N.C. A&T Tops National HBCU Rankings by Degree Choices

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 14, 2023) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has been named the nation’s No. 1 historically Black university (HBCU) by Degree Choices, a higher education research organization whose rankings focus on how well colleges prepare students for top jobs and economic success post-graduation.

This is the second No. 1 national ranking N.C. A&T has earned in four months, with UniversityHQ naming the university America’s top HBCU last October on different criteria.

The Degree Choices criteria look at how long it takes the average students to pay back the total cost of their educational with “marginal earnings” – the difference between what the average student would have earned without their degree and what they earn afterward. It also compares student earnings against an average earnings benchmark, based on their graduation year and major. 

The lower an institution’s score, the better it performs, and A&T earned a 3.14. No other HBCU was below 3.24, and only four other campuses scored below a 5.0.

In Degree Choices, A&T also ranked No. 16 among all national universities for bachelor’s degrees in education, No. 84 in engineering and No. 88 in business.

The Degree Choices ranking aligns with other A&T data that show it to be an outstanding choice for students looking to prepare themselves for a lifetime of success.

The median starting salary for an A&T graduate, for instance, is nearly $55,000 – second highest in the UNC System, according to PayScale and U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News also ranks A&T No. 41 in the nation on “social mobility,” or the university’s effectiveness in enrolling students from modest backgrounds and graduating them into careers that can significantly improve their economic standing.

At an enrollment of 13,487, A&T is also America’s largest HBCU for the ninth consecutive year. It also produces more Black graduates in engineering, agriculture, journalism and liberal arts than any other university in America.