The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), known informally as Southern Miss, is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Hattiesburg campus is located 70 miles (110 km) north of Gulfport, Mississippi and 105 miles (169 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. USM is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award baccalaureate, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. The university is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a "Research University" with "High Research Activity" (designation "RU/H").
Founded on March 30, 1910, the university is a dual campus institution, with the main campus located in Hattiesburg. The other large campus, Gulf Park, is located in Long Beach, with five additional teaching and research sites, including the John C. Stennis Space Center and the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL).