It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Jackson State is also the home of the Sonic Boom of the South, a marching band founded in the 1940s.

The seminary was affiliated with the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, who established it "for the moral, religious, and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states".

[13] The college moved to its current location early in the 20th century, where it developed into a full state university.

[14] Many students at Jackson State College became active in the civil rights movement.

Work to gain integrated practice and social justice continued after civil rights legislation was passed in the mid-1960s.

[17] Shortly thereafter, the university's board of trustees placed Hudson on administrative leave and appointed Elayne Hayes-Anthony the acting president.

Gibbs-Green Pedestrian Walkway was named in honor of the two young men who died in the Jackson State shooting in 1970.

As a result of the landmark "Ayers Settlement" in 2002, the university, along with the other two public HBCUs in the state, has completed extensive renovations and upgrades to campus.

[32] JSU is the first and only HBCU in Mississippi to support a bachelor's and master's level engineering program.

Jackson State is a member of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

JSU consistently leads the nation in Division I FCS football average home attendance.

Jackson State is home to radio station WJSU-88.5 FM which plays jazz, gospel, news, and public affairs programming.

The independent weekly student newspaper is called Blue and White Flash[45] and the Jacksonian magazine features news and highlights about the university.