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This list ofhistorically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) includes institutions ofhigher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of primarily serving theBlack American community.[1][2]
Most HBCUs are located in theSouthern United States, wherestate laws generally requirededucational segregation until the 1950s and 1960s.Alabama has the highest number of HBCUs, followed byNorth Carolina, and thenGeorgia.
The list of closed colleges includes many that, because of state laws, were racially segregated. In other words, those colleges are not just "historically" black, they were entirely black for as long as they existed.
![]() | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2025) |
Institution | City | State/ territory | Founded | Type | Comment | Regionally accredited[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama A&M University | Normal[a] | Alabama | 1875 | Public | Founded as ColoredNormal School at Huntsville | Yes |
Alabama State University | Montgomery | Alabama | 1867 | Public | Founded as Lincoln Normal School of Marion | Yes |
Albany State University | Albany | Georgia | 1903 | Public | Founded as Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute | Yes |
Alcorn State University | Lorman[b] | Mississippi | 1871 | Public | Founded as Alcorn University, in honor ofJames L. Alcorn | Yes |
Allen University | Columbia | South Carolina | 1870 | Private[c] | Founded as Payne Institute | Yes |
American Baptist College | Nashville | Tennessee | 1924 | Private[d] | Federal designation as a historically Black college or university was awarded on March 20, 2013, by the U.S. Education Department.[4] | Yes |
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | Pine Bluff | Arkansas | 1873 | Public | Founded as Branch Normal College | Yes |
Arkansas Baptist College | Little Rock | Arkansas | 1884 | Private[e] | Founded as Minister’s Institute[5] | Yes |
Barber–Scotia College | Concord | North Carolina | 1867 | Private[f] | Founded as two institutions, Scotia Seminary and Barber Memorial College | No |
Benedict College | Columbia | South Carolina | 1870 | Private[g] | Founded as Benedict Institute | Yes |
Bennett College | Greensboro | North Carolina | 1873 | Private[h] | Founded as Bennett Seminary | Yes |
Bethune–Cookman University | Daytona Beach | Florida | 1904 | Private[h] | Founded as Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls | Yes |
Bishop State Community College | Mobile | Alabama | 1927 | Public | Originally a branch of Alabama State College | Yes |
Bluefield State University | Bluefield | West Virginia | 1895 | Public | Founded as Bluefield Colored Institute | Yes |
Bowie State University | Bowie | Maryland | 1865 | Public | Founded as Baltimore Normal School | Yes |
Central State University | Wilberforce | Ohio | 1887 | Public[c] | Originally a department at Wilberforce University[6] | Yes |
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania | Cheyney | Pennsylvania | 1837 | Public | The oldest HBCU. Founded byQuakerphilanthropistRichard Humphreys as Institute for Colored Youth | Yes |
Claflin University | Orangeburg | South Carolina | 1869 | Private[h] | Yes | |
Clark Atlanta University | Atlanta | Georgia | 1865 | Private[h] | Originally two institutions, Clark College and Atlanta University | Yes |
Clinton College | Rock Hill | South Carolina | 1894 | Private[i] | Founded as Clinton Institute[7] | Yes |
Coahoma Community College | Coahoma County | Mississippi | 1924 | Public | Founded as Coahoma County Agricultural High School | Yes |
Coppin State University | Baltimore | Maryland | 1900 | Public | Founded as Colored High School | Yes |
Delaware State University | Dover | Delaware | 1891 | Public[j] | Founded as the Delaware College for Colored Students | Yes |
Denmark Technical College | Denmark | South Carolina | 1947 | Public | Founded as Denmark Area Trade School[8] | Yes |
Dillard University | New Orleans | Louisiana | 1869 | Private[k][h] | Founding predecessor institutions:Straight University andNew Orleans University | Yes |
University of the District of Columbia | Washington | District of Columbia | 1851 | Public | Founded as Miner Normal School | Yes |
Edward Waters University | Jacksonville | Florida | 1866 | Private[c] | Founded as Brown Theological Institute | Yes |
Elizabeth City State University | Elizabeth City | North Carolina | 1891 | Public | Founded as State Colored Normal School at Elizabeth City | Yes |
Fayetteville State University | Fayetteville | North Carolina | 1867 | Public | Founded as Howard School | Yes |
Fisk University | Nashville | Tennessee | 1866 | Private[k][9] | Named forClinton Bowen Fisk | Yes |
Florida A&M University | Tallahassee | Florida | 1887 | Public | Founded as State Normal College for Colored Students | Yes |
Florida Memorial University | Miami Gardens | Florida | 1879 | Private[g] | Founded as Florida Baptist Institute in Live Oak | Yes |
Fort Valley State University | Fort Valley | Georgia | 1895 | Public | Founded as Fort Valley High and Industrial School | Yes |
Gadsden State Community College | Gadsden | Alabama | 1925 | Public | Founded as Alabama School of Trades | Yes |
Grambling State University | Grambling | Louisiana | 1901 | Public | Founded as Colored Industrial and Agricultural School | Yes |
Hampton University | Hampton | Virginia | 1868 | Private[l] | Founded as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute | Yes |
Harris–Stowe State University | St. Louis | Missouri | 1857 | Public | Founded as St. Louis Normal School for whites in 1857, with Stowe Teachers College begun in 1890 for blacks; merged in 1954[10] | Yes |
Hinds Community College at Utica | Utica | Mississippi | 1903 | Public | Founded as Utica Junior College | Yes |
Howard University | Washington | District of Columbia | 1867 | Private[l] | Named forOliver Otis Howard, head of the Freedmen's Bureau | Yes |
Huston–Tillotson University | Austin | Texas | 1875 | Private[h][k] | Founded as Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute | Yes |
Interdenominational Theological Center | Atlanta | Georgia | 1958 | Private[m] | Yes | |
J. F. Drake State Technical College | Huntsville | Alabama | 1961 | Public | Founded as Huntsville State Vocational Technical School | Yes |
Jackson State University | Jackson | Mississippi | 1877 | Public | Founded as Natchez Seminary by theAmerican Baptist Home Mission Society, became public in 1942 | Yes |
Jarvis Christian University | Hawkins | Texas | 1912 | Private[n] | Yes | |
Johnson C. Smith University | Charlotte | North Carolina | 1867 | Private[f] | Founded as Biddle Memorial Institute | Yes |
Kentucky State University | Frankfort | Kentucky | 1886 | Public | Founded as State Normal School for Colored Persons | Yes |
Knoxville College | Knoxville (Mechanicsville) | Tennessee | 1875 | Private[o] | No | |
Lane College | Jackson | Tennessee | 1882 | Private[p] | Founded as Colored Methodist Episcopal High School[11] | Yes |
Langston University | Langston | Oklahoma | 1897 | Public | Founded as Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University | Yes |
Lawson State Community College | Bessemer | Alabama | 1949 | Public | Yes | |
LeMoyne–Owen College | Memphis | Tennessee | 1862 | Private[k] | Founded as LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School[12] (elementary school until 1870) | Yes |
Lincoln University | Chester County | Pennsylvania | 1854 | Public | The first degree-granting HBCU; founded as Ashmun Institute | Yes |
Lincoln University of Missouri | Jefferson City | Missouri | 1866 | Public | Founded as Lincoln Institute[13] | Yes |
Livingstone College | Salisbury | North Carolina | 1879 | Private[i] | Founded as Zion Wesley Institute | Yes |
University of Maryland Eastern Shore | Princess Anne[q] | Maryland | 1886 | Public[r] | Founded as Delaware Conference Academy | Yes |
Meharry Medical College | Nashville | Tennessee | 1876 | Private[h] | Founded as the Medical Department ofCentral Tennessee College | Yes |
Miles College | Fairfield | Alabama | 1898 | Private[p] | Known until 1941 as Miles Memorial College; named after BishopWilliam H. Miles | Yes |
Mississippi Valley State University | Itta Bena[s] | Mississippi | 1950 | Public | Founded as Mississippi Vocational College | Yes |
Morehouse College | Atlanta | Georgia | 1867 | Private[t] | Founded as Augusta Institute | Yes |
Morehouse School of Medicine | Atlanta | Georgia | 1975 | Private[l] | Founded as a part of Morehouse College | Yes |
Morgan State University | Baltimore | Maryland | 1867 | Public[r] | Founded as Centenary Biblical Institute | Yes |
Morris Brown College | Atlanta | Georgia | 1881 | Private[c] | Named after the second Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church | Yes |
Morris College | Sumter | South Carolina | 1908 | Private[u] | Yes | |
Norfolk State University | Norfolk | Virginia | 1935 | Public | Founded as Norfolk Unit of Virginia State University[14] | Yes |
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University | Greensboro | North Carolina | 1891 | Public | Founded as the Agricultural & Mechanical College for the Colored Race | Yes |
North Carolina Central University | Durham | North Carolina | 1910 | Public | Founded as National Religious Training School andChautauqua | Yes |
Oakwood University | Huntsville | Alabama | 1896 | Private[v] | Founded as Oakwood Industrial School | Yes |
Paine College | Augusta | Georgia | 1882 | Private[h][p] | Founded as Paine Institute | Yes |
Paul Quinn College | Dallas | Texas | 1872 | Private[c] | Named forWilliam Paul Quinn | Yes |
Payne Theological Seminary | Wilberforce | Ohio | 1856 | Private[c] | Named for BishopDaniel Payne. Founded as a seminary with Wilberforce University in 1856. Later became Payne Theological Seminary in 1894. | Yes |
Philander Smith University | Little Rock | Arkansas | 1877 | Private[h] | Founded as Walden Seminary | Yes |
Prairie View A&M University | Prairie View | Texas | 1876 | Public | Founded as Alta Vista Agriculture & Mechanical College for Colored Youth[15] | Yes |
Rust College | Holly Springs | Mississippi | 1866 | Private[h] | Known as Shaw University until 1882 | Yes |
Savannah State University | Savannah | Georgia | 1890 | Public | Founded as Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth | Yes |
Selma University | Selma | Alabama | 1878 | Private[w] | Founded as Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological School | Yes |
Shaw University | Raleigh | North Carolina | 1865 | Private[d] | Founded as Raleigh Institute | Yes |
Shorter College | North Little Rock | Arkansas | 1886 | Private[c] | Two-year college; founded as Bethel University | Yes[16] |
Shelton State Community College | Tuscaloosa | Alabama | 1952 | Public | Founded as J.P. Shelton Trade School | Yes |
Simmons College | Louisville | Kentucky | 1869 | Private[l] | Founded as Kentucky Normal Technological Institute | Yes |
South Carolina State University | Orangeburg | South Carolina | 1896 | Public | Founded as Colored, Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina | Yes |
Southern University at New Orleans | New Orleans | Louisiana | 1956 | Public | Founded as a branch unit of Southern University in Baton Rouge | Yes |
Southern University at Shreveport | Shreveport | Louisiana | 1967 | Public | Part of theSouthern University System | Yes |
Southern University and A&M College | Baton Rouge | Louisiana | 1880 | Public | Conceptualized byP. B. S. Pinchback,T. T. Allain, andHenry Demas | Yes |
Southwestern Christian College | Terrell | Texas | 1948 | Private[x] | Founded as Southern Bible Institute[17] | Yes |
Spelman College | Atlanta | Georgia | 1881 | Private[t] | Founded as Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary | Yes |
St. Augustine's University | Raleigh | North Carolina | 1867 | Private[y] | Founded as St. Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute | Yes |
St. Philip's College | San Antonio | Texas | 1898 | Public[y] | Founded as St. Philip's Sewing Class for Girls[18] | Yes |
Stillman College | Tuscaloosa | Alabama | 1876 | Private[f] | Founded as Tuscaloosa Institute, the college was a concept of Reverend Dr. Charles Allen Stillman, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa[19] | Yes |
Talladega College | Talladega | Alabama | 1867 | Private[k] | Known as Swayne School until 1869 | Yes |
Tennessee State University | Nashville | Tennessee | 1912 | Public | Founded as Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School | Yes |
Texas College | Tyler | Texas | 1894 | Private[p] | Yes | |
Texas Southern University | Houston | Texas | 1927 | Public | Founded as Texas State University for Negroes | Yes |
Tougaloo College | Hinds County | Mississippi | 1869 | Private[z] | Founded as Tougaloo University | Yes |
Trenholm State Community College | Montgomery | Alabama | 1947 | Public | Founded as John M. Patterson Technical School[21] | Yes |
Tuskegee University | Tuskegee | Alabama | 1881 | Private[l] | Founded as Tuskegee Institute, now a National Historic Site | Yes |
University of the Virgin Islands | St. Croix &St. Thomas | United States Virgin Islands | 1962 | Public | Founded as College of the Virgin Islands | Yes |
Virginia State University | Petersburg[aa] | Virginia | 1882 | Public | Founded as Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute at Petersburg | Yes |
Virginia Union University | Richmond | Virginia | 1865 | Private[g] | Founded asWayland Seminary, and merged with Richmond Institute (1865) in 1889[22] | Yes |
Virginia University of Lynchburg | Lynchburg | Virginia | 1886 | Private[ab] | Founded as Lynchburg Baptist Seminary | Yes |
Voorhees University | Denmark | South Carolina | 1897 | Private[y] | Founded as Denmark Industrial School | Yes |
West Virginia State University | Institute | West Virginia | 1891 | Public | Founded as West Virginia Colored Institute | Yes |
Wilberforce University | Wilberforce | Ohio | 1856 | Private[c] | Named forWilliam Wilberforce. Oldest HBCU to retain its original name, and the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. | Yes |
Wiley University | Marshall | Texas | 1873 | Private[h] | Named forIsaac William Wiley; was Wiley College from 1929 to 2023 | Yes |
Winston-Salem State University | Winston-Salem | North Carolina | 1892 | Public | Founded as Slater Industrial and State Normal School | Yes |
Xavier University of Louisiana | New Orleans | Louisiana | 1915 | Private[ac] | Founded asXavier Preparatory High School | Yes |
Institution | City | State | Founded | Closed | Type | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bishop College | Dallas | Texas | 1881 | 1988 | Private[a] | Founded inMarshall, Texas; later moved to Dallas. |
Bishop Payne Divinity School | Petersburg | Virginia | 1878 | 1949 | Private[b] | Before gaining the right to award bachelor's degrees in 1910, it was the Bishop Payne Divinity and Industrial School. When first founded it was a "normal and industrial" school. |
Booker T. Washington Junior College | Pensacola | Florida | 1949 | 1965 | Public | The first of twelve black junior colleges created in Florida, it closed after passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964. Nominally merged withPensacola Junior College. |
J. P. Campbell College | Started inVicksburg, moved toJackson in 1898 | Mississippi | 1890 | 1964 | Private[c] | Located across the street from Jackson College, nowJackson State University, J. P. Campbell College famously admitted students expelled from high school for participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Then, amidst a failed plan to relocate toMound Bayou, Mississippi, a black town, it collapsed financially.[23] |
Carver Junior College | Cocoa | Florida | 1960 | 1963 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Collier-Blocker Junior College | Palatka | Florida | 1960 | 1964 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Concordia College Alabama | Selma | Alabama | 1922 | 2018 | Private[d] | Known as "Alabama Lutheran Academy and Junior College" until 1981; It was the only historically black college among the ten colleges and universities in theConcordia University System. The college ceased operations at the completion of the Spring 2018 semester, citing years of financial distress and declining enrollment. |
Daniel Payne College | Birmingham | Alabama | 1889 | 1979 | Private[c] | |
Friendship College | Rock Hill | South Carolina | 1891 | 1981 | Private[e] | |
George R. Smith College | Sedalia | Missouri | 1894 | 1925 | Private[f] | It burned down April 26, 1925, after which its assets were merged (in 1933) with the Philander Smith College |
Georgia Baptist College | Macon | Georgia | 1899 | 1956 | Private[e] | Originally known as Central City College, renamed in 1938. |
Gibbs Junior College | St. Petersburg | Florida | 1957 | 1966 | Public | Regionally accredited. Founded to show thatseparate but equal educational institutions for African Americans were viable, and that racial integration, mandated byBrown v. Board of Education, was unnecessary. Closed shortly after passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964; nominally merged with St. Petersburg Junior College (todaySt. Petersburg College). |
Guadalupe College | Seguin | Texas | 1884 | 1936 | Private[g] | Ceased operations after a fire destroyed the main building in 1936.[24] |
Hampton Junior College | Ocala | Florida | 1958 | 1966 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Immanuel Lutheran College | Greensboro | North Carolina | 1903 | 1961 | Private[h] | The college was closed in 1961 when the Synodical Conference decided that the training of Blacks should be integrated into the educational institutions of theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the largest member of the conference. The state of North Carolina purchased the campus for $239,000 and it eventually became the East Campus ofNorth Carolina A&T State University. |
Jackson Junior College | Marianna | Florida | 1961 | 1966 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Johnson Junior College | Leesburg | Florida | 1960 | 1966 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Kittrell College | Kittrell | North Carolina | 1886 | 1975 | Private[c] | |
Leland University | New Orleans | Louisiana | 1870 | 1960 | Private[a] | Founded as a grade school in New Orleans, Leland was aBaker, Louisiana-based Baptist University when it closed. |
Lewis College of Business | Detroit | Michigan | 1928 | 2013[25] | Private[f] | Founded as "Lewis Business College", in the process of being reopened under anew name. |
Lincoln Junior College | Fort Pierce | Florida | 1960 | 1966 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Louisville Municipal College | Louisville | Kentucky | 1931 | 1951 | Public | Formed as a segregated Campus ofUniversity of Louisville on the foreclosed campus ofSimmons College of Kentucky. Merged into University of Louisville as part of integrating U of L. |
Luther College | New Orleans | Louisiana | 1903 | 1925 | Private[h] | |
Mary Holmes College | West Point | Mississippi | 1892 | 2005 | Private[i] | |
Mississippi Industrial College | Holly Springs | Mississippi | 1905 | 1982 | Private[j] | |
Morristown College | Morristown | Tennessee | 1881 | 1996 | Private[k] | Founded as a seminary and normal school in the late 1870s, becameKnoxville College's satellite campus in 1989, and closed for good in 1996. |
Mount Hermon Female Seminary | Clinton | Mississippi | 1875 | 1924 | Private[l] | |
Natchez College | Natchez | Mississippi | 1885 | 1993 | Private[e] | |
Payne College | Cuthbert | Georgia | 1879 | 1912 | Private[f] | On June 5, 1912, it became part of Morris Brown University[26] |
Roger Williams University | Nashville | Tennessee | 1864 | 1929 | Private[a] | Two suspicious fires destroyed its main building in 1905. Financial problems led to its closure in 1929; combined with other institutions to form LeMoyne–Owen College. |
Roosevelt Junior College | West Palm Beach | Florida | 1958 | 1965 | Public | Regionally accredited. One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Rosenwald Junior College | Panama City | Florida | 1958 | 1966 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Saint Paul's College | Lawrenceville | Virginia | 1888 | 2013 | Private[b] | Founded as "Saint Paul Normal and Industrial School". Closed June 2013. |
Saints College | Lexington | Mississippi | 1918 | 2006 | Private[m] | Originated as Saints Junior College and Academy |
Southern Christian Institute | Edwards | Mississippi | 1908? | 1954 | Private[n] | Merged into Tougaloo College. For a time thereafter its campus, renamed Mt. Beulah, was used by the Delta Ministry, CDGM, and other civil rights organizations. |
Storer College | Harpers Ferry | West Virginia | 1865 | 1955 | Public[o] | Not regionally accredited. Its endowment was transferred toVirginia Union, where its alumni have been recognized, and its physical assets were given toAlderson-Broaddus College to create scholarships for black students.[22] Its former campus is now part of theHarpers Ferry National Historical Park.[27] |
Suwannee River Junior College | Madison | Florida | 1959 | 1966 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Turner College | Shelbyville | Tennessee | 1888 | c1929 | Private | Established by theAME Church, Turner was named for a Bishop of the church. Along with anormal school, it included a high school, an "industrial institute," and a Bible study institute included in the institution.[28][29][30][31] |
Volusia County Junior College | Daytona Beach | Florida | 1958 | 1965 | Public | One of eleven black junior colleges founded in Florida after theBrown v. Board of Education decision, in an attempt to show thatseparate but equal higher education facilities existed in Florida. All were abruptly closed after passage of the1964 Civil Rights Act. |
Western University (Kansas) | Quindaro,Kansas City | Kansas | 1865 | 1943 | Private[c] | Had the first statue ofabolitionistJohn Brown, which is all that survives of the campus. |