The Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU) Guide Here is a list of the colleges/universities by state.
ALABAMA
Alabama A&M University http://www.aamu.edu/ Established: 1863 Undergoing a "renaissance," the university is enjoying an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse student body while it strengthens its academic programs and expands its infrastructure.
Alabama State University http://www.alasu.edu/ Established: 1867 Designated its state's official black institution of higher learning after the Civil War, ASU has modernized itself into a progressive university dedicated to preparing students to play a productive role in American society.
Bishop State Community College http://www.bscc.cc.al.us/ Established: 1965 With four campuses scattered around the Mobile area, this community college prepares students to transfer to four-year institutions or earn terminal technical education degrees.
Concordia College http://www.concordiaselma.edu/ Established: 1922 Concordia is a small Lutheran owned and operated college with a strong Christian-centered academic and social orientation.
Drake Technical College http://www.dstc.cc.al.us/ Established: 1961 Offering health, business, technical and industrial curricula, Drake prepare its students to become highly skilled professionals in the workforce.
Gadsden State Community College: Valley Street Campus http://www.gadsdenstate.edu/ Established: February 28, 1985 With three campuses in the Anniston area, Gadsden offers the lowest tuition rates in the state.
Lawson State Community College http://www.ls.cc.al.us/ Established: 1949 Lawson is a standard community college with a campus atmosphere that feels less like a two-year school and more like a traditional HBCU.
Miles College http://www.miles.edu/ Established: 1905 Located in the heart of the Birmingham-Fairfield metropolitan area, Miles is a socially and politically involved campus run by the Christian Methodist Church.
Oakwood College http://www.oakwood.edu/ Established: 1896 Located in the space Capital of America and the birthplace of Alabama, this Seventh Day Adventist college prides itself on the social, intellectual and spiritual development of its students.
Shelton State Community College: Fredd Campus http://www.sheltonstate.edu/sscc/index.html Established: 1979 Shelton is the one HBCU among a chain of quickly improving technical and vocational community colleges in the state.
Stillman College http://www.stillman.edu/ Established: 1874 Founded and operated by the Presbyterian church, this historically liberal arts college is revamping itself by augmenting its technological programs and building state-of-the art campus facilities.
Talladega College http://www.talladega.edu/ Established: 1865 Founded by two freed slaves with a historical mission to create an educated class of African Americans in the south, Talladega is still leading this charge with an eye on building its endowment and improving its programs.
Trenholm State Techical College http://www.trenholmtech.cc.al.us/ Established: 1962 Trenholm is dedicated to improving the lives of Alabamans by providing an accessible education that prepares students for careers in their communities.
Tuskegee University http://www.tuskegee.edu/ Established: 1881 Founded by industrialist Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee remains one of the most respected HBCUs for science and technology programs, even as it augments its liberal arts and other professional curricula.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas Baptist College http://www.arbaptcol.edu/ Established: 1884 ABC is a small liberal-arts-focused college with a religiously inspired curriculum and academic approach.
Philander Smith College Established: 1877 Located in a historic section of downtown Little Rock, Philander Smith prides itself on being a small liberal arts college where students can gain a large perspective of the world and themselves.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff http://www.uapb.edu/ Established: 1875 This state run institution boasts a high tech fisheries and aquaculture center.
DELAWARE
Delaware State University http://www.dsc.edu/ Established: 1891 An ever-expanding university that has gone through several names -- from The State College for Colored Students to Delaware State College -- the university encourages students to apply during their junior year of high school.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Howard University http://www.howard.edu/ Established: 1867 Often called "The Harvard of HBCUs," Howard boasts the largest endowment of black colleges and continues to lead in research and innovation among historically black institutions.
University of the District of Columbia http://www.udc.edu/ Established: 1976 Having survived financially and academically troubled years in the early 1990s, UDC has adapted a rigorous fiscal management plan and now actively aligns itself with the educational goals of the city of Washington.
FLORIDA
Bethune-Cookman College http://www.bethune.cookman.edu/ Established: 1904 Originally founded by Mary Mcleod Bethune to train African American women, the school now prides itself on its growing gender, ethnic and racial diversity, along with its strong African American intellectual and spiritual roots.
Edward Waters College http://www.ewc.edu/default.html Established: 1866 The oldest independent institution in Florida, the college has a rolling enrollment policy and celebrates its personable, familial learning atmosphere.
Florida A and M University http://www.famu.edu/ Established: 1887 Known for its high academic standards and rigorous curriculum, FAMU stands out from the pack of HBCUs as one of the best and most affordable educations money can buy.
Florida Memorial College http://www.fmc.edu/ Established: 1879 Florida memorial dedicates itself to preparing students in liberal arts and technical programs with a rapidly changing global marketplace and a strong sense of African American history in mind.
GEORGIA
Albany State College http://asuweb.asurams.edu/asu/ Established: 1903 A state institution with the intimate feel of a small private college, Albany offers an education that is "customizable" to each student's needs.
Carver Bible College http://www.carverbiblecollege.edu/ Established: 1943 With a strong focus on biblical instruction, this small school has prepared black religious leaders who now serve throughout the US, the Caribbean and Africa.
Clark Atlanta University http://www.cau.edu/ Established: 1869 Part of the Atlanta University Center, Clark is the only HBCU in the nation classified as a Doctoral/Research-Intensive University by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Fort Valley State College http://www.fvsu.edu/ Established: 1895 Fort Valley has rapidly expanded into a large state-run institution but has maintained a strong sense of community and an equally firm dedication to African American history and cultural preservation.
Morehouse College http://www.morehouse.edu/ Established: 1867 The only all-male college in North America, Morehouse upholds a strong legacy of black leadership and intellectualism and continues to challenge itself to define the standards of African American manhood.
Morris Brown College http://www.morrisbrown.edu/ Established: 1867 A venerated Atlanta institution, Morris Brown officially lost its accreditation and eligibility for federal financial aid this year. The school, affiliated with the African American Episcopal Church, however, still plans to open its doors in the fall.
Paine College http://www.paine.edu/ Established: 1882 Currently involved in a number of small-scale campus improvement programs, the school remains a close-knit college with a defined mission to prepare young people to think critically and lead viable professional lives.
Savannah State College http://www.savstate.edu/ Established: 1890 SSU boasts solid academic and athletic programs, small classes and a comfortable campus environment that fosters campus involvement and close relationships with professors.
Spelman College http://www.spelman.edu/ Established: 1881 This renowned women's college is the official sister school to Morehouse College. Spelman regularly places well on rankings of HBCUs, liberal arts institutions in the south and America's women colleges.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky State University http://www.kysu.edu/ Established: 1886 KSU is large by HBCU standards. It's an all-around active campus with vibrant academic, athletic, social and cultural programs and initiatives.
LOUISIANA
Dillard University http://www.dillard.edu/ Established: The most visually charming HBCU campus, Dillard boasts a treasured history and sophisticated orientation even as it modernizes and expands its study of varied academic areas.
Grambling State University http://www.gram.edu/ Established: 1901 With its motto "Where Everybody is Somebody," Grambling says it's committed to empowering the communities it serves with diversified academic and social programs, which includes specialized ROTC, strong athletic programs, a renowned marching band and a special college for honors students.
Southern University and A&M College http://www.subr.edu/ Established: 1880 Part of the only land-grant system of HBCUs in the country, Southern offers bachelors through doctoral degrees and a wide range of extracurricular activities, including its famous marching band.
Southern University, New Orleans http://www.suno.edu/ Established: 1956 Founded as a part of the Southern University system, SUNO graduated its first class in 1963, but is quickly differentiating itself with its own specialized programs like the recently installed African and African American studies program.
Southern University, Shreveport http://www.susla.edu/ Established: 1967 Southern University in Shreveport, founded in 1967, is a college with strong ties to the city of Shreveport. It offers terminal diploma and certificate programs, but also prepares students to transfer to four year institutions.
Xavier University http://www.xu.edu/ Established: 1915 The only black and catholic university in the Western Hemisphere, Xavier has a mission to serve that demographic. The school highlights its diversity: 50 percent of its students are of other religious affiliations, and close to 10 percent are of other races.
MARYLAND
Bowie State University http://www.bowiestate.edu/ Established: 1865 Bowie State stresses local community involvement, but its secluded, wooded campus is easily accessible from the metropolises of Washington, DC, Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland.
Coppin State College http://www.coppin.edu/ Established: 1900 Serving a mostly inner-city student body from the Baltimore area, Coppin offers programs that expose students to the cultural life of the city and prepare them to enter its political and corporate worlds.
Morgan State University http://www.morgan.edu/ Established: 1867 Founded as a college dedicate to educating Maryland's African American students, Morgan now prides itself on its multiethnic, multiracial make up and diverse cultural and academic programs.
Univ of Maryland/Eastern Shore http://www.umes.edu/ Established: 1886 Located on Maryland's scenic eastern shore as the black alternative to the college park campus, UMES is a rapidly expanding and developing university that maintains strong natural science and agricultural programs.
MICHIGAN
Lewis College of Business http://www.ohwy.com/mi/h/hx170693.htm Established: 1929 This very small school of about only 200 students offers associate degrees in business.
MISSISSIPPI
Alcorn State University http://www.alcorn.edu/ Established: 1871 1000 ASU Drive #359 Located in scenic rural Mississippi, Alcorn offers a well-rounded curriculum but places emphases on its science programs and primarily serves students from southwest Mississippi.
Coahoma Junior College http://www.ccc.cc.ms.us/ Established: 1949 Besides offering technical and vocational training, Coahoma has an active career development center that provides services from helping students prepare resumes to job placement programs.
Hinds Junior College, Utica Campus http://www.hinds.cc.ms.us/ Established: 1917 The Utica campus is the predominantly black branch among Hind's six community college campuses.
Jackson State University http://www.jsums.edu/ Established: 1877 Designated the "urban" campus of the Mississippi's university system by its board of trustees, Jackson State hails its macro status as a research institution and its micro function as a nurturer and developer of its students basic learning skills and character.
Mary Holmes College http://www.maryholmes.edu/ Established: 1892 MHC is a non-sectarian school loosely affiliated with the Presbyterian church that offers two-year degrees to the underserved communities of southern Mississippi.
Mississippi Valley State University Established: 1946 Established as a teacher training college, Mississippi Valley now has a comprehensive curriculum and focuses on serving students from the Mississippi delta.
Rust College http://www.rustcollege.edu/net/index.html Established: 1866 Rust College holds several distinctions: the oldest of the eleven HBCUs related to the United Methodist Church; the second oldest private college in Mississippi; the oldest historically black college in the state; and one of the first five historically black colleges.
Tougaloo College http://www.tougaloo.edu/ Established: 1869 Founded by the American Missionary Association, Tougaloo was a rallying center for 1960s Civil Rights Movement protests. The school became a target of 1960s violence including drive-by shootings.
MISSOURI
Harris-Stowe State College http://www.hssc.edu/ Established: 1857 Harris-Stowe State College, 3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103 Note: The only HBCU serving the needs of students in St. Louis, the school founded as a teacher's training center allows high school students to take courses that count towards their college credits.
Lincoln University of Missouri http://www.lincolnu.edu/ Established: 1866 Located in Jefferson City, Missouri, Lincoln University supports its open enrollment policy of relaxed admission with its Student Success Program, a service that provides extra instruction and tutoring to students in need of it.
NORTH CAROLINA
Barber-Scotia College http://www.b-sc.edu/ Established: 1867 Founded as a theological seminary, the college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and now focuses on the full development of the student -- spiritual, emotional, physical, intellectual and social.
Bennett College http://www.bennett.edu/ Established: 1873 Founded as a coeducational institution, Bennett didn't become one of two all-women HBCUs until 1926.
Elizabeth City State University http://www.ecsu.edu/ Established: 1891 ECSU takes pride in its comprehensive curriculum and scenic campus setting only miles away from the Atlantic coast
Fayetteville State University http://www.uncfsu.edu/ Established. 1867 With the university's predominantly African American population significantly changing, activists are challenging North Carolina legislators who want to change the school's name to The University of North Carolina at Fayetteville, fearing the school will lose its HBCU heritage.
Johnson C. Smith University http://www.jcsu.edu/ Established: 1867 JCSU, emphasizing computer-intensified learning, requires each student to own a laptop and the university has completed a $4.5 million technology center with nine labs and two video conferencing rooms.
Livingstone College http://www.livingstone.edu/about_us.html Established: 1879 Livingstone, an HBCU affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and open to people of all "races and national origins," believes that the college experience should be multifaceted, "not restricted to academics."
North Carolina A and T State University http://www.ncat.edu/ Established: 1891 With a heavy emphasis on engineering, the school also highlights other strong areas: literature, science and technology — and also hails its research and public service commitments.
North Carolina Central University http://web.nccu.edu/index.html Established: 1910 NCCU, committed to training public servants, places a premium on teaching and therefore encourages teacher/student collaboration to tackle contemporary ideas and challenges in and out of the classroom.
St. Augustine's College http://www.st-aug.edu/ Established: 1867 Founded by clergy from the Episcopalian church, "St. Aug's" boasts three national historic landmarks on campus and the first radio and TV stations run by a historically black college and university.
Shaw University http://www.shawuniversity.edu/ Established: 1865 The oldest black college in the South, Shaw has its own divinity school and approximately 2,700 students from the United States, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.
Winston-Salem State University http://www.wssu.edu/ Established: 1892 The university, which places a heavy emphasis on teacher training, has come a long way from the days it was housed in a one-room shack to its present day of modern buildings and a scenic campus that includes a sculpture garden.
OHIO Central State University http://www.centralstate.edu/ Established: 1887 In addition to preserving and transmitting African American culture, Central State dedicates itself to educating Ohioans and all other qualified students in all academic areas, especially those where blacks have been historically underrepresented.
Wilberforce University http://www.wilberforce.edu/opencms/opencms/bulldog/home/home.html Established: 1856 At 150 years old, Wilberforce University has a rich history. It boasts past professors like W.E.B DuBois, African-American military leader Colonel Charles Young and Greek and Latin scholar William Sanders Scarborough. Located on a picturesque campus in rural Ohio, the school provides computers to each room in its residence halls.
OKLAHOMA
Langston University http://www.lunet.edu/ Established: 1897 Langston, offering associates, bachelors and masters degrees, claims to have the most racially integrated faculty, staff and student body in the state of Oklahoma.
PENNSYLVANIA
Cheyney State University http://www.cheyney.edu/ Established: 1837 Although this claim is disputed, Cheney, founded in 1837 mainly as a teacher's training institute, claims to be the oldest HBCU.
Lincoln University http://www.lincoln.edu/ Established: 1854 Chartered as the Ashmun Institute in 1854 with the mission of educating males of African descent in the arts and sciences, Lincoln now has a coed student body and a proud history of educating black leaders, including former African Presidents Kwame Nkrumah and Nnamdi Azikwe.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Allen University http://www.allenuniversity.edu/ Established: 1870 This HBCU affiliated with the AME Church is expanding its facilities with a new Department of Energy funded chemistry lab and computer labs in its residence halls.
Benedict College http://www.benedict.edu/about/bc-about.html Established: 1870 Affiliated with the Baptist Church of South Carolina, this liberal arts college is undergoing a $42 million campus improvement plan.
Claflin College http://www.claflin.edu/ Established: 1869 Calling itself "a small university offering a big educational experience," Claflin has a liberal arts focused program that places value on preparing students for graduate education.
Denmark Technical College http://www.den.tec.sc.us/default.htm Established: 1948 This community college says it dedicates all its resources to preparing its 1,600 students for productive, fulfilling lives.
Morris College http://www2.morris.edu/index.asp Established: 1908 With a student body made up of students mostly from the south and northeast, Morris provides a liberal arts curriculum designed to prepare students for several careers, with a particular emphasis on teacher education.
South Carolina State University http://www.scsu.edu/ Established: 1896 Called just "state" for short, SCSU takes pride in being one of the national leaders in producing black graduates several fields including biology, engineering technology , computer science and English.
Voorhees College http://www.voorhees.edu/ Established: 1897 Voorhees is a liberal arts college affiliated with the Episcopal church that offers a faith-centered education and dedicates itself to welcoming both traditional and non-traditional college students.
TENNESSEE
Fisk University http://www.fisk.edu/index.asp Established: 1866 Home of the famed Jubilee Singers, Fisk is still making history by producing a higher number per capita of African American students who go on to get PhDs than any other US institution.
Lane College http://www.lanecollege.edu/ Established: 1882 The first four-year institution established by the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Lane believes in developing the "whole student," including spiritual, social, and ethical development.
LeMoyne-Owen College http://www.loc.edu/ Established: 1862 Created as the result of the 1968 merger of two historically black colleges, Lemoyne Normal and Commercial School and Owen College, Lemoyne-Owen combines both schools' priorities of scholarship and career preparation.
Tennessee State University http://www.tnstate.edu/ Established: 1912 Formed from a merger of a former Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee at Nashville, the state-funded has programs that encourage "logical and dispassionate thought."
TEXAS
Huston-Tillotson College http://www.htc.edu/PortalVBVS/DesktopDefault.aspx Established: 1875 Formed from the merger of two colleges, this school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ engages in environmental and biological research.
Jarvis Christian College http://www.jarvis.edu/ Established: 1912 Affiliated with the Disciples of Christ Church, Jarvis prides itself on having a small, supportive faculty and staff that is able to pay close attention to all of its students in a personalized learning environment.
Paul Quinn College http://www.pqc.edu/ Established: 1872 Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Paul Quinn offers instruction in an environment that promotes Christian scholarship and prepares students for careers that are both "relevant" and "practical."
Prairie View A and M University http://www.pvamu.edu/ Established: 1878 Prairie View lists as its target areas the Texas Gulf Coast Region, the rapidly growing Northwest Houston Corridor, and urban Texas centers, areas most likely to benefit from the university's specialized initiatives and degree programs in nursing, juvenile justice, architecture, education and social work.
Saint Philip's College http://www.accd.edu/spc/spcmain/spc.htm Established: 1898 St Philips is the first HBCU to describe itself as an "historically black and Hispanic university."
Southwestern Christian College http://www.swcc.edu/ Established: 1949 SWCC has a strongly Christian-centered orientation and curriculum that supports the University's commitments to moral and spiritual values.
Texas College http://www.texascollege.edu/ Established: 1894 With fewer than 300 students, Texas College is smaller than your average high school. But this HBCU, affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal church, offers an affordable education relative to private colleges and career support programs for its grads.
Texas Southern University http://www.tsu.edu/ Established: 1947 TSU ranks second only to Howard in the amount of African American students it graduates with professional degrees.
Wiley College http://www.wileyc.edu/ Established: 1873 The first HBCU established west of the Mississippi, Wiley, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, places an emphasis on fiscal and social responsibility.
U. S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
University of the Virgin Islands http://www.uvi.edu/pub-relations/uvi/home.html Established: 1962 UVI is the only HBCU away from the continental United States and is the only predominantly black university in the Caribbean designated as an American HBCU.
VIRGINIA
Hampton University http://www.hamptonu.edu/ Established: 1868 Located on the Virginia seacoast, Hampton boasts one of the most breathtaking campuses in the USA and embraces the principles of "Education for life" and "learning by doing."
Norfolk State University http://www.nsu.edu/index.htm Established: 1935 Founded with modest resources during the Civil War, Norfolk State has grown into the largest HBCU in the United States.
Saint Paul's College http://www.saintpauls.edu/ Established: 1888 Founded by the Episcopal Church, the college notes that its student body of 600 students is small but celebrates the cultural diversity of its students and the school's teacher training and career training centered curriculum.
Virginia State University http://www.vsu.edu/ Established: 1882 A steadily growing HBCU, VSU has transformed itself from a small traditional HBCU to a larger forward thinking institution with outreach programs and initiatives that benefit the greater Richmond and Petersburg communities.
Virginia Union University http://www.vuu.edu/ Established: 1865 VUU takes pride in its research programs that now encompass projects studying the American presidency, black female leadership, international terrorism, managerial leadership and African American inventors.
WEST VIRGINIA
Bluefield State College http://www.bluefield.wvnet.edu/ Established: 1895 Established as a teachers training college in 1895 for African Americans, Bluefield State College is now a racially diverse campus that offers instruction in several fields and both associates and bachelors degrees.
West Virginia State University http://www.wvstateu.edu/ Established: 1891 Dubbing its campus "a living laboratory in human relations," WVSU encourages students and professors to come up with innovative ways to integrate the classroom with the larger university and the entire collegiate experience.
