Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs)
AASCU’s member HBCUs play a key role in closing educational gaps, driving social mobility, and preserving African American history and culture.
HBCUs are vital centers for cultural preservation, academic excellence, and social progress.
These institutions of higher education in the United States were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The first HBCU, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, was founded in 1837, prior to the Civil War. The principal mission of HBCUs was, and is, the education of African Americans. HBCUs were founded to provide educational opportunities to African Americans during a time when racial segregation and discrimination limited their access to higher education.
HBCUs play a critical role in the education, empowerment, and advancement of African Americans. They produce a substantial number of Black professionals in critical fields such as medicine, law, education, and the sciences.
Meet AASCU’s HBCU members.
90%
of public four-year HBCUs are AASCU members
36%
of HBCUs are Rural-Serving Institutions (RSIs)
AASCU’s Historically Black Colleges & Universities by the numbers
AASCU’s HBCUs enroll more than 168,000 undergraduate students
85%
of all undergraduate students at member HBCUs are people of color
64%
of undergraduate students at member HBCUs are women
58%
of undergraduate students at member HBCUs, on average, receive Pell Grants
Top fields of study:
31%
Social and behavioral sciences and human services
22%
STEM fields
21%
Business and communications
HBCU Leadership
91%
of presidents at member HBCUs identify as people of color
18%
of presidents at member HBCUs identify as women
Career pathways among AASCU’s HBCU presidents:
- Faculty/academic: 25%
- Career administrative leader: 42%
- Public sector/government: 17%
- Business executive: 8%
- Nonprofit executive: 8%
Data Sources
- AASCU analysis of IPEDS data, College Scorecard data, and The American College President Study 2023 Edition from the American Council on Education.
- The data presented on this page reflect AASCU’s institutional members. The institutional map includes AASCU’s institutional and associate member institutions.
- The term “people of color” represents individuals who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and multiracial.
- AASCU employs the framework and methodology developed by the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges to designate our member institutions as rural-serving institutions (RSI). As such, AASCU designates any member institution that has an RSI score above the average score as an RSI.
- President profile data reflect the identities of presidents who completed the American College President Study survey.
- For a complete list of HBCUs, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Eligibility Matrices for Titles III and Title V Programs.
HBCU Member Spotlight
PROMISING PRACTICE
Building a Pipeline of Diverse Teachers for the Next Generation of K–12 Students
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
To counter the small percentage of men of color in the education field, one UMES professor created an enterprising, vigorous program to attract, retain, and foster a community for aspiring teachers to lead the next generation of increasingly diverse students.
Learn more.
AASCU: Telling Our Story Podcast
Featuring Richard H. Warren Jr., Ed.D. and Todd Nock from UMES
Listen now.
Promising Practice
Reviving Enrollment and Ensuring Stability Through Bold Planning
Elizabeth City State University
Facing plummeting enrollment and high turnover in its leadership ranks, this university took action and created a decisive plan to boost enrollment, retention, and stability. This strategy, implemented from 2016 to 2020, is ongoing to support student success.
Learn more.Questions about HBCUs? Let us know.
"*" indicates required fields
