Across the country, institutions of higher learning are starting to look more like the general population. In the 2010-2011 school year, three times as many minority students received bachelor’s degrees compared to the 1990-1991 school year. Back then, minorities only represented 13 percent of bachelor degree earners; today, that number has jumped to nearly one-fourth of total degree recipients.
I’ve written about the Top 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and included schools that are growing in diversity. I’d like to expand that idea to include non-HBCUs that have excellent programs in place for minority students. I used several factors to create this list: percentage of minority students enrolled, freshman retention rates, graduation rate gaps and general graduation rates (particularly over six years).
Take a look at my list of the 30 best U.S. colleges and universities for minorities and let me know who you would add:
10. San Jose State University, California: The tagline of this public school is “Powering Silicon Valley,” and students are taught through cutting-edge technology and encouraged to innovate their own. San Jose State has a 57 percent minority population and a 23:1 student to teacher ratio. Over 35 percent of Latino students graduate in six years, along with 27 percent of Black students. Asian students graduate at a rate of 44 percent in six years, as well as 27 percent of American Indians. About a quarter of San Jose State students receive grant help from the university that runs about $2,927 on average.
11. California State University, Long Beach: With 23 campuses throughout the state, CSU abides by the motto, “working for California,” and rightly claims to be one of the most affordable education systems in the nation. In-state tuition costs just $5,472 per year for the 2012 – 2013 academic year. Just over 55 percent of the student population is minority and there is a 23:1 student-to-faculty ratio. In six years, Black and Latino students graduate at 52 and 47 percent, respectively. There is also a freshman retention rate of 86 percent.
