In its 2024–2025 America’s Top Colleges rankings, Forbes magazine named Howard University the top historically Black college or university (HBCU) in the country.
A list of 500 institutions that annually produce graduates that are “successful, high-earning and influential from all economic backgrounds, with less student debt” is released. ROI, average student debt, and graduation results were used to rank the institutions. The journal also considered alumni wages, on-time graduation rates, and retention rates from freshmen to sophomores.
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Howard University was named as the top HBCU and one of the top 100 universities in the northeast. The Forbes list also includes Spelman College, Morehouse College, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, and other HBCUs.
The Forbes rating is released as Howard University experiences a sharp increase in enrollment and keeps expanding its innovative offerings. Bloomberg Philanthropies gave the University a record-breaking $175 million last month to fund its College of Medicine, public health programs, and the training of medical professionals of color.
The U.S. Air Force awarded the University a $90 million grant to establish the nation’s first HBCU-affiliated Department of Defense University Affiliated Research Center, which will be used to study artificial intelligence and technology systems. In fields like disease research, data science and cybersecurity, nanotechnology, business, gender studies, civil rights, disease design and validation, journalism, the humanities, and nanotechnology, the University has become a leader in thought leadership thanks to the establishment of additional research centers.
Dr. Ben Vinson III, president of Howard University, stated, “Howard University’s top ranking among HBCUs adds momentum to our march into the upper tier of the nation’s research institutions.”
He added, “Howard’s singular influence at the nexus of intellectual discovery and global culture cannot be overstated, and we will continue to push the boundaries of knowledge to help the world solve its most pressing challenges.”
