Rankings, Recognitions & Prominent Alumni

No. 1 historically black university (HBCU) in the nation (Washington Monthly's 2021 College Guide and Rankings, Money magazine's Best Colleges 2020), as well as America's largest HBCU for the eighth consecutive year (U.S. Dept. of Education)

No. 1 ranked public HBCU (Forbes' America's Top Colleges, 2021)

No. 1 producer of African American undergraduates in both Engineering and Agriculture and in masters degrees in Mathematics/Statistics and Engineering (U.S. Dept. of Education)

No. 1 producer of degrees awarded to African Americans in North Carolina

No. 1 graduate business school at a public HBCU (U.S. News & World Report, Best Graduate )

No. 1 producer of Black engineers who go on to earn doctoral degrees

No. 1 nursing school among all HBCUs, 2022 (TopRNtoBSN.com)

No. 1 in America among all HBCUs in voter registration, 2020 (ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, 2021)

No. 2 public university in America for combining research and classroom teaching. (Wall Street Journal)

No. 2 university in 17-campus UNC System in new alumni earnings - $54,900 (U.S. News & World Report, Best Colleges, 2022)

In the top 3 research universities in the UNC System for more than a decade

No. 39 in Social Mobility (U.S. News and World Report, Best Colleges, 2022)

No. 46 in Most Innovative Schools (U.S. News and World Report, Best Colleges, 2022)

No. 140 (tied) among America's top public universities (U.S. News & World Report, Best Colleges, 2022)

Most affordable of North Carolina's top universities. A&T alumni earn more in average early career earnings than those of all but one other UNC System campus: $54,600) (Money Magazine’s Best Colleges 2020)

Graduate Programs (rankings drawn from U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Programs, 2021)

No. 55 (tie) in Rehabilitation Counseling
No. 66 (tie) in Industrial/Mechanical/Systems Engineering
No. 96 in Best Business Schools
No. 146 (tie) in Electrical/Electronic/Communications Engineering
No. 159 (tie) in Mechanical Engineering
No. 154 - 202 in Best Engineering Schools

Online Programs (rankings drawn from U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Programs, 2021):

No. 3 online MBA in North Carolina (Online MBA Today)
No. 11 in online STEM education for women (Guide to Online Schools)
No. 17 in Best Online Master's in Computer Information Technology Programs for Veterans
No. 27 (tie) in Best Online Master's in Computer Information Technology

No. 58 (tie) in Best Online Master's in Education

Prominent alumni include:

U.S. Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC)
Oscar-winning producer Terrence J

Tarik Cohen

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan
Tarik Cohen, former running back, Chicago Bears of the NFL
MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" winner and landscape architect Walter Hood
The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., civil rights activist
The Hon. John Houston, senior judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego

Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten, President, Simmons University
Dr. Tomika P. LeGrande, President, Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University
Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, one of only three women to play in pro baseball's Negro Leagues before Major League Baseball was racially integrated
Brad Holmes, General Manager and Executive Vice President, Detroit Lions of the NFL
Dr. Ronald E. McNair, NASA astronaut who perished in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger tragedy
The A&T Four: Jibreel Khazan, Gen. Joseph McNeil, the late Franklin McCain and David Richmond
N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry E. Frye (ret.), first Black justice and chief justice on the court
Judge Elreta Alexander-Ralston, first Black woman graduate of Columbia Law School, first Black woman elected to the bench in America
Kevin Wilson Jr., Academy Award-nominated filmmaker
Alvin Attles, vice president of Golden State Warriors, NBA Hall of Fame
Retired Brig. Gen. Clara Leach Adams–Ender
Elvin Bethea, 2003 NFL Hall of Famer

Janice Bryant-Howroyd
Janice Bryant-Howroyd, founder and CEO of ActOne
Willie Deese, retired president, Merck Global Manufacturing Division
Lt. Col. Paul "Loco" Lopez, U.S. Air Force
North Carolina Secretary of Revenue Ronald Penny
Dr. Yolanda S. Neal, President, Watts College of Nursing
Darryl Johnson, defensive end, Charlotte Panthers
Addie Whisenant, White House director of African American Media under President Barack Obama
Donna Scott James, president and managing director, Lardon Associates LLC
Brandon "Big Stuff" Parker, offensive tackle, Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL
Dmitri Stockton, president and CEO of GE Consumer Finance for Central and Eastern Europe
Franklin "Mac" McCain, cornerback, Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL
Zonya Johnson, Broadway actor and singer
Former U.S. Congressman Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
Retired Brig. Gen. Jimmy E. McMillian

A&T alumni rank 2nd in UNC System in early career wages Money Magazine

Most Affordable of North Carolina's top universities Money Magazine

producer of Black graduates in Engineering, Agriculture U.S. Dept. of Education