The University of Mississippi (colloquially known as Ole Miss) is an American public research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Including the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, it is the state's largest university by enrollment. The university was chartered by the Mississippi Legislature on February 24, 1844, and four years later admitted its first enrollment of 80 students. The university is classified as an "R1: Doctoral University—Highest Research Activity" by the Carnegie Foundation and has an annual research and development budget of $121.6 million. The university ranked 145 in the 2018 edition of the US News Rankings of Best National Universities.

Across all its campuses, the university comprises some 23,800 students. In addition to the main campus in Oxford and the medical school in Jackson, the university also has campuses in Tupelo, Booneville, Grenada, and Southaven. About 55 percent of its undergraduates and 60 percent overall come from Mississippi, and 23 percent are minorities; international students respectively represent 90 different nations. It is one of the 33 colleges and universities participating in the National Sea Grant Program and a participant in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program.