North Carolina A&T is Nation’s Top-Ranked HBCU by Washington Monthly

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 31, 2021) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is the nation’s top-rated historically Black university in the new edition of Washington Monthly magazine’s annual national university rankings.

North Carolina A&T ranked No. 135 out of 391 national universities included in the 2021 rankings. That represents a leap of 82 places from last year’s rankings and represents the strongest performance A&T has ever had in the 16 years of the Washington Monthly rankings.

The rankings analyze university quality based on graduation rates, both overall and for recipients of Pell Grants, the largest source of financial aid for low-income students, social mobility ranking for graduates, student debt, service to community, research and more.

This is the second major publication to rank A&T No. 1 among all HBCUs over the past year. Last fall, A&T came in at the same position in Money magazine’s Best Colleges for 2020.

“There is no doubt that the quality of the educational experience at North Carolina A&T continues to rise, and we are grateful to be recognized for that,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “It’s one thing to simply believe we’ve improved, but quite another for that perception to be validated by external reviewers, particularly with our school year just having begun.”

Washington Monthly’s rankings are based on an evaluation of 1,446 colleges and universities across the 50 states. The magazine worked with a seven-member metrics advisory board that included leading experts in higher education data to fine-tune this year’s rankings.

A&T joins other North Carolina institutions in the top 135, Duke University, N.C. State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, UNC Greensboro and UNC Charlotte, which ranks just ahead of A&T at 131.

Washington Monthly’s results are the first major university and college rankings to be released this fall. Others expected to publish over the next two weeks include Money and U.S. News & World Report. They all serve as critical guides for prospective students and families looking for the best higher educational option.