When Bluefield State College in West Virginia achieved university status in
Today, more than 70 percent of HBCUs offer graduate degree programs, a significant expansion from previous decades, according to analysis by The Century Foundation. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of graduate programs at HBCUs grew from 2,078 to 2,258, while these institutions collectively serve students with a mission that extends far beyond their walls: preparing the next generation of leaders in fields critical to American society.
The expansion of HBCU graduate programs comes at a crucial time for American higher education. Occupations requiring advanced education are projected to grow faster than average through 2033, with careers requiring master’s degrees leading the charge. Yet the path to these opportunities often comes with a steep financial price tag—Americans currently owe $1.6 trillion in federal student loans, with nearly half held by graduate students.
For Black students, this debt burden is particularly acute. The average Black graduate student holds $10,000 more in debt than their white counterparts, making the question of graduate program value especially pressing for the communities HBCUs serve.
“These institutions need more; and there is no greater testament to the wisdom of such an investment than how much they accomplish already with what little they have,” according to “How HBCUs Have Grown Their Graduate Offerings and Why It Matters,” a comprehensive report released in May by The Century Foundation that examines the strategic expansion of graduate education at historically Black institutions.
Value proposition in action
Dr. Marybeth Gasman
The numbers tell a compelling story about financial accessibility, according to the research by Tiara Moultrie, a fellow at The Century Foundation. While HBCU graduate students are more likely to take out Graduate PLUS loans (37.7 percent compared to 33.3 percent at non-HBCUs), they generally carry lower balances. In academic year 2023-24, the average annual Graduate PLUS loan for HBCU recipients was $25,733, compared to $29,154 for non-HBCU students.
From Colleges to Universities: Institutional Transformation
Recent years have witnessed remarkable institutional evolution. In 2023, two HBCUs—Wiley College and Philander Smith College—introduced their first graduate programs, enabling their transformation from colleges to universities. Wiley University welcomed its first cohort of fully online graduate students in January 2024, while Philander Smith University launched with a single MBA program.
Voorhees College’s transformation to Voorhees University in 2022 exemplifies the strategic thinking behind these expansions. Coinciding with the institution’s 125th anniversary, Voorhees established the School of Graduate Studies, Continuing Education, and Integrative Learning, offering both a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership. This expansion directly addresses teacher shortages in underserved South Carolina school districts—a clear example of HBCUs responding to community needs.
For rural institutions like Voorhees, located in a town of fewer than 4,000 residents, adding graduate programs ensures students pursuing careers requiring post-baccalaureate education can remain competitive. The move also brings academic prestige, allowing institutions to attract terminal-degree faculty and expand their research capabilities.
Dr. Marybeth Gasman, executive director of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, & Justice & Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, says that she is pleased to see the movement.
“I am encouraged by the expansion of graduate programs at HBCUs and have been seeing these increases over the past few decades,” says Gasman, who is also the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education & Distinguished Professor. “I think that more than 70% of HBCUs offering graduate degrees — per the report — both reflects institutional growth and mission expansion. It also indicates a deeper investment in the long-term success of students, especially in areas like health care, education, and STEM.”
Innovation through partnership
HBCUs are also pursuing innovative partnerships to expand graduate offerings without shouldering the entire financial burden alone. Xavier University of Louisiana’s collaboration with Ochsner Health to establish the first Jesuit college of osteopathic medicine represents this trend. The partnership, aiming to welcome its inaugural class in 2027, has already resulted in the Ochsner Health and Xavier University Institute for Health Equity and Research, making Xavier one of just seven HBCUs offering a physician assistant master’s program.
These strategic alliances allow HBCUs to address critical workforce shortages while maintaining their commitment to serving underrepresented communities. Howard University’s establishment of an online Doctor of Nursing Practice program responds to projected growth in specialized nursing fields, while Virginia State University became the first HBCU to offer a Council on Social Work Education-accredited master’s program specializing in trauma-informed care.
HBCU graduate programs are strategically positioned to address national workforce challenges. As the country grapples with teacher shortages, a nursing crisis, and growing demand for mental health professionals, these institutions are expanding programs in socially valuable fields that may not offer the highest financial returns but provide enormous public benefit.
The data support this approach. Despite smaller short-term economic returns, graduate enrollment in education and social and behavioral sciences remained high among the 2023 graduating class, with nearly 350,000 master’s and doctoral students pursuing careers in helping professions.
Edward Waters University’s creation of the EWU Office of Graduate Studies in 2021, offering four master’s programs including one in education policy and advocacy, exemplifies this commitment to developing national education advocates. Similarly, Winston-Salem State University experienced historic growth
in graduate enrollment during Fall 2024 following the reestablishment of its graduate college and new focus on recruiting non-traditional students.
Research excellence recognition
The recent achievement of Howard University as the sole HBCU to receive R1 Carnegie classification—indicating very high research activity—signals the potential for expanded research capacity across the HBCU sector. To achieve this designation, institutions must spend an average of $50 million annually on research and development while awarding at least 70 research doctorates.
This milestone demonstrates that with adequate investment, HBCUs can compete at the highest levels of academic research while maintaining their core mission of accessible, high-quality education.
“More HBCUs are focused on achieving R1 or R2 status, and we are seeing expansion of both master’s and doctoral programs,” says Gasman, who adds that while this push toward research is happening, two things are important to keep in mind.
“HBCUs have long had a ‘high touch’ environment, and much of that is the result of being focused on teaching and advising. As they move more toward research, it’s important not to lose this environment that HBCUs are known for,” says Gasman, adding that HBCUs can think about being a new kind of research institution — one that centers students alongside research. “As graduate programs increase, and thus research, HBCUs have to reduce their teaching loads. If they don’t, there will be considerable faculty burnout. It’s important to keep in mind that most research-focused institutions have a 2/2 course load, which is not the norm at HBCUs. Moreover, these types of changes are going to take additional funding to hire more faculty,” she adds.
Serving diverse student bodies
While HBCUs were founded to educate Black students excluded from other institutions, their graduate programs now serve increasingly diverse populations, the report notes. In the 2020-21 academic year, nearly a quarter of master’s degrees and 40 percent of doctoral degrees conferred by HBCUs went to students who did not identify as Black or African American.
At Florida A&M University College of Law, which offers the lowest in-state and out-of-state tuition of any law school in Florida, current enrollment is 51 percent non-Black. This diversity strengthens the institutions while maintaining their historical mission of providing quality education at accessible prices.
Despite their proven track record, HBCUs continue to face funding challenges that limit their growth potential. The institutions spend a greater portion of their revenue on instruction and other educational expenses than other sectors, maximizing the impact of every dollar received.
As federal and state policymakers consider the future of graduate education funding—including potential elimination of the Graduate PLUS loan program— the HBCU model offers a compelling alternative. These institutions demonstrate that quality graduate education need not come with crushing debt burdens.
The expansion of HBCU graduate programs represents more than institutional growth; it embodies a strategic response to national workforce needs while maintaining the sector’s commitment to accessibility and excellence. As these institutions continue to evolve and expand their offerings, they provide a roadmap for sustainable, high-value graduate education that serves both individual students and the broader public good.
Graduate programs — especially master’s programs — “are often money makers for colleges and universities,” says Gasman. “Thus, these programs will bring in more revenue. Doctoral programs, if fully or partially funded, do not make money for the institution. If students pay full tuition, they will, but at the same time, they won’t attract students the way fully funded doctoral programs do.”
For students considering graduate education, the growing landscape of HBCU programs offers an increasingly attractive combination of academic rigor, affordability, and commitment to social impact— qualities that may prove essential as the nation navigates the challenges of educating tomorrow’s workforce.
