Black Student Among the First Five Doctoral Degree Recipients at Georgia College & State...

Chioma Okereke is one of the five women in the first cohort of graduates of the university's doctor of nuring practice degree program. She has been hired to a nursing faculty position at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Florida State Won the Game, But Auburn Wins in the Classroom

Florida State University won the national championship in college football. But the success on the field has not been matched in the classroom for Black football players. As a result, the university is beefing up academic support for student athletes.

Norfolk State University to Offer Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Program

Students in the accelerated, three-year degree program will be required to take a core curriculum that focuses on critical thinking, research methods, globalization, and communications skills.

Tracking the Educational Progress of 21st-Century African American Students

Some 19.8 percent of the African American high school sophomores in 2002 had gone on to earn at least a bachelor's degree over the next decade. This is less than half the rate for Whites.

African Americans With Alternative Educational Credentials

The data shows that 21 percent of Black adults in the United States have some form or alternative educational credential. For White Americans the figure is 25.6 percent. These credentials include professional certification or licensure or an educational certificate.

More than 5 Million African Americans Have a Four-Year College Degree

Some 21.7 percent of all African American adults have obtained at least a bachelor's degree. Blacks have made tremendous progress, but a significant racial gap remains.

Examining the Gender Gap in African American Degree Attainments

There are 2,248,000 African American men over the age of 18 who have earned at least a bachelor's degree compared to 3,283,000 African American women with at least a bachelor's degree.

Two Scholars Take on the Mismatch Theory

A new study refutes the theory that affirmative action is responsible for lowering graduation rates and post-graduation success for Black students admitted to universities with race-sensitive admissions policies.

The First Graduate of Indiana University’s Ph.D. Program in African Diaspora Studies

Maria Eliza Hamilton Abegunde will be first student to be awarded a Ph.D. in African Diaspora studies at Indiana University. After receiving her degree, she will serve as a summer scholar at the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Howard University Awards a Record Number of Doctoral Degrees

This year Howard University in Washington, D.C. is awarding 105 doctoral degrees. This is the highest number of doctorates ever awarded by Howard in its history, dating back to 1867.

A Record Number of African American Graduates at Louisiana State University

There are a record 570 African Americans in the Class of 2014 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The new record is a 10.5 percent increase from the old record, set just a year ago.

North Carolina A&T State University to Offer MBA Degree Program

Up to now the university has offered a master of science degree program in management. The MBA program, which will being this fall, will offer concentrations in accounting, human resource management and supply chain systems.

Healing Our Historically Black Colleges and Universities

HBCU Preservation Foundation's Stan Ashemore asks, "Why are we not there for HBCUs now as they were for us so many years ago?"

Louisiana State University Is a Leader in Graduating Black Students With Ph.D.s in Chemistry

From 2005 to 2009, 19 percent of all Ph.D.s awarded in chemistry at LSU were earned by African Americans. Blacks were less than 10 percent of the chemistry Ph.D. recipients at the other 49 leading chemistry departments in the nation.

Black Degree Attainments in Engineering: Long Way to Go to Reach Parity

In 2005, Black earned 5.3 percent of all bachelor's degree awarded in engineering. In 2012, Blacks earned only 4.2 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded in the discipline. Blacks did slightly better in graduate degrees in engineering.

More Than 4 Million Black Students Are Enrolled in Higher Education

In the 2012-13 academic year, there were 4,082,004 Black or African American students enrolled in Title IV institutions in the United States. Blacks made up 14.4 percent of all students at these educational institutions.

University of Virginia’s Efforts to Boost the Academic Success of Its Black Students

The University of Virginia has one of the nation's highest Black student graduation rates. But the university also strives to boost the academic success of these students to a level where they will be able to compete for the best jobs and for places in the highest-ranked graduate schools.

The African-Born U.S. Population Is a Highly Educated Group

A new Census Bureau study finds that more than 40 percent of the African-born U.S. population has graduated from a four-year college, compared to 28 percent of the total foreign-born population, and 29 percent of the entire U.S. adult population.

Cornell Prison Education Program Marches On

This December, Cornell will hold its second graduation ceremony at the Auburn Correctional Facility. Twelve men are scheduled to receive their associate's degrees.

The Persisting Racial Gap in College Student Graduation Rates

At the nation's largest universities, the Black student graduation rate of 45 percent is 21 percentage points lower than the graduation rate for White students. This gap has existed for decades and shows no sign of improvement.

Major Progress in Black Student Graduation Rates at Top-Ranked Colleges and Universities

A decade ago, only five of the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities had Black graduation rates of 90 percent or more, compared to 15 today. In addition, many of these top schools have narrowed the racial graduation rate gap.

University of Phoenix Signs Agreement to Offer Online Courses to HBCU Students

Under the agreement students at Thurgood Marshall College Fund members institutions will be able to supplement their on-campus course loads with course programs using the University of Phoenix online platform.

Rising Black Student Graduation Rates at Flagship State Universities

Among the flagship state universities a decade ago, only the University of Virginia had a Black student graduation higher than 70 percent. Now there are 13 flagship state universities at which the Black student graduation rate is 70 percent or higher.

Kentucky State University Embarks on Its First Doctoral Degree Program

Beginning in January, historically Black Kentucky State University will offer an online doctoral program in nursing practice. The program will require more than 1,000 hours of clinical work with a nurse practitioner mentor.

The Racial Gap in Doctoral Degree Awards

In 2013, African Americans earned 6.4 percent of all doctoral degrees awarded to U.S. students. Therefore, African Americans earned about one half the number of doctorates that would be the case if racial parity with the Black population prevailed.

Four Black Women Earn Ph.D.s in Chemistry at Jackson State University

Over the past 11 years, 23 African Americans have earned chemistry Ph.D.s at Jackson State University, or 2.1 per year. This is the second highest rate for African American Ph.D.s in the field in the United States.

Doctoral Degree Awards by HBCUs in 2013

The report shows that 396 doctorates were awarded by historically Black colleges and universities in 2013. Howard University in Washington, D.C., led the HBCUs, granting 96 doctoral degrees in 2013.

Academic Disciplines Where African Americans Earned No Doctoral Degrees in 2013

According to the National Science Foundation, there were 18 academic fields where none of the doctorates awarded in 2013 went to an African American. More than 1,800 doctorates were awarded in these fields.

Racial Differences in the Road to the Doctoral Degree

For recent doctoral degree recipients, African Americans took longer than Whites to earn their doctoral degree. On average, Blacks tended to accumulate more debt and used their own resources to fund their doctoral studies more than Whites.

Nearly 6 Million Living African Americans Hold a Four-Year College Degree

In 2014, nearly 6 million living African American now hold at least a four-year college degree. The data shows that 179,000 African Americans in 2014 held a professional degree and 206,000 had obtained a doctorate.

How the University of Maryland Has Boosted Black Male Retention and Graduation Rates

For Black male first-year students in the fall of 2013 at the University of Maryland at College Park who had a 2.3 grade point average or better, 100 percent returned for the spring semester.

The Gender Gap in African American Degree Attainment

The gender gap is most pronounced for holders of master's degrees. In 2014, there were 964,000 Black women who held a master's degree but no higher degree. For Black men, the figure was 565,000.

New Study on the Marriage Prospects of Educated Black Women

New research from the Brookings Institution shows that only 8 percent of Black women in 2012 married a man with a higher level of education. Nearly 60 percent of Black women who married in 2012 wed a man with a lower level of education.

New Study Documents Degree Completion of Minority Doctoral Students in STEM Fields

One important finding in the Council of Graduate Schools report was that minority doctoral students had the most difficulty when they entered the dissertation phase of their doctoral programs.

Louisiana State University: A Leader in Black Male Doctoral Awards

Each year, only about 1,000 African Americans men earn doctoral degrees. Thus, it is noteworthy that this spring four African American men earned their doctoral degrees in one department at Louisiana State University.

Identical Twins Graduate With Identical 4.0 Grade Point Averages

Alissa and Ariel Barlow are identical twins who earned their bachelor's degrees at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Both achieved perfect 4.0 grade point averages.

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