Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are a great resource for finding talented college graduates. Today, these schools are responsible for 22% of bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black graduates overall, and 25% of STEM degrees awarded to Black graduates. For companies recruiting for entry-level STEM roles, HBCUs offer thousands of bright and qualified candidates, especially HBCUs with strong and highly-ranked STEM programs. To help you recruit top technical candidates and ensure you have a diverse pipeline, we’ve rounded up 10 HBCUs with the best STEM programs to focus your campus recruiting efforts on. Here are the schools that made our list:
Location: Huntsville, AL
Size of undergraduate student body: 5,107
School type: Public
Around 29% of graduates from Alabama A&M university receive a degree in a science or engineering, and AAMU STEM grads can be found at companies like Google, NOAA, Boeing, NASA, and SpaceX. AAMU provides an excellent STEM Knowledge Center where students can access tutoring, computers equipped with the programs they use in class, advising, and career help to prepare for life after graduation. AAMU also holds a STEM Day every year to highlight the standout research students have completed. Students are able to set up a display explaining their research and present to attendees about their work.
Location: Montgomery, AL
Size of undergraduate student body: 3,499
School type: Public
ASU not only has great programs for STEM students but also specific initiatives to help students from underrepresented backgrounds succeed. They have a Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program which focuses on giving undergrad STEM students a chance at hands-on research, professional development workshops, and scholarship funds. They also have a program called S-STEM which is designed for keeping retention rates up among students in the STEM program from underrepresented groups. S-STEM provides financial support for tuition as well as special advising and mentoring to assist with the rigorous coursework before students fall behind.
Location: Hampton, VA
Size of undergraduate student body: 3,863
School type: Private
Hampton University was recently awarded a grant from the Amateur Radio Digital Communications Foundation to provide scholarships for students majoring in STEM who need financial assistance, and in 2018 was awarded with a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense specifically to enhance their research facilities and STEM programs. Because math classes are typically some of the most challenging courses in a STEM program, Hampton created an incoming freshman summer program around mathematics preparedness. During the program they also participate in daily study sessions, field trips, and workshops. When students participate in this program they are able to take a lighter course load during their first real semester which helps improve retention rates in the majors and ultimately graduation rates.
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Size of undergraduate student body: 7,301
School type: Public
Florida A&M University makes our list because of their impressive number of students earning a bachelor’s degree in STEM every year, their rigorous program, and their strong commitment to supporting students in STEM. They are currently ranked as the #I HBCU for Research and Development by the National Science Foundation. They also hold an annual STEM day for 6th-12th grade students to get them interested in pursuing a career in one of the STEM fields. For this event they bring in academic speakers, hold hands-on activities, and perform exciting science demonstrations. FAMU is also the only HBCU in the State University System of Florida.
Location: Washington, D.C.
Size of undergraduate student body: 8,964
School type: Private
Howard proves their STEM program’s strength by being ranked as the top producer of African American undergraduates who later earn science and engineering doctoral degrees by the NSF. Part of this success comes from their ample resources to attract students interested in the STEM fields, like their Karsh STEM Scholars Program. This is designed as a path for high school students who want to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD in a STEM field. Once accepted into the program students receive a scholarship, special advising, study groups, and research opportunities among other benefits. Howard also piloted a partnership with Google in 2021 that focused on increasing the number of underrepresented students in tech. During this program, 26 students participated in a summer residency at Google’s Silicon Valley HQ where they completed college courses while also practicing real-world engineering challenges. The program was so successful that it has expanded to include students from Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other HBCUs – including some mentioned on our list like Florida A&M University, Morgan State University, Prairie View A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Spelman College.
Location: Jackson, MS
Size of undergraduate student body: 4,763
School type: Public
JSU features a special summer program called “Bridge to the Future” for incoming freshmen in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology in order to help students prepare for a successful college career. In this program students have access to benefits such as housing, books, meals, field trips, and mentoring. They also have an initiative, “First in the World,” which aims to improve STEM graduation rates. They’re achieving this through more research opportunities for students and support throughout their studies if they’re struggling. In 2022, JSU was awarded a $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation in order to study the impact faculty perception has on student success in STEM fields.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Size of undergraduate student body: 7,034
School type: Public
MSU focuses on attracting underrepresented youth to STEM fields through multiple programs. One program they have is a partnership with NASA that extends from K-12 education to foster interest and retention in STEM learning. They also have a summer program for rising high school seniors as well as incoming freshmen interested in Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences. This program is offered free of cost and lasts for six weeks. During the program students can actually take a pre-calculus course and participate in case studies, field trips, and professional development seminars.
Location: Greensboro, NC
Size of undergraduate student body: 11,596
School type: Public
North Carolina A&T proves their program’s strength by placing in first the past two years in a row at the Black Enterprise Hackathon, where 15-16 HBCUs compete every year. To help their students prepare for life after college NCAT offers a learning community living arrangement specifically for students in STEM. In this community they focus on supporting higher retention rates in the STEM programs, and students are able to participate in activities for their personal and academic development. NCAT has also partnered with the Association for Women in Science to promote equality and work toward increasing the amount of women in STEM. Their notable alumni in STEM includes Dr. Ronald E. McNair, a NASA astronaut who was part of the 1986 Challenger mission.
Location: Prairie View, TX
Size of undergraduate student body: 8,372
School type: Public
Prairie View acknowledges the lack of students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM and works to improve that from early on. They have a Traveling PVAMU STEM Mobile Road Show with plenty of technology on board to perform hands-on demonstrations to every location they take it. High schools can contact PVAMU and have the STEM Mobile Road Show vehicle come to their school, which helps attract students into STEM while they’re trying to decide what to program to pursue in college. Similarly, they have a shadowing program where younger students can sign up to follow around a College of Engineering student for a day to get a feel for what the STEM programs are really like.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Size of undergraduate student body: 2,417
School type: Private, Women’s College
Because Spelman is a women’s college they’re not only helping increase the amount of Black students entering STEM fields but also working to increase the low amount of women in STEM. They offer a variety of STEM-specific scholarships to promote the accessibility of a STEM degree for anyone regardless of their socioeconomic status. They also offer a completely free program called Women in STEM Summer Bridge Accelerator (WiSTEM) to give incoming students extra preparation and support for their upcoming college career. The six-week program includes for-credit classes as well as research opportunities and college prep activities.
All of these HBCUs put a focus on excellence and success in the STEM field. By including these schools in your recruiting strategy, you’ll find bright and qualified candidates while building a diverse talent pipeline.
If you are looking to improve your diversity recruitment efforts and need to find where to start, download our guide for Recruiting at HBCUs.