Spelman College is a private all-women's college that was founded in 1881. Here, students pursue undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts and sciences on 39 acres just west of downtown Atlanta. Just over 2,000 students attend Spelman College, allowing the classes sizes to remain small, and obtain a student/teacher ratio of 12-to-1. Spelman College is often listed as the top historically black college due to the high quality of education and dedication of its staff.
Howard University was established in Washington D.C. in 1867. Approximately 10,500 students attend the University, 3,000 of which participate in graduate and professional programs. Student to faculty ratio here is 11-to-1, with most classes having fewer than 20 students in attendance at a time. Often considered to be the "Black Harvard," there are 12 academic colleges at Howard, including Arts and Sciences, Dentistry, Law, and Medicine.
Morehouse College is Spelman College's male counterpart. The school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and is known for being the alma mater to Martin Luther King, Jr, as well as many other famous black men. Morehouse is a private, liberal arts school with nearly 3,000 students choosing to study from 35 fields to obtain a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science.
The academic programs at Hampton University are consistently recognized by lists ranking the best colleges in America as some of the best in the nation. Located in Hampton, Virginia, Hampton University offers technical, liberal arts and graduate degrees in a broad range of subjects including nursing, engineering, journalism and pharmacy science. Approximately 5,500 students attend the University, which maintains a 16-to-1 student to teacher ratio.
Tuskegee University opened in 1881 with Booker T. Washington serving as the school's first principal. Today, the Alabama university has an undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,400 students. Five colleges make up the academic programs, allowing students to study such subjects as education, veterinary medicine, architecture, and bioethics. Three of the five colleges offer graduate and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Tuskegee is also the only black college listed as a National Historic Site, and was the first designated as Registered National Historic Landmark.
According to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education the graduation rate of black college students who attend a public university is at 43 percent in 2011, whereas black students who attend the aforementioned black colleges have an average graduation rate of 58.4 percent. With more than 100 black colleges throughout the United States, the possibility for students interested in attending a school where their chance of graduating is higher exists. States with black colleges include Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also home to black colleges.