A&T Continues Rise as America’s Top University Producer of Black Graduates

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Nov. 20, 2024) – New rankings recently released by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education show North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University leads all historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in graduating Black bachelor’s degree earners and all U.S. universities in graduation of Black bachelor’s and doctoral students in engineering.

North Carolina A&T, America’s largest HBCU now for the 11^th consecutive year, also leads all U.S. universities in graduating Black students in agriculture, a position it shares with Tuskegee University, and ranks second nationally in communications, journalism and related programs; liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities; and parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies.

All told, A&T ranks among the top 10 producers of Black graduates in 14 disciplines, in all disciplines combined and among the top 30 in 21 disciplines. A&T is the No. 1 HBCU producer of Black graduates in eight disciplines, as well as in all disciplines combined. While the data are published by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, they are drawn from institutional filings with the U.S. Department of Education.

“North Carolina A&T’s national leadership in these metrics has a direct impact on representation of African Americans across the United States in the knowledge-based economy and on Black America,” said Chancellor James R. Martin II. “Combined with our standing as America’s most affordable doctoral research university and as one of the nation’s top 40 national universities in social mobility, North Carolina A&T’s prominence as a top-choice institution for outstanding students, especially African American students, continues to grow.”

A&T’s leadership in graduation of Black students extends far beyond the STEM disciplines for which it is well known nationally. The university leads all HBCUs in graduation of Black students in the visual and performing arts, for instance, and ranks ninth nationally among all universities. It ranks fifth nationally in graduation of Black marketing students – a position it shares with the University of Southern California, one notch ahead of Virginia Tech.

But A&T’s prominence in STEM disciplines can’t be missed. Its leadership in African American bachelor’s degree graduates encompasses biological and biomedical sciences (No. 11 – tied), computer and information sciences (No. 9), engineering technologies and engineering-related fields (No. 3), management information systems (No. 9), mathematics and statistics (No. 8 – tied), physical sciences (No. 4) and psychology (No. 7), in addition to agriculture and engineering. Among master’s programs, A&T ranks in the top 10 in six disciplines, as well as No. 1 in engineering doctoral programs.

“These rankings demonstrate A&T’s emergence as an exceptionally well-rounded university, with strengths and impacts across a diverse portfolio of disciplines,” said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Tonya Smith-Jackson. “Our performance in undergraduate and graduate degree completions, and particularly doctoral degrees, are strong indicators of our impact on credentials that continue to be the essential ticket to participate in the knowledge economy of the 21^st century and beyond.”

The volume and worth of those graduates are reflected significantly in the university’s $2.4 billion economic impact, as measured in a 2022 study. A&T added approximately $900 million to that bottom line from its previous economic study, which in part reflects the university’s graduation growth. In 2022-23, A&T graduated nearly 2,600 students – up from 2,100 just five years prior.