
- 06For new BCBAs, school-district roles (Jackson Public Schools, DeSoto County, Harrison County), UMMC affiliates, and growing private agency networks serving the Gulf Coast and Memphis-suburb markets are the main hiring sources.
UMMC and the Mississippi Market
UMMC in Jackson is Mississippi's only academic medical center, the state's primary autism services and developmental pediatrics anchor, and the largest healthcare employer in the state. UMMC's training relationships with USM and Mississippi State funnel ABA students into clinical placements at the Children's of Mississippi hospital and affiliated programs.
Outside Jackson, the urban BCBA employer base concentrates on the Gulf Coast (Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula), the DeSoto County / Memphis-metro suburbs in north MS (Southaven, Olive Branch, Hernando), and the Hattiesburg-Pine Belt region anchored by USM. Most other MS counties are rural, with substantial HPSA designations and telehealth-bridged services.
How to Become a BCBA in Mississippi
- Earn a master's degree from a BACB-aligned program.
- Complete 1,500 to 2,000 supervised fieldwork hours under a qualified BCBA at a Mississippi-based site.
- Pass the BCBA exam.
- Apply for the Mississippi behavior analyst license through the Mississippi Autism Board.
- Maintain renewal and complete required continuing education.
MS Behavior Analyst License
MS Insurance and Medicaid
Mississippi requires state-regulated insurance plans to cover ABA therapy for autism spectrum disorder. Mississippi Medicaid covers ABA for eligible children, including telehealth delivery. The state's CHIP program plus Children's Special Health Care Services adds additional coverage paths for eligible families.
In-State ABA and BCBA Programs in Mississippi
| Program | Metro | Credits | In-State Total | Out-of-State Total | Pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State University, M.S. in Educational Psychology: Applied Behavior Analysis | Starkville (online) | 40 | $628/credit hour | $628/credit hour | BACB Coursework |
| University of Southern Mississippi, M.S. in Psychology with ABA Emphasis | Hattiesburg | 48 | $550/credit hour | $662/credit hour | BACB Coursework |
| University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction: ABA Specialization | Oxford | 30 | $571/credit hour | $1,155/credit hour | BACB Coursework |
MSU's online M.S. meets the BACB coursework requirements and charges in-state tuition to all students. A post-baccalaureate ABA certificate (CABA) is available for those who already hold a master's, and MSU added a Bachelor of Science in ABA in 2025. The T.K. Martin Center provides on-campus clinical exposure.
Visit program website →Housed in USM's School of Psychology with both thesis and non-thesis tracks. Serves south Mississippi and the Gulf Coast with strong school-district and clinical placements across the Pine Belt region.
Visit program website →Housed under Special Education / Teacher Education. Note the admissions gate: it requires a teaching license or qualifying standardized-test scores, which is unusual among ABA programs. The program graduated its first cohort recently.
Visit program website →Online Programs Accessible from Mississippi
Many Mississippi residents combine BACB-aligned online coursework with MS-based fieldwork. Confirm a program's current coursework alignment directly with the BACB before enrolling. (The ABAI Verified Course Sequence system was retired at the end of 2025.)
Indiana public-university fully online ABA master's with affordable per-credit tuition.
Visit program website →Florida public-university online M.S. Smaller cohorts than larger national online programs.
Visit program website →FlexPath competency-based pacing for working professionals balancing full-time work.
Visit program website →ASU Online M.A. with structured cohorts and national name recognition.
Visit program website →Where Mississippi BCBAs Work
Mississippi BCBA employers concentrate around the Jackson medical-center cluster, the Gulf Coast service market, the DeSoto County / Memphis-suburb corridor, and a statewide network of school districts and Medicaid-funded agencies.
- UMMC + Children's of Mississippi (Jackson). State's only academic medical center. Developmental pediatrics, autism services, the Mississippi Autism Project. Most academically rigorous BCBA settings in the state.
- Canopy Children's Solutions (statewide, Jackson-based). One of Mississippi's largest nonprofit ABA and autism-services providers, with CASP-accredited clinics and a Mississippi State practicum partnership.
- T.K. Martin Center (Mississippi State, Starkville). University center offering ABA and psychological services and a fieldwork site for MSU students.
- Magnolia Speech School (Jackson). Long-running nonprofit for children with communication and developmental disabilities. Strong autism-specialty caseloads.
- Mississippi public school districts. Jackson Public Schools, DeSoto County Schools (Southaven / Olive Branch), Harrison County Schools (Gulf Coast), Rankin County, and Madison County hire BCBAs for special education and IEP support.
- Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Community Mental Health Centers across MS deliver behavioral health services including some ABA-adjacent work.
- Memphis-metro spillover (north MS). Le Bonheur Children's Hospital plus Memphis-area private agencies sometimes serve north-MS families. Dual MS-TN credentialing opens cross-border options.
- Gulf Coast private ABA agencies. A growing set of agencies serves the Biloxi-Gulfport corridor, often working with military families through the TRICARE Extended Care Health Option.
- Veterans Affairs medical centers. Biloxi, Jackson, and other VA facilities offer federal-pay-band positions.
BCBA Salary in Mississippi by Metro
BLS does not publish a standalone behavior-analyst occupation. Most BCBA work in Mississippi codes under SOC 21-1018. For national BCBA pay context see the BCBA salary guide. The figures below are aggregator estimates (ZipRecruiter), not official BLS data, across MS metros for 2026:
- Jackson metro BCBA: approximately $66,000 to $84,000, with UMMC-affiliated and clinical-lead roles pushing higher.
- Gulf Coast metro BCBA: approximately $62,000 to $78,000.
- DeSoto County / Memphis-suburb BCBA: approximately $66,000 to $84,000 (Memphis-metro market adjacency).
- Hattiesburg / Pine Belt BCBA: approximately $60,000 to $76,000.
- Rural MS BCBA: approximately $56,000 to $72,000, sometimes higher when HPSA loan-repayment layers in.
- MS RBT (statewide): approximately $34,000 to $44,000.
Mississippi cost of living runs among the lowest in the country, which substantially improves real take-home purchasing power relative to coastal-metro states.
Workforce, Shortages, and Loan Repayment
- HRSA HPSA designations: Most MS counties outside Jackson, Gulf Coast, and DeSoto County carry mental-health HPSA designations. HRSA HPSA data updates quarterly.
- PSLF: BCBAs at MS public schools, UMMC, Magnolia Speech School, VA medical centers, and qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits can pursue federal loan forgiveness.
- NHSC Loan Repayment: NHSC covers eligible clinicians in HPSA areas.
- Mississippi Office of Mental Health workforce programs: Some state-administered workforce-development programs for behavioral-health graduate students.
For broader context see our ABA programs by state directory or nearby state guides: Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01How do I become a BCBA in Mississippi?+
02What is the Mississippi Autism Board?+
03Can I complete an ABA master's online while living in Mississippi?+
04What does the BLS report for MS BCBAs?+
Sources
- Mississippi Autism Board
- UMMC (University of Mississippi Medical Center)
- University of Southern Mississippi
- Mississippi State University, ABA (Educational Psychology)
- University of Mississippi, M.Ed. ABA Specialization
- Mississippi Medicaid
- ABAI, Accredited Programs Directory
- BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS Mississippi (May 2024)
- HRSA HPSA designations