American Indians and Alaska Natives are vastly underrepresented in certain job fields. Less than 1% percent of people employed in STEM are American Indians or Alaska Natives. Plus, less than 10% of medical schools today have four or more American Indian and Alaska Native students enrolled.
Tribal colleges and universities were designed in part to combat underrepresentation by providing higher education opportunities for American Indians and to incorporate cultural values in the schools. In 1973, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) was established to provide a support network for the first six tribally-controlled colleges as they worked to influence federal policies on American Indian higher education. Now, there are 35 fully accredited TCUs. Each of these institutions was created and chartered by its own tribal government for a specific purpose
Today, over half of the 574 federally recognized tribes are represented at TCUs with American Indian Alaska Native students from more than 30 states, including 14 states that do not have their own TCU. However, despite the underrepresentation of American Indians in STEM and professional fields, TCUs remain underutilized in recruitment.
TCUs not only provide environments that foster American Indian culture and traditions but are also sources of incredible talent and hardworking students who are ready to enter the workforce. TCUs offer a number of apprenticeships, certificates, and associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. In total, TCUs offers 358 programs, including 181 associate degrees, 40 bachelor’s degree programs, and 5 master’s degree programs.
Looking to increase your recruitment efforts from TCUs? Use our list of notable TCUs as a guide.
Salish Kootenai College
Main campus location: Pablo, Montana
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Salish Kootenai College, grounded in the cultures of the Séliš, Ksanka, and QÍispé people of the Flathead Nation, aspires to be the top educational center of excellence for American Indian Students. The school ranks in the top 10% nationwide for colleges that offer the most-focused degrees in natural resources, as well as for conservation and geological/earth sciences. It is also ranked in the top 5% of colleges that offer the most-focused degrees for teacher education (grade specific). The most popular majors at Salish Kootenai College, which offers a total of 17 Bachelor’s degrees, 22 Associate degrees, and 6 Certificates of Completion, include nursing, dental assisting, psychology, and business. Students who attend Salish Kootenai College are sure to get personalized attention, with small class sizes and a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1.
Northwest Indian College
Main campus location: Bellingham, Washington
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Northwest Indian College is the only accredited tribal college that serves tribes across the states of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. A total of 90 different tribal nations are represented by their student body.
Northwest Indian College is committed to helping develop environmental scientists and leaders who are rooted in their culture. They even offer a scholarship, funded through the National Science Foundation, to students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Native Environmental Science. The college’s Salish Sea Research Center is a resource for students to gain a background in scientific methods while also fostering respect for indigenous knowledge of nature. The center researches harmful algal blooms — overgrowths of algae that may produce dangerous toxins — in Bellingham Bay and studies population dynamics of Longfin Smelt, an important resource for the nearby Lummi Tribe.
Sitting Bull College
Main campus location: Fort Yates, North Dakota
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Master’s, Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Sitting Bull College is located on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota and has two sites in South Dakota. Its namesake is the Hunkpapa Lakota chief Sitting Bull, whose quote is the college’s vision statement: “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” The college ranks in the top 2% for most-focused computer information systems programs and offers associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in environmental science. Graduates from the environmental science programs go on to manage local natural resources, and students have interned at NASA, the United States Forest Service, and the Natural Resource and Conservation Service, among others.
College of Menominee Nation
Main campus location: Keshena, Wisconsin
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
The College of Menominee Nation serves students of the Menominee, Oneida, Chippewa, Ho-Chunk, Navajo, Potawatomi, Mohegan, and many other tribes. It ranks in the top 10% nationwide for most-focused public administration program. The College of Menominee is a Land Grant institution with popular majors, including business administration and management, nursing, and liberal arts general studies. The college is committed to sustainability, fostering relationships between the six dimensions of the Menominee Theoretical Model of Sustainability, which seeks to support both socio-economic development and environmental protection.
Haskell Indian Nations University
Main campus location: Lawrence, Kansas
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Haskell Indian Nations University has been serving American Indian and Alaska Native people in Kansas since 1884. Today, students representing federally recognized tribes across the United States attend the college, which has an average enrollment of more than 700 students each semester. The college ranks in the top 2% nationwide for the best value college for ethnic studies programs, and has been named the most focused college for General Business Administration and Management in Kansas. Haskell Indian Nations University participates in several STEM partnership programs, including the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP), which is supported by the National Science Foundation. Students who participate in this program get the opportunity to evaluate the vegetation, hydrology, and soil of the Haskell wetlands, map within the Haskell wetlands using GPS and Geographic Information Systems technology, and work with graduate-level math faculty members.
Navajo Technical University
Main campus location: Crownpoint, New Mexico
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Masters, Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Navajo Technical University began as the Navajo Skill Center in 1979, aiming to meet the needs of the unemployed population in the Navajo Nation. After a demand for more rigorous academics by students, Navajo Skill Center became a college and the first university established in the Navajo Nation. NTU offers a variety of majors and degree programs, including veterinary technology (accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association), electrical engineering, geographic information technology, and more. Students can also pursue a master’s in Diné culture, language, and leadership. This degree prepares them for careers such as K-12 teachers, social workers, and behavioral health workers.
Diné College
Main campus location: Tsaile, Arizona
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Diné College, founded as Navajo Community College in 1968, was the United States’ first tribally chartered college. It serves a predominantly Navajo population, spanning across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and is ranked in the top 5% nationally for the most-focused health professions programs. The Diné Environmental Institute, along with the Navajo Nation Division of Health, aids the United States Geological Survey in examining connections between residential and industrial coal usage. The institute also researches the impacts of past uranium mining and milling practices on Navajo communities. The college offers a number of degree programs in STEM fields, as well as in education, business, and the arts.
Sinte Gleska University
Main campus location: Mission, South Dakota
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Bachelor’s, Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Sinte Gleska University is located on the Rosebud Sioux reservation and primarily serves the Sicangu Lakota community. The University offers 23 bachelor’s degrees, 25 associate degrees, two master’s degrees, and 12 certificate programs. The bachelor’s programs in education, human services, and business are among the most popular. The university received four-year accreditation in 1983 and, five years later, established its first master’s degree program, making it the first tribal college to be accredited at the master’s degree level.
Oglala Lakota College
Main campus location: Kyle, South Dakota
School type: Four-year
Degrees offered: Masters, bachelors, associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Oglala Lakota College, which ranks in the top one percent of the country for the most focused ethnic studies programs, began as a community college before growing to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees across 32 unique programs. Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree can major in business administration, natural science, or information technology, among others. Master’s students can study Lakota Leadership and Management, with or without an education administration emphasis. Graduates of Oglala Lakota College go on to earn PhDs in geological engineering, intern at the National Human Genome Research Institute, and become student counselors. To date, Oglala Lakota college has over 4,400 successful graduates.
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Main campus location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
School type: Two-year
Degrees offered: Associate
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute is a two-year college that boasts some impressive statistics. 100% of the school’s approximately 366 students are Native American, representing 71 different tribes. 96% of students either find work or transfer to a four-year college after graduation, and graduates see an average salary increase of nearly $10,000. Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute is located in the New Mexico Technology Corridor, a cluster of high-tech private companies and government institutions along the Rio Grande, and students are eligible to transfer to the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University and the New Mexico Highlands University through articulation and transfer agreements between SIPI and those schools. Popular majors at SIPI include liberal arts, the sciences, and engineering.
This is just a sample of the TCUs in the United States that graduate students every year who are equipped to enter the workforce. For the full listing and to learn more about TCUs, you can visit the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s website here.
Lead Image Credit: Photo of Salish Kootenai College from the U.S. Department of Education on Flickr
Download our guide “Beyond The Ivy League” for more information on expanding your recruitment reach and finding students at the top public schools, HBCUs, and HSIs.
