MUS admits students without regard to race, color, creed, or national or ethnic origin and seeks students with the potential for college studies. We offer need-based financial aid to qualified students.
Mission Memphis University School is a college-preparatory school dedicated to academic excellence, cultivation of service and leadership, and the development of well-rounded young men of strong moral character, consistent with the school’s Christian tradition.
Philosophy Memphis University School is committed to high standards of honor and integrity, academic performance, service, leadership, and athletics, and to the transmission of Judeo-Christian values.
An MUS education is characterized by a rigorous curriculum, a lively exchange of ideas, supportive teaching, and adherence to an honor code. Its objective is to instruct students in the skills and subject matter of the humanities and sciences, to engender successful habits and techniques of learning, and to instill the foremost principles of personal responsibility, morality, and gentlemanly conduct.
A dynamic extracurricular program devoted to excellence promotes leadership and service and encourages development of physical fitness and a rich variety of talents and interests. Non-denominational and non-sectarian, MUS seeks to foster a respectful appreciation of the spiritual nature of people and honors the sincere expression of widely differing faiths. MUS aspires to be a community of mutual respect and concern regardless of individual differences.
Written by members of the Class of 2001, the Community Creed was approved by the Student Council and adopted as a statement of the ideals and virtues that have governed student behavior and attitudes since the inception of the school.
Community Creed As students of Memphis University School, we share a duty to preserve our tradition of general excellence by upholding the principles that define and unify our community.
Truth and Honor: An MUS student tells the truth, does his own work, honors his commitments, and respects the property of others and of the school.
Scholarship: An MUS student actively seeks knowledge and understanding, and he encourages that pursuit among his classmates.
Service:
An MUS student contributes his time and abilities to the welfare of his school and of the greater community.
Respect:
An MUS student is courteous and kind and appreciates everyone in his community.
Humility:
An MUS student may be confident but never arrogant or boastful.
Involvement:
An MUS student develops leadership, cooperation, communication, self-discipline, and friendships in activities outside the classroom.
Accountability:
An MUS student takes responsibility for his actions and accepts their consequences.
Honor and integrity characterize a school worthy of respect. From its earliest days, Memphis University School has developed these virtues through the Honor System. An integral part of the life of the students, the Honor System aids the school in its mission of developing a boy’s character and enriching his spiritual life. Learn more about the Honor System, Oath of Honor, and Honor Council under Student Leadership HERE.
Dear MUS, How kind the fate that brought us to these halls To learn thy ways, To walk in truth and honor all our days. We pray that we shall always honor Thee. Let us all unite to sing To Alma Mater, Friend, and Leader, University.
WEATHER CLOSINGS During adverse weather conditions, administrators monitor the situation and decide when the school will close or follow abbreviated hours. The decision is posted on the school’s website and social media as soon as it is made, so please do not call or message school officials or administrative offices.
The school also calls, emails, and texts families during school emergencies and closings. These emergency notifications are called Owls Alerts. For us to contact you, we need accurate contact information and your permission to text you.
If you need to update your contact information, go to the Profile Update page of our website. You must also text "YES" to 87569 to allow us to text you.
The school responds to severe weather and other emergencies with a practiced procedure of securing students as quickly and as safely as possible in the most secure environment that the facilities offer.
In any real emergency, students are not to leave campus without permission from the administration. Buildings are safer than vehicles during these events, and the driving lanes on campus must be as free as possible for emergency vehicles or for the orderly dismissal from school once conditions improve according to the National Weather Service.
The MUS U Book is a comprehensive annual handbook of policies and contact information. It is provided to current MUS families, and may not be used for solicitation or commercial purpose. For confidentiality reasons only policies are provided here.
This document briefly outlines school policy about social media, use of school identity, and publishing guidelines. Contact the Communications Office with any questions.
Spring Formal: April 13
Student Council will host the Spring Formal Saturday, April 13, 8 p.m., at Memphis Botanic Gardens. The dance is open to Upper School Owls and their dates, and attire will be formal with long dresses.
Once again, we are using FACTS Tuition Management to process billing and collection for 2024-25 tuition payments and incidental charges (book rental, athletic fees, school trips, etc.).
Hutchison and St. Mary’s students who want to try out for MUS cheer squads should submit their applications by Friday, March 22. Forms and information packets are available with Mrs. Beth Taylor in the MUS Upper School Business Office.
Memphis City Councilman Chase Carlisle ’03 took the Hyde Chapel stage to present Coach Glenn Rogers, Jr. with a resolution in honor of his induction into the 2023 University of Memphis M Club Hall of Fame.
The Civic Service Organization will host a food distribution event in the Lower School parking lot Friday, March 15, at 8:30 a.m. Work will be completed by 11 a.m.
Headmaster Pete Sanders announces the appointment of Thad McCracken as athletic director. McCracken comes from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, where he has served as assistant athletic director since 2011 and men’s basketball head coach since 2010. He will join the faculty later this spring.
In celebration of Black History Month, junior Tyler Edmundson delved into the background of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike and noted that the city is filled with history and historical sites.
Twelve students participated in the 2024 WordSmith Olympics February 25 at the University of Memphis, led by Instructor in English Eric Dalle ’93. Among the awardees, seventh grader Gus Williams and senior Jerry Xiao each placed second in the 40-word dash in their age groups.
The Memphis University School chapter of the Cum Laude Society inducted 26 members from the classes of 2024 and 2025 during a ceremony February 23. Membership in the Cum Laude Society is the highest academic honor students in a secondary school can receive. The MUS chapter, modeled on Phi Beta Kappa, was chartered on December 14, 1967.
Senior Makhi Shaw made a presentation in chapel about Tom Lee, whose heroism in 1925 was memorialized with the dedication of Tom Lee Park along the Memphis riverbank in 1954.
Junior Chrishton King took a historical look at the Orange Mound neighborhood in a chapel presentation to examine the question, “Is the sense of community still there?”
King described Orange Mound as “the epitome of black achievement” after the subdivision was created in the 1890s.
Mrs. Jennifer M. Collins, the 21st president of Rhodes College, spoke to the MUS community today, noting the strong connection between the two schools, including nine faculty alumni and 15 students currently enrolled at the Memphis liberal arts school. She told how Halliburton Tower on the Rhodes campus, where her office is located, is named for world adventurer and writer Richard Halliburton, MUS Class of 1915.
The MUS robotics program hosted its inaugural VEX Robotics Competition in Todd-Snowden Gym February 10, welcoming 28 teams comprising middle and high school students from across West Tennessee.
The Owls math squad finished third out of 12 teams in this year’s MathCounts regional team competition. Gus Williams ’28 qualified for the state tournament with his individual score while Joseph Zhao ’28 placed first in the head-to-head competition of the Math Countdown Round.
Eight math scholars qualified to take the American Invitational Mathematics Examination II February 9. Pictured just before they began the three-hour, 15-question test are, from left, Alan Cheng ’25, Bryan Ding ’24, Jerry Xiao ’24, Parth Patel ’24, Alan Zhou ’24, Oscar Liu ’25, Albert Ding ’26, and Dannie Dong ’24.
Dr. Anthony Bradley visited MUS as the guest speaker of the 25th Metcalf Symposium. Bradley spoke to fathers, mentors, and sons on masculinity, boyhood, and growing up during his evening session February 8. He returned to campus February 9 to address the MUS community in Hyde Chapel, encouraging the boys to ask the question, “Who is it that God made me to be?”
Four Owls received honors for their submissions to Daughters of the American Revolution essay contests. Representatives of the DAR Watauga Chapter Maria Burke (former MUS math teacher) and Jean McSwain came to campus to make the presentations.
Executive Director of Families Matter Carol Jackson spoke in chapel about the work of the faith-based nonprofit to strengthen marriages, fathers, and families. This was the first of our Black History Month presentations.