The Significant Progress of Young African Americans in Degree Attainments

Young African Americans have achieved tremendous progress in educational attainments over the past generation. In 1980, only 76.7 percent of African Americans in the 25- to 29-year-old age bracket had a high school diploma. Today the figure is 88.1 percent.

In 1980, less than one third of all Blacks, ages 25 to 29, had some college experience. Today, nearly 55 percent of African Americans in that age group have attended college.

Thirty-years ago, 11.6 percent of young black adults had graduated from a four-year college. Today the figure is 20.1 percent.

Great progress has been achieved by young African Americans in master’s degree attainments in just the past 15 years. In 1995, only 1.8 percent of Blacks ages 25-29 had a master’s degree. In 2010, 4.7 percent of young Black adults had a master’s degree.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Concordia University in Canada Launches New Minor in Black and African Diaspora Studies

Christian Abraham, director of the new minor at Concordia University, says, "there is so much to do within this emerging field of Black Canadian studies. There are lots of grounded and creative sites to work with and from, including our extensive archives at Concordia. It is a very exciting field and a historic moment for Black studies in Canada.”

Featured Jobs