This highly regarded African American university is located in Washington D.C. and is partially funded by the United States government, which gives around $235 million each year. Founded in 1867, just after the Civil War, Howard University has long since played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement and is one of the oldest universities of its kind. In addition to undergraduate programs, Howard offers graduate degrees in law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and divinity. Notable Howard alumni include acclaimed writer Toni Morrison, current mayor of Atlanta Kasim Reed, and actress Phylicia Rashad, best known for her role as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
Home to the world famous Fisk Jubilee Singers, this historically African American university in Nashville, Tennessee, was the first to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1930. Like many African American universities, Fisk was established shortly after the Civil War in 1866 and has since been highly regarded as a center of high learning. More Fisk graduates have gone on to earn PhDs in the natural sciences than any other historically African American university. Famous alumni include sociologist and scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, politician and activist John Lewis, and concert singer Roland Hayes.
Located in New Orleans, this private, coeducational university is the only historically black higher learning institution that is also Roman Catholic affiliated, though today more than half of its student body is non-Catholic. Xavier is particularly popular with those pursuing careers in medicine and sends more African American undergrads on to medical school than any school in the country. Xavier's College of Pharmacy ranks among the top universities in the country for African Americans studying in this field. Xavier has dozens of distinguished alumni in both academic and non-academic fields, including Alexis Herman, the first African American Secretary of Labor.