Explore the World Through Croft: Your Journey Starts Here
Discover how the Croft Institute’s rigorous academics, global focus, and personalized support can prepare you for a dynamic and meaningful international career.
How to Apply to the Croft Institute
Successful applicants to the Croft Institute for International Studies will rank near the top of their high school class and have a composite score of 28 or higher on the ACT (the equivalent of 1250 on the math and critical reading portions of the SAT or 1310 or higher on the SATR) and an unweighted high school GPA of 3.50 or higher, or be valedictorian or salutatorian of their high schools. The Croft Institute encourages well rounded students with strong GPAs and students with special skills in one or more foreign languages to apply even if their test scores do not quite match the above requirements.
Your online application to the Croft Institute takes place in two stages.
- First, you must apply for admission to the University of Mississippi on-line. Applicants have the option to select “International Studies” as their undergraduate major.
- Second, and after you have completed the online UM application and submitted it, you log in at the same site where you applied initially and return to your completed application. You do not have to wait to hear from the University of Mississippi regarding your acceptance before you begin the Croft application.
- Access the Special Programs and Scholarship Application for the Croft Institute and other special programs, such as the SMB Honors College, the Arabic Language Flagship Program, the Chinese Language Flagship Program, the Lott Leadership Institute, and Scholarships. Please note that you can select as many special programs as you would like.
- All prospective Croft students are encouraged to apply to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College as well. The special programs and scholarship application is divided into two parts.
- The first four pages—Resume, Personal Statement, Recommenders, and Essay—contain general information that is shared with all the programs you are applying to. You must complete all of these pages before you can access the Croft application section. Please read all instructions carefully and answer every question thoroughly.
- All prospective Croft students are encouraged to apply to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College as well. The special programs and scholarship application is divided into two parts.
The deadline to apply to the Croft Institute is January 10. Applications received after that date will not be eligible for scholarship consideration and will be considered for admission on a space-available basis only.
Students who complete their applications by the Early Action deadline of November 1, will receive an early decision by December. An early-action application will either be accepted, deferred to the spring application pool, or rejected.
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Honors and Scholarships
The Institute each year awards Croft Scholarships to its most competitive incoming freshmen, the Croft Scholars. Croft Scholars receive $8,000 per year for four years. These are among the largest and most prestigious scholarships available at the University, and they may be combined with most other forms of financial assistance. Croft Scholars must maintain a GPA of at least 3.4. The Croft on-line application is both for admission into the program and for the Croft Scholarship competition. If you would like to be considered for other University of Mississippi scholarships, you must complete the general UM Scholarship application available through the UM online supplemental application.
- Croft scholarships are awarded each year to outstanding freshmen, the Croft Scholars.
- Croft Scholars receive $8,000 per year for four years-a total of $32,000, which may be combined with other scholarship support.
- The Rose Bui Memorial Scholarship for Academic Excellence ($8,000 per year) is awarded each year to the top rising sophomore who does not already have substantial scholarship support.
- The Foreign Student Scholarship for the most competitive foreign student in the Institute ($9,000 per year) is awarded every time the incumbent graduates.
- The Mike Aune Memorial Scholarship for a rising sophomore concentrating on Latin America makes a significant contribution to defraying tuition expenses.
Successful applicants to the Croft Institute typically qualify for one of various kinds of financial aid available at the University of Mississippi:
- Academic Excellence - (based on 3.0 GPA or higher and ACT/SAT score) from $500 to full tuition per year for four years
- Accountancy Scholarships - $3,000 per year for four years
- Chinese Flagship Scholarships - up to $24,000 over a five-year period
- Carrier and Newman Scholarships - $6,000-$10,000 per year for four years*
- Day Business Scholarship - $10,000 per year for four years
- Honors College Scholarships - $8,000 per year for four years*
- Lucky Day Scholarships (for Miss. residents only) - $2,000-$7,000 per year for four years
*may not be combined with the Croft Scholarship
Most Croft students are also members of the Honors College. The two programs work closely together and have aligned many of their requirements, thus avoiding overlap and unnecessary duplication. For example, many Croft courses earn Honors College credit, while the Croft senior thesis does double duty as the Honors College senior thesis. Joining both Croft and Honors therefore does not mean taking on extra burdens. On the contrary, Croft and Honors perfectly complement each other.
Croft students do not have to be members of the Honors College. Croft students already have the most important advantages of the Honors College, such as smaller classes, individualized attention from faculty and advisers, a closely knit community of students, and special facilities, including dedicated computer labs and study spaces.
Membership in the Honors College adds to the special advantages of the Croft Institute. The Honors College provides access to additional opportunities, including scholarships, internships, eligibility for Barksdale Awards, and special faculty and staff resources.
More information about the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College can be found here.
Any two (2) of the 200-level core courses:
Croft/Honors General Education Courses:
Math 271: Calculus of Decision Making
Econ 202: Principles of Microeconomics (Croft/Honors Section Only)
Croft Senior Thesis Courses:
Frequently Asked Questions
Students select a region on which to concentrate a major part of their studies:
- East Asia
- Europe
- Latin America
- Middle East
Students select a global theme on which to concentrate a major part of their studies:
- Global Economics and Business (GEB)
- Global Health (GB)
- International Governance and Politics (IGP)
- Social and Cultural Identity (SCI)
Students aim to achieve a high level of proficiency in at least one foreign language.
All international studies majors are required to study abroad for at least one semester.
Students write a thesis during their senior year and defend this thesis before graduation.
If studying a Romance or Germanic language, Croft students are expected to achieve a proficiency rating of "Advanced - Low" or higher on the scale adopted by the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages. Students studying Russian, Chinese, or Japanese are expected to achieve a proficiency rating of at least "Intermediate - Mid." Croft students in the Chinese Flagship intensive Chinese language program are expected to reach substantially higher scores. In all cases, students need to pursue their language studies throughout their undergraduate studies.
Yes, you can study more than one language. However, each student must choose one language as his or her major language and study that language every semester in college.
No. You have to be admitted into the Croft Institute for International Studies to obtain a B.A. in International Studies. However, you can get a minor in International Studies without being accepted into the Croft Institute.
The international studies major leads to the B.A. in international studies. While not a professional degree such as the bachelor degree in engineering or accountancy, the B.A.. in international studies provides students with considerably more marketable and more practical skills than a typical liberal arts degree. International studies majors acquire directly applicable skills such as advanced foreign language proficiency, the ability to solve statistical and mathematical problems, experience in public speaking, capacity for functioning in unfamiliar settings, and managing complex and massive amounts of data. These are highly desirable skills both as preparation for graduate school and as know-how leading to jobs in government, industry, or the non-profit sector directly upon graduation. At the same time, and like other majors in the humanities and the arts and sciences, the international studies program prepares students to respond creatively to the uncharted challenges of a rapidly changing world and unpredictable future. The international studies major teaches students to think analytically and synthetically, to analyze complex issues, to exercise sound judgment, and to become independent citizens.
The application form for admission to the Croft Institute serves as the application for scholarship consideration. The application process for high-school seniors starts with the Ole Miss on-line application.
Freshmen or transfer students must fill out a paper application. The paper application can be picked up from the Croft Building. These students are advised to contact the Croft Institute for more information. The application deadline is January 5.
While there is no Croft-specific dorms at Ole Miss, students have many great options for housing. Many of our students choose to live in either of the Luckyday Residential College or the Residential College South, and students may apply to live in either of the Residential Colleges through the Ole Miss Housing application.
Croft students do not have to live in one of these options. Students are welcome to live within traditional freshman dorms or other contemporary housing at Ole Miss.