Degree Attainments

The Large Racial Gap in Educational Attainment Rates, Particularly for Men

In 2021, 28.7 percent of African Americans over the age of 25 had obtained at least a bachelor's degree. For Whites, the figure was 41.9 percent. White men were nearly twice as likely as Black men to hold an advanced degree.

The Very Wide Racial Gap in College Graduation Rates

New data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that nearly 68 percent of all White students entering four-year colleges seeking a bachelor's degree in 2015 had graduated within six years. But only 45.7 percent of Black students had earned a bachelor's degree within six years. The racial gap was even larger at price, not-for-profit colleges and universities.

Academic Disciplines Where African Americans Received Few or No Doctorates in 2021

African Americans earned only 1.4 percent of all doctorates awarded in mathematics and 1.2 percent of all doctorates in physics that were awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in 2021. Blacks earned 4 percent of all doctorates in computer science, 4 percent of all doctorates in chemistry, and only 4.1 percent of all doctorates awarded in engineering disciplines.

The First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University

Dr. Carcia Carson intends to devote her professional career to developing translational research in cancer vaccines and personalized immunotherapy.

Student and Faculty Diversity Reduces the Black-White College Graduation Rate Gap

A study led by Nicholas A. Bowman, Mary Louise Petersen Chair in Higher Education at the University of Iowa, finds that college graduation gaps between Black and White students tend to shrink when there are more students of color or faculty of color on campus.

Academic Fields Where No African Americans Earned Doctorates in 2020

African Americans earned just 2.1 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the physical and earth sciences and 3.2 percent of all doctorates in mathematics and computer science. There were 17 fields where no African Americans earned doctorates.

Research Doctoral Degrees Awarded by Historically Black Universities in 2020

Data for the annual Survey of Earned Doctorates from the National Science Foundation shows that 482 doctorates were awarded by historically Black colleges and universities in 2020. Thus, HBCUs conferred just under 0.9 percent of all doctoral degrees awarded in the United States in 2020.

Doctoral Degrees for African Americans Hold Steady Despite the Pandemic

Universities in the United States conferred 55,283 doctorates in 2020, down just slightly from 2019. Of these, 3,095 were earned by Black students, up slightly from the previous year. But more than one fifth of all doctorates earned by Black students at U.S. universities went to foreign students.

The First Black Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Judicial Studies in the United States

Dr. Tobi-Aiyemo currently resides in New York City. She retired from the Lagos State Judiciary bench in Nigeria in 2019. She began the Ph.D. program six years ago and completed her studies with a dissertation entitled “The Role of the Nigerian Judiciary in a Democracy: A Judge’s Dilemma.”

Alcorn State University in Mississippi Graduates Its First Class of Doctoral Students

Six family nurse practitioners recently became the inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice class at the Cora S. Balmat School of Nursing at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. All six of the graduates had earlier received a master’s degree in nursing from the university.

University of Georgia Program Aims to Boost Black Male Retention and Graduate Rates

The Georgia African American Male Experience (GAAME) started in 2014 as a two-day transition program for Black males accepted into the University of Georgia. The program has grown into a multifaceted initiative that centers on the needs of Black male students, supporting and improving retention and graduation rates.

Census Study Shows a Small Increase in the Racial Gap in Bachelor’s Degree Attainments Since 2005

For the years 2015 to 2019, on average 21.6 percent of African Americans over the age of 25 held a bachelor's degree. For non-Hispanic Whites, the figure was 35.8 percent. This racial gap is slightly large than was the case in the period from 2005 to 2009.

Racial Differences in the Age of Doctoral Degree Recipients in the United States

On average, Whites who earned doctorates were 31.6 years old when they received their doctoral degrees. For African Americans, the average age was 36.1. But when we break the figures down by age group, we see more pronounced differences.

Academic Disciplines Where African Americans Received Few or No Doctorates in 2019

In 2019 there were 2,512 African Americans who earned doctorates. They made up 7.1 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens or permanent residents in the U.S. But there are many fields where Blacks earned only a tiny percentage of all doctorates. For example, African Americans earned only one percent of physics doctorates.

The 21 Historically Black Universities That Awarded Doctoral Degrees in 2019

All told, 21 HBCUs awarded doctoral degrees in 2019. This is the same number of doctoral degree-granting institutions as five years ago in 2014. That year HBCUs awarded 448 doctoral degrees. In 2019, HBCUs gave out 437 doctorates.

African Americans Making Slow but Steady Progress in Doctoral Degree Awards

There were 2,512 African Americans who earned doctorates in 2019. They made up 7.1 percent of all doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens or permanent residents in the United States. Women made up 64.3 percent of all African Americans earning doctorates in 2019.

Graduation Rates of Students at State-Operated Historically Black Universities

A few of the nation's private historically Black colleges and universities have achieved progress in graduating their Black students. But at most of the nation's state-operated historically Black colleges and universities, the graduation rates remain very low.

The Persisting Racial Gap in College Graduation Rates at Flagship State Universities

At 21 flagship state universities in states with large Black populations, 15 have a racial graduation rate gap of 10 or more percentage points. The widest gap is at the University of Mississippi. There the Black graduation rate of 42 percent is 23 percentage points below the rate for White students.

Grading the Nation Top-Ranked Universities on Graduating Their Black Students

All of the 20 highest-ranked universities in the United States according to ratings by U.S. News & World Report have Black student graduation rates far higher than the national average of 48 percent. Harvard has the highest rate at 98 percent, followed by Yale and Princeton.

The Historically Black Collges and Universities Awarding the Most Bachelor’s Degrees

North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro awarded 1,662 bachelor's degrees, the most of any HBCU. This is not surprising since North Carolina A&T State University has the largest number of undergraduate students among HBCUs.
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