A&T Launches 2026-27 School Year, Ascendant as a Research University

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 19, 2026) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University starts what many believe will be a consequential new school year today with strong momentum as an exponential doctoral research university.

Just last week, the university announced that faculty researchers secured $113.3 million in research funding in FY26, a $17 million jump over the previous year, on the strength of a record-breaking 511 research proposals. And its new fiscal year is off and running, with a $17 million award announced last week to launch a new health disparities research center, and another eight-figure grant waiting in the wings.

The university’s performance will soon be measured by the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education Institutions as part of its cyclical review for its basic classifications, and the Aggies feel ready, having surpassed criteria for the Research 1-Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production designation for the past three years. If they land the R1 classification, they’ll be the first public historically Black college or university ever to do so.

The data points are stacking up, and they point compellingly to an unmistakable conclusion: North Carolina A&T is rising to a new level as a doctoral research institution. Forbes magazine agrees, and two weeks ago named A&T the No. 1 public HBCU in America.

“We are building on the gains and development of the past few years to create a sum far greater than its individual parts,” said Chancellor James R. Martin II, who marked his second anniversary as A&T’s leader last weekend. “While the intellectual output of our university is complex and diverse, the values driving our maturation are remarkably simple. We seek to enhance student success and the student experience at every turn. We are focused on pushing the frontiers of science forward. And we aim to make this university as strong a resource for the people of North Carolina as it can possibly be.”

Over the past five years, A&T faculty have secured more than a half-billion dollars in research support, and their colleges have stood up numerous degree programs that build on A&T’s STEM bona fides: The University of North Carolina System’s first degree in artificial intelligence. A new B.S. in aeronautical and astronautical Engineering to serve the Piedmont Triad’s burgeoning aviation industry. A Doctor of Nursing Practice and a master’s degree in physician assistant studies.

A Ph.D. in agriculture and environmental sciences established just three years ago has already enrolled 61 candidates and graduated its first students last May. And launching this fall, a new concentration in the Ph.D. in criminal justice established last year – also the first and only one in North Carolina – in digital forensics, giving serious heft to the university’s steadily-growing efforts in cybersecurity.

A&T’s ascent also features stronger than ever degree production. Last school year, A&T produced 3,246 graduates, surpassing 3,000 for the first time, and is one of America’s top 10 producers of Black graduates in a total of 24 undergraduate and graduate disciplines, as well as STEM disciplines overall.

Some 50,000 applicants sought admission to the university this fall, and while fall enrollment numbers won’t be official until next month, the university expects to enroll somewhere between 15,500 and 16,000 students. That will likely make it America’s largest HBCU for a 13th consecutive year.

Those students are beginning studies today at a university building for the future: Its new Bluford Residence Hall welcomed its first residents over the weekend. The luxe 405-bed facility is the first project in a west campus expansion that will add many new features in the coming years, including recreation facilities and parking decks.

The state’s recently passed budget included funding for continuing development of the coming $125 million health sciences complex and renovation for Marteena Hall, A&T’s central physics and mathematics building. Expect to see cranes in the not-too-distant future.

“It’s impossible to spend more than 10 minutes on our campus and not feel the incredible momentum of this place,” said Martin. “We are where we are because we haven’t let our foot off the gas, and we are not about to start now.”