HBCUs -- the Best Producers of Black Graduates in STEM

Last update: Sunday 3/1/15
Using data from the IPEDS Data Center, this note demonstrates that the HBCU community continues to be a more effective producer of black STEM graduates at the undergraduate level than the nation's non-HBCUs taken as a whole. To be more specific, HBCUs are almost twice as productive as non-HBCUs with regards to black female graduates in STEM and more than five times as productive of black female STEM graduates as the for-profit institutions that have enrolled substantial numbers of black undergraduates in recent years

A. STEM Productivity of HBCU Community vs All Institutions & For-Profits
The columns of Table 1 (below) display the following information:
  • Column (2) shows the total number of black students enrolled in accredited U.S. bachelors degree programs in the Fall 2008 semester
  • Column (3) shows the number of black male students enrolled in the Fall 2008 semester
  • Column (4) shows the number of black female students enrolled in the Fall 2008 semester
  • Column (5) shows the total number of bachelors degrees in STEM fields that were awarded to black students during the 2008/2009 academic year
    -- Note: 2008/2009 is the most recent year for which the IPEDS Data Center provides information about black recipients of bachelors degrees in STEM
  • Column (6) shows the number of black male recipients of bachelors in STEM in 2008/2009
  • Column (7) shows the number of black female recipients of bachelors in STEM in 2008/2009
  • Column (8) shows the number of degrees per 1000 enrolled students conferred on all black recipients of degrees in STEM fields in 2008/2009 = 1000 * total black bachelors / total black enrolled
  • Column (9) shows the number of degrees per 1000  black male students
  • Column (10) shows the number of degree per 1000 black female students
Comments About Table 1
Comparing the data in columns (7), (8), and (9) for HBCUs (third row) with the data for all institutions (second row) and the for-profit institutions (first row) yields the following findings:
  • HBCUs produced more black bachelors in STEM per 1000 black enrolled students, more black male bachelors, and more black female bachelors than all accredited U.S. colleges and universities, and more than all accredited for-profit institutions.
     
  • HBCU dominance is most notable with regards to female black students. HBCUs produced almost twice as many female bachelors in STEM per 1000 enrolled female students, 19.2,  as the 10.6 female STEM grads that were produced on average by all U.S. institutions. More impressively, the HBCU 19.2 is almost five times as high as the 3.3 female graduates produced by the for-profit institutions.

Table 1. HBCUs, All Institutions, For-Profit -- Black STEM Graduates per 1,000 Enrolled  
Sector
Black
Enroll
Fall
2008
(2)
Black
Male
Enroll
Fall
2008
(3)
Black
Female
Enroll
Fall
2008
(4)
Black
STEM
Degrees
2008/9
(5)
Black
Male
STEM
Degrees
2008/9
(6)
Black
Female
STEM
Degrees
2008/9
(7)
Black
STEM
Degrees
per 1000
Enroll
2008/9
(8)
Black
Male
STEM
Degrees
per 1000
Enroll
2008/9
(9)
Black
Female
STEM
Degrees
per 1000
Enroll
2008/9
(10)
For-Profit
190,895
61,504
129,391
1,369
947
422
7.2
15.4
3.3
All Institutions
1,141,521
418,822
722,699
15,715
8,064
7,651
13.8
19.3
10.6
HBCUs
202,118
80,369
121,749
4,184
1,850
2,334
20.7
23.0
19.2
Source = IPEDS Data Center ... Retrieve the data from the saved sessions with"Shortcuts" ... For-profit = "Guest_12425646388" ... All Institutions = "Guest_48362792112" ... HBCUs = "Guest_879127167540"

Figure 1. HBCUs, All Institutions, For-Profit -- Black STEM Graduates per 1,000 Enrolled
 
Table 1A (below) presents some of the same data displayed in Table 1 (above), but in a different format. 

Table 1A. HBCU Shares of STEM Graduates 
HBCU Shares
All Black Students
(2)
Black Males
(3)
Black Females
(4)
Enrollment
18%
19%
17%
STEM Graduates
27%
23%
31%
Excess
50%
20%
81%

Consider each column in turn:
  • All Black Students (Column 2) ... The first row shows that HBCs enrolled 18 percent of all of the black students who were enrolled in the nation's four year colleges and universities in the Fall 2008 semester. The second row shows that HBCUs conferred 27 percent of the STEM degrees that year. All other things being equal, we would have expected HBCUs to confer 18 percent of the STEM degrees; the additional 9 points represent an excess of 50 percent.
     
  • Black Male Students (Column 3) ... The first row shows that HBCs enrolled 19 percent of all of the black male students who were enrolled in the nation's four year colleges and universities in the Fall 2008 semester. But the second row shows that HBCUs conferred 23 percent of the STEM degrees on the nation's black male students that year. All other things being equal, we would have expected HBCUs to confer 19 percent of the STEM degrees on black males; the additional 4 points represent an excess of 20 percent.
     
  • Black Female Students (Column 4) ... The first row shows that HBCs enrolled 17 percent of all of the black female students who were enrolled in the nation's four year colleges and universities in the Fall 2008 semester. But the second row shows that HBCUs conferred 31 percent of the STEM degrees that year. All other things being equal, we would have expected HBCUs to confer 17 percent of the STEM degrees on the nations black female students; instead they conferred almost twice as many STEM degrees on black female students, i.e., 31 percent. The additional 14 points represent an HBCU share that is 81 percent larger than we would have expected if the support provided by HBCUs for black female students in STEM programs was no more effective than the support provided by non-HBCUs.

 The data presented in Table 1 and 1A suggest that when choosing a college or university,  black students who are interested in careers in STEM fields should consider the productivity of specific colleges and universities before making their selections. Black female students who are interested in STEM should be especially mindful that the support provided for their career aspirations by most (but not all) non-HBCUs will not be anywhere near as effective as the support provided by most (but not all) HBCUs.


 B. STEM Productivity of Individual HBCUs
Table 2 (below) displays the STEM productivity of the 86 HBCUs for which IPEDS provides the required data.
  • The first 10 columns of Table 2 contain the same kind of data for each HBCU as for the sectors in Table 1. 
  • Column (11) shows the percent of all black undergrads in each HBCU who were female.
Note: As of March 2013, there are now 106 HBCUs; 3 are not accredited, so they are not included in the IPEDS databases; 14 are 2-year institutions, and 3 are graduate level institutions (2 medical schools and one divinity school). Therefore the data in this report refers to the performance of the 86 accredited HBCUs that confer bachelors degrees.

 Comments About Table 2
The HBCUs in this table are ordered by their overall productivity score in column (8)
  • The overall productivity of the HBCUs shown in column (8) ranges from 0, for HBCUs that had no black STEM graduates recorded in the IPEDS database in 2008/2009, up to to 87.4 -- which is more than six times as high as the 13.8 average for all U.S. colleges and universities shown in Table 1.
     
  • Top 10 HBCUs ... Public vs Private
    -- Overall productivity in column (8) ... 7 of the top 10 are private HBCUs
    -- Black male productivity in column (9) ... 7 of the top 10 are private HBCUs
    -- Black female productivity in column (10) ... 7 of the top 10 are private HBCUs
     
  • The productivity for black males of only 31 HBCUs exceeds the 19.3 national average for black males shown in Table 1. By contrast, the productivity for black females of 54 HBCUs exceeds the 10.6 national average shown in Table 1. In other words, almost twice as many HBCUs offer better educational opportunities for black females in STEM fields than most colleges and universities in the United States. Given that most of the students in most HBCUs are female, as can be seen from Column (11), it is gratifying to see that most HBCUs enjoy a substantial competitive advantage when it comes to educating black female students in STEM.
     
  • Finally, the preeminence of Xavier University at the top of the table commands attention. Its overall 87.4, male 66.7, and female 94.5 scores are substantially higher than the corresponding scores of the next three HBCUs. Indeed, its 94.5 female productivity is almost 9 times as high as the 10.6 national score. Hopefully the "secrets" of Xavier's extraordinary success are affordable innovations that can be adopted (with appropriate local modifications) by other HBCUs, thereby enhancing their capacities to provide more effective learning experiences for their own students in STEM courses.

 Table 2. Black Bachelors Degree Productivity in STEM Fields for All HBCUs
HBCUs
Black
Enroll
Fall
2009
(2)
Black
Male
Enroll
Fall
2009
(3)
Black
Female
Enroll
Fall
2009
(4)
Black
STEM
Degrees
2008/9
(5)
Black
Male
STEM
Degrees
2008/9
(6)
Black
Female
STEM
Degrees
2008/9
(7)
Black
STEM
Degrees
per 1000
Enroll
2008/9
(8)
Black
Male
STEM
Degrees
per 1000
Enroll
2008/9
(9)
Black
Female
STEM
Degrees
per 1000
Enroll
2008/9
(10)
Percent
Female
Enroll
2009
(11)
Xavier University of Louisiana
1820
465
1355
159
31
128
87.4
66.7
94.5
74%
Spelman College
2068
0
2068
100
0
100
48.4

48.4
100%
Howard University
3490
1221
2269
166
61
105
47.6
50.0
46.3
65%
Rust College
937
308
629
44
13
31
47.0
42.2
49.3
67%
Tuskegee University
2265
987
1278
92
53
39
40.6
53.7
30.5
56%
Alabama A & M University
4124
1885
2239
165
80
85
40.0
42.4
38.0
54%
Alcorn State University
2425
801
1624
92
29
63
37.9
36.2
38.8
67%
Oakwood University
1625
669
956
55
25
30
33.8
37.4
31.4
59%
Stillman College
934
413
521
30
2
28
32.1
4.8
53.7
56%
Savannah State University
3136
1345
1791
99
40
59
31.6
29.7
32.9
57%
North Carolina A & T State University
7897
3650
4247
248
148
100
31.4
40.5
23.5
54%
Morgan State University
5611
2506
3105
175
88
87
31.2
35.1
28.0
55%
Morehouse College
2672
2672
0
83
83
0
31.1
31.1

0%
South Carolina State University
3927
1801
2126
120
59
61
30.6
32.8
28.7
54%
Dillard University
822
237
585
25
10
15
30.4
42.2
25.6
71%
Prairie View A & M University
5475
2361
3114
165
92
73
30.1
39.0
23.4
57%
Talladega College
565
218
347
17
2
15
30.1
9.2
43.2
61%
Wilberforce University
719
314
405
19
16
3
26.4
51.0
7.4
56%
Johnson C Smith University
1553
614
939
41
19
22
26.4
30.9
23.4
60%
Jackson State University
6260
2290
3970
162
71
91
25.9
31.0
22.9
63%
Hampton University
4506
1603
2903
111
40
71
24.6
25.0
24.5
64%
Southern University and A & M College
6042
2344
3698
146
81
65
24.2
34.6
17.6
61%
Norfolk State University
4970
1823
3147
119
60
59
23.9
32.9
18.7
63%
Texas College
593
350
243
14
6
8
23.6
17.1
32.9
41%
Fisk University
559
158
401
13
3
10
23.3
19.0
24.9
72%
Elizabeth City State University
2325
917
1408
54
20
34
23.2
21.8
24.1
61%
Tougaloo College
861
289
572
19
6
13
22.1
20.8
22.7
66%
Huston-Tillotson University
567
255
312
12
4
8
21.2
15.7
25.6
55%
Alabama State University
4624
1937
2687
97
41
56
21.0
21.2
20.8
58%
Fort Valley State University
2853
1294
1559
56
30
26
19.6
23.2
16.7
55%
Grambling State University
4180
1717
2463
80
34
46
19.1
19.8
18.7
59%
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
8894
3757
5137
165
89
76
18.6
23.7
14.8
58%
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
3082
1161
1921
57
31
26
18.5
26.7
13.5
62%
Tennessee State University
5092
1865
3227
94
53
41
18.5
28.4
12.7
63%
Miles College
1596
727
869
29
5
24
18.2
6.9
27.6
54%
Lane College
1970
953
1017
35
16
19
17.8
16.8
18.7
52%
Virginia State University
4167
1620
2547
74
35
39
17.8
21.6
15.3
61%
Texas Southern University
6442
2635
3807
112
41
71
17.4
15.6
18.6
59%
Lincoln University of Pennsylvania
1845
719
1126
32
10
22
17.3
13.9
19.5
61%
Clark Atlanta University
2997
830
2167
51
13
38
17.0
15.7
17.5
72%
Bennett College for Women
660
0
660
11
0
11
16.7

16.7
100%
Philander Smith College
557
205
352
9
3
6
16.2
14.6
17.0
63%
Claflin University
1565
481
1084
25
5
20
16.0
10.4
18.5
69%
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
3195
1336
1859
50
29
21
15.6
21.7
11.3
58%
North Carolina Central University
4785
1628
3157
73
30
43
15.3
18.4
13.6
66%
Kentucky State University
1456
677
779
22
9
13
15.1
13.3
16.7
54%
Benedict College
2833
1406
1427
42
16
26
14.8
11.4
18.2
50%
Voorhees College
542
225
317
8
1
7
14.8
4.4
22.1
58%
Morris College
918
388
530
13
4
9
14.2
10.3
17.0
58%
University of the Virgin Islands
1563
402
1161
21
8
13
13.4
19.9
11.2
74%
Allen University
602
273
329
8
4
4
13.3
14.7
12.2
55%
Virginia Union University
1092
526
566
14
1
13
12.8
1.9
23.0
52%
Albany State University
3451
1162
2289
44
18
26
12.7
15.5
11.4
66%
Winston-Salem State University
4924
1524
3400
61
27
34
12.4
17.7
10.0
69%
Jarvis Christian College
657
287
370
8
3
5
12.2
10.5
13.5
56%
Edward Waters College
767
407
360
9
6
3
11.7
14.7
8.3
47%
Le Moyne-Owen College
688
235
453
8
4
4
11.6
17.0
8.8
66%
Wiley College
880
302
578
10
4
6
11.4
13.2
10.4
66%
Saint Augustines College
1312
689
623
14
11
3
10.7
16.0
4.8
47%
Southern University at New Orleans
2319
673
1646
24
8
16
10.3
11.9
9.7
71%
Mississippi Valley State University
2325
842
1483
23
3
20
9.9
3.6
13.5
64%
Bluefield State College
212
73
139
2
1
1
9.4
13.7
7.2
66%
Langston University
2047
893
1154
19
7
12
9.3
7.8
10.4
56%
Fayetteville State University
3883
1225
2658
36
17
19
9.3
13.9
7.1
68%
Lincoln University
1103
513
590
10
4
6
9.1
7.8
10.2
53%
Shaw University
2130
785
1345
19
9
10
8.9
11.5
7.4
63%
Florida Memorial University
1471
560
911
13
6
7
8.8
10.7
7.7
62%
Bowie State University
3748
1378
2370
33
14
19
8.8
10.2
8.0
63%
Paine College
816
250
566
7
2
5
8.6
8.0
8.8
69%
Bethune-Cookman University
3292
1292
2000
28
10
18
8.5
7.7
9.0
61%
University of the District of Columbia
3478
1307
2171
29
21
8
8.3
16.1
3.7
62%
Livingstone College
967
570
397
8
5
3
8.3
8.8
7.6
41%
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
1224
546
678
10
2
8
8.2
3.7
11.8
55%
Delaware State University
2401
940
1461
19
8
11
7.9
8.5
7.5
61%
Paul Quinn College
387
172
215
3
2
1
7.8
11.6
4.7
56%
Central State University
2001
1001
1000
14
5
9
7.0
5.0
9.0
50%
Saint Pauls College
612
322
290
4
1
3
6.5
3.1
10.3
47%
West Virginia State University
442
243
199
1
1
0
2.3
4.1
0.0
45%
Coppin State University
2789
576
2213
5
1
4
1.8
1.7
1.8
79%
Harris-Stowe State University
1638
517
1121
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
68%
American Baptist College
99
66
33



0.0
0.0
0.0
33%
Arkansas Baptist College
608
389
219



0.0
0.0
0.0
36%
Concordia College Selma
506
268
238



0.0
0.0
0.0
47%
Selma University
2336
921
1415
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
61%
Southwestern Christian College
186
112
74



0.0
0.0
0.0
40%
Virginia University of Lynchburg
161
71
90



0.0
0.0
0.0
56%
All HBCUs
202118
80369
121749
4184
1850
2334
20.7
23.0
19.2
60%
Source = IPEDS Data Center ... Retrieve the data from the saved sessions with with "Shortcuts" ... All HBCUs = "Guest_66182241611"

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