Every year, the U.S. News & World Report publishes a list of the top historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the nation. U.S. News is highly regarded as a publisher of college news, advice, and authoritative rankings, and they use a strict set of criteria to determine which colleges and universities will make their lists.
To be considered for this list of the top HBCUs in the United States, each school must be currently listed in the U.S. Department of Education’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities registry. The candidates must also be an undergraduate baccalaureate-granting institution that focuses on enrolling first-year, first-time students instead of non-traditional students. In addition to these criteria, the candidates must also be included in U.S. News’ 2019 Best Colleges rankings.
76 HBCUs were eligible to be included in the 2019 Historically Black Colleges and Universities rankings; 76 of the eligible HBCUs were ranked in the list, while the four HBCUs that were unranked in the 2019 Best Colleges rankings were also unranked in the 2019 Historically Black Colleges and Universities rankings. U.S. News uses quantitative measures of academic quality, such as assessments, student retention, graduation rates, and financial resources, as well as the publisher’s nonpartisan view of criteria that mater in education to rank universities in order of desirability. Unlike other U.S. News lists which include a wide range of HBCUs and PWIs, the HBCUs on this list were only compared against each other.
We have compiled a list of the top 25 HBCUs based on these rankings. There have been significant changes from the 2018 list, including:
- Tuskegee University dropped out of the Top 10 and is now ranked #15 after not submitting the statistical survey data.
- Virginia State University and Kentucky State University both broke into the top 25 list for 2019. Kentucky State climbed 16 spots from last year when it ranked 38th.
- Norfolk State University rose to take Bowie State’s position at #22.
Here are the Top 25 HBCU rankings for 2018:
| RANK | UNIVERSITY | LOCATION | |
|
22
|
Norfolk State University*
|
Norfolk, VA
|
|
|
22
|
Kentucky State University* |
Frankfort, KY
|
|
|
22
|
Johnson C. Smith University* |
Charlotte, NC
|
|
|
22
|
Fayetteville State University* | Fayetteville, NC | |
|
21
|
Alcorn State University
|
Lorman, MS
|
|
|
20
|
Prairie View A&M University
|
Prairie View, TX
|
|
|
19
|
Virginia State University | Petersburg, VA | |
|
17
|
University of Maryland-Eastern Shore* | Princess Anne, MD | |
| 17 | Jackson State University* | Jackson, MS | |
| 15 | Tuskegee University* | Tuskegee, AL | |
| 15 | Clark Atlanta University* | Atlanta, GA | |
| 14 | Morgan State University | Baltimore, MD | |
|
12
|
Tougaloo College* | Tougaloo, MS | |
|
12
|
Delaware State University* | Dover, DE | |
| 11 | Dillard University | New Orleans, LA | |
| 10 | North Carolina Central University | Durham, NC | |
|
9
|
Florida A&M University | Tallahassee, FL | |
|
7
|
North Carolina A&T State University* | Greensboro, NC | |
|
7
|
Claflin University* | Orangeburg, SC | |
|
6
|
Fisk University | Nashville, TN | |
|
5
|
Xavier University of Louisiana | New Orleans, LA | |
|
3
|
Morehouse College*
|
Atlanta, GA
|
|
|
3
|
Hampton University* | Hampton, VA | |
|
2
|
Howard University | Washington, DC | |
|
1
|
Spelman College | Atlanta, GA |
*Tied School
For the complete listing of all 76 eligible HBCUs, please visit the U.S. News & World Reports’ Historically Black Schools Rankings page at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/hbcu
Source: U.S. News & World Report
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