How HBCUs Have Grown Their Graduate Offerings and Why It Matters

Graduate students make up roughly 15 percent of the 19 million students enrolled at a post-secondary institution in Fall 2024. This number is expected to grow given that occupations requiring advanced education for entry are projected to grow faster than average through 2033, with careers that require a master’s degree growing the fastest.¹ But to pursue these advanced degrees, many students need to borrow. Americans owe $1.6 trillion in federal student loans²—and nearly half of it is held by graduate students.³ The average graduate student with loans borrows $70,000, but this debt burden is not shared equally.⁴ Students of color hold a disproportionate amount of graduate debt, with the average Black graduate student holding $10,000 more in debt than the average white student. This unequal debt burden means that the question of whether graduate degrees are worth it is especially salient for Black students. 

In this report, we’ll examine the recent growth of graduate program offerings at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and explore how increased investment in HBCUs could support affordable, high-quality graduate programs, serving underrepresented students.

What Is Graduate Education For?

Some pundits argue that graduate education is a private good, whose primary benefits—advanced skills acquisition, workforce competitiveness, and increased earning potential—are bestowed on the person who pursues these advanced degrees, not the nation as a whole. There are some issues with this notion. First, while it’s true that on average adults with a master’s degree or higher earn more than bachelor’s degree holders, program-level outcomes data show that this earnings premium does not exist across all graduate degrees.⁵ So it certainly doesn’t characterize graduate education as a whole.

The belief that graduate education is primarily a “private good” ignores the substantial public good that graduate programs provide, including by preparing students for careers in socially valuable fields such as teaching, social work, and medical and legal professions.

Moreover, the belief that graduate education is primarily a “private good” ignores the substantial public good that graduate programs provide, including by preparing students for careers in socially valuable fields such as teaching, social work, and medical and legal professions. Those who pursue advanced degrees in the helping professions provide vital services, but do not generally enjoy the substantial earnings premium that graduate degrees typically provide to their peers in other sectors.

Graduate education equips students with advanced knowledge in a specialized discipline, providing opportunities for skill acquisition and scholarly innovation. In the 2021–2022 academic year alone, institutions of higher education conferred 1.1 million master’s and doctoral degrees.⁶ It’s crucial to note that despite the increase in graduate attainment, the pursuit of graduate education remains likely to be very costly: graduate borrowers make up roughly 20 percent of all borrowers, but their debt makes up more than 40 percent of the federal student loan portfolio.⁷

HBCUs Provide High-Quality, Affordable Graduate Programs

Graduate education is essential for a strong, innovative economy, but the high debt levels are burdening too many. A practical solution—at least for some of the nations’ most underrepresented students—already exists: greater investment in historically black colleges and universities. Not only are HBCUs expanding their graduate program offerings: they’re also providing a quality educational experience despite decades of unmet funding promises.

Since the late nineteenth century, HBCUs have played a crucial role in the education and upskilling of students. In addition to enrolling a disproportionate number of first-generation and Pell eligible undergraduate students, HBCUs equip their graduate students with the knowledge necessary to address everyday challenges in the communities they live in.⁸ There are HBCUs located in nineteen U.S. states, as well as in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These anchor institutions are hyperconcentrated in communities of color with median wages below the national average,⁹ and thereby provide education and workforce opportunities that buoy their regional economies.¹⁰

HBCUs have a strong history of successfully training professional studies and STEM graduate students. For example, Prairie View A&M is the number-one producer of master’s degrees awarded to Black students in architecture,¹¹ and Florida A&M University produces more Black PharmD recipients than any other institution.¹² Students considering an HBCU also have a breadth of choices: more than 70 percent of HBCUs offer graduate degree programs. In 2022, HBCUs conferred 5 percent of the master’s degrees and 10 percent of doctoral degrees awarded to all Black graduate students.¹³ And the reach of these programs is expanding. Between Fall 2022 and Fall 2023, Black graduate student enrollment increased more than 6 percent.

It must also be noted that HBCUs not only boost economic prospects, create jobs, and generate spending: by expanding their graduate course offerings, they can also address critical staffing needs and job development in fields like advanced manufacturing, health care, and education. Despite their historic underfunding, HBCUs are finding ways to expand their offerings and provide quality education to students.¹⁴ From Howard University, which maintains the only dental school in Washington, D.C.,¹⁵ to Lincoln University of Missouri establishing a master’s in higher education administration with a concentration in administration at HBCUs,¹⁶ these institutions are preparing the next generation of leaders, training the nation, and professionalizing the workforce. 

Paying for Graduate Education

Program cost is a key factor in a student’s ability to access and persist in graduate school. It also happens to be a criterion in which HBCUs continue to excel.

The majority of students finance their graduate education through a combination of student loans, scholarships, grants, fellowships, and assistantships, and sometimes through employer tuition reimbursement. Graduate students are eligible for two federal student loans: Graduate Stafford, a direct unsubsidized loan capped at $20,500 annually, and Graduate PLUS. Grad PLUS loans have no functional cap, with the maximum award amount capped at the total cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial aid the student receives. While just 15 percent of graduate students take out Graduate PLUS loans, they make up a significant portion of the federal debt portfolio.

And even that very short menu could soon become shorter. Congress is currently considering a budget reconciliation bill that would eliminate the Graduate PLUS program, which in turn may push borrowers toward the private student loan market.¹⁷ To qualify for a Graduate PLUS loan, borrowers cannot have an adverse credit history, though they can ultimately be approved if they meet other eligibility requirements, like obtaining an endorser or co-signer who agrees to repay the loan if the borrowers cannot. Private lenders are likewise incentivized to extend access to credit only to those students they believe will repay, though in the private market this determination is made by assessing a borrower’s credit history and income, and students pursuing careers with limited financial returns may be less likely to qualify.

The federal student loan system also offers guardrails that are lacking in the private market: low earners can tie repayments to their income through an income-driven repayment plan. Prior to the introduction of Graduate PLUS loans in 2006, graduate students only had access to federal Stafford loans, now called Direct Unsubsidized Loans, which allowed students to borrow up to a prescribed annual loan limit based on their degree level. If borrowers had additional needs or expenses beyond that limit, they would turn to the private market. Students pursuing professional degrees in medicine and law have the largest average annual Graduate PLUS disbursements.¹⁸ While professionals in the legal field generally outearn their peers, making them a less risky group to extend private credit, high tuition and fees relative to median earnings in the years immediately following graduation means it can take over a decade to see a meaningful return on investment.¹⁹

Not only do law and medical programs take longer to complete than master’s degree programs: these professional students also need access to state-of-the-art facilities, medical equipment, libraries, and faculty, which can drive up tuition costs. Training doctors is a particularly expensive endeavor, with the median four-year cost of attendance at many U.S. medical colleges exceeding $250,000 for the class of 2020.²⁰ Advanced degree programs for health professions account for nearly half of all annual student loan dollars borrowed by graduate students.²¹ HBCU medical and law schools, which may have fewer financial resources, are also less likely to award large scholarships, fellowships, and/or assistantships, leaving students to seek out external research or academic funding to underwrite the cost of their degree if they hope to graduate with little or no debt burden. Philanthropic giving has previously sought to address underinvestment in HBCU medical schools by providing funds to strengthen their endowments and support the medical workforce.²²

Despite being underresourced, HBCUs frequently offer affordable graduate options. For example, public regional HBCUs typically offer lower tuition than other non-HBCU public institutions in the same area.²³ As Table 1 shows, across the country in 2020, the typical graduate student at an HBCU had a cost of attendance $5,000 lower than students who were not at HBCUs.

Table 1

At HBCUs, Graduate PLUS comprises 37.7 percent of federal student loans to graduate students, compared to 33.3 percent at non-HBCUs.²⁴ Crucially though, while a larger share of HBCU students rely on Graduate PLUS loans, they generally carry lower balances than non-HBCU peers: in academic year 2023–24, the average annual Grad PLUS loan amount for Grad PLUS recipients at HBCUs was $25,733, compared to $29,154 for non-HBCUs.²⁵ The lower balances may be due in part to the relative affordability of HBCUs.

Assessing the Value of an HBCU Graduate Education

When choosing a graduate program, students generally consider the cost of the program, as well as how well they think the program will help them advance their career aspirations. However, it is not always easy for students to assess the cost of a graduate program, or to understand how the program will affect their career opportunities.

The “sticker price” of tuition is often an imperfect proxy for what graduate students can expect to pay or borrow, though it can be a huge determining factor in which program a student chooses to attend. Unfortunately, comparison shopping for graduate programs is challenging because program-level data on net price (i.e., the price after tuition discounts are taken into account) is not publicly available.²⁶

It is also hard for students to accurately assess how well a program will boost their earnings or job opportunities. This also makes comparison shopping for a graduate program difficult.

Policymakers and researchers often evaluate graduate program’s value by measuring “return on investment,” or ROI. ROI metrics generally compare the earnings boost that graduates receive to the amount that the student invested in the program. ROI is a useful and important tool for understanding value, and HBCUs, as a sector, have a strong ROI in comparison to other sectors. For example, nearly all HBCU graduate programs would pass the federal “gainful employment” standard, a type of ROI metric that considers the ratio of graduates’ student debt to earnings, as well as measuring the overall earnings boost graduates receive.²⁷ HBCUs’ strong pass rate on this metric is a testament to the sector’s commitment to providing high-value programs while keeping tuition relatively affordable for their high-need students.

While many HBCU graduate programs have strong ROIs, ROI alone is not always a sufficient way to measure a program’s value. For example, for lower-earning, but high-social-value careers, such as teaching and social work, considering an ROI metric alone fails to take into account the social value of the graduates’ work.

Measuring ROI in the higher education sector can be particularly challenging due to the litany of variables one can choose, and the impact this variability has on measurable outcomes like post-graduate earnings. The most recent gainful employment rule, finalized by the U.S. Department of Education in 2024, includes a debt-to-earnings ratio test, as well as an earnings premium threshold.²⁸ These test whether program completers earn at least as much as someone in the workforce that didn’t pursue a post-secondary degree or credential, and whether typical loan repayments are affordable.

The How and Why of Establishing Graduate Programs at HBCUs

While an institution’s motivation for establishing a graduate program or division may vary, it’s clear that adding these programs comes with both risks and opportunities. Before deciding to add a graduate division, an institution typically seeks input from multiple stakeholders. Trustees, the board of governors, executive leadership, faculty, and alumni all have a voice in the decision to add a graduate degree or school; but a program cannot move forward without the approval of an institutional accreditor and/or state authorizer. Institutions are required to notify and seek approval for significant modifications or “substantive changes” before they are implemented.

Generally, an institution submits a proposal to register a new program and amend its master plan. The institution will also complete a self-study and site visit. The institution also needs the administrative capability to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements. Newly minted graduate divisions often hire new staff that support and administer these programs. Bluefield State College in West Virginia achieved university status in 2022, receiving approval for its first graduate program—an MBA—first from its accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), then the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.²⁹ It’s worth noting that small, private HBCUs have occasionally struggled to meet the financial accounting and responsibility requirements of their accreditors. 

In recent years, a number of bachelor’s degree-granting HBCUs have added graduate programs and divisions. In 2023, two HBCUs, Wiley College, and Philander Smith College, introduced their first graduate programs, helping the institutions move from colleges to universities. The institution, now known as Wiley University, welcomed its first cohort of fully online graduate students in January 2024. Philander Smith University offers a single graduate program, a master’s in business administration (MBA). A year prior, in 2022, Voorhees College became Voorhees University, announcing a new name and the establishment of the School of Graduate Studies, Continuing Education, and Integrative Learning to coincide with its 125th anniversary.³⁰ In addition to a master of education in teaching and learning, Voorhes offers a doctor of education (Ed.D.) in educational leadership with two concentrations, in PK–12 leadership and higher education leadership. Voorhees University’s decision to expand its education graduate programming coincides with broader efforts by the institution to address teacher shortages in underserved South Carolina school districts.³¹

For rural institutions like Voorhees University—which is located in a town of less than 4,000 residents—adding a graduate division ensures students pursuing career pathways like educational administration, which require post-baccalaureate education and training, are equipped with the tools they need to be competitive in the marketplace. Adding a graduate division can also provide a level of academic prestige for an institution, allowing it to expand program offerings and attract new faculty: accreditors generally require faculty in graduate divisions to have a terminal degree, such as a PhD.

Edward Waters University created the EWU Office of Graduate Studies in August 2021. The institution offers four master’s degree programs, including an MA degree in education policy and advocacy intended to develop national education advocates.³² Winston Salem State University experienced historic growth in graduate enrollment during Fall 2024 following the reestablishment of its graduate college and a new commitment to recruiting non-traditional students.³³ In keeping with recent trends in graduate offerings, many of these degree programs are as little as one year in length, and are offered in a number of modalities. 

In addition to adding specific graduate programs, HBCUs have also looked for new and innovative partnership opportunities to expand their graduate offerings. Xavier University of Louisiana is partnering with the health care organization Ochsner Health to establish the first Jesuit college of osteopathic medicine.³⁴ University leadership aims to welcome the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s inaugural class in 2027. The partnership has already resulted in the establishment of the Ochsner Health and Xavier University Institute for Health Equity and Research (OXIHER)³⁵ and made Xavier one of just seven HBCUs that offer a physician assistant (PA) master’s program.³⁶These moves seem poised to enhance the social and economic mobility of graduates while providing much-needed workforce development to address community needs. The addition of new programs also ensures that students who want to remain at HBCUs for graduate school instead of attending non-HBCUs have the option to do so. 

There are many reasons a student who begins their post-secondary education at a HBCU would want to pursue an advanced degree at the same or a different HBCU. Students who desire stability may benefit from remaining at an institution with faculty and administrators they’ve built positive relationships with and potentially continuing research they started as undergraduates. Others may opt to pursue graduate education at a HBCU for their affordable tuition,³⁷ commitment to student success,³⁸ alumni networking opportunities and social and economic mobility outcomes.³⁹

Map 1

Additional Investment Is Needed to Support Expanded Program Offerings at HBCUs

Just as HBCU graduate students face a disproportionate burden in financing their education, chronic underfunding of HBCUs has left HBCUs under-resourced. Underfunding restricts resources for students, infrastructure, and technology. These institutions need more; and there is no greater testament to the wisdom of such an investment than how much they accomplish already with what little they have. Funding limitations may impede certain growth opportunities and strategies, but it has not stopped these institutions from preparing students for a competitive global market. HBCUs continue providing students the critical pathways needed to thrive in the workforce, due at least in part to the fact that HBCUs spend a greater portion of their revenue on instruction and other educational expenses than other institutions.⁴⁰

These institutions need more; and there is no greater testament to the wisdom of such an investment than how much they accomplish already with what little they have.

While some institutions have rushed to stand up or expand the number of graduate programs in response to what they see as lucrative trends in graduate enrollment, this doesn’t appear to be the case at HBCUs. Though the cost of graduate school increased significantly in the decade following the Great Recession, allowing colleges to reap large financial rewards if they increased their offerings, HBCUs haven’t experienced massive growth in the introduction of new programs or the total number of graduate programs.⁴¹

Although HBCUs have expanded graduate offerings at a more measured pace than other sectors, more HBCU graduate programs exist today than ever before. In the 2012–2013 academic year, there were 108,128 graduate programs offered at non-HBCUs and just 2,078 at HBCUs. By 2021, the number of non-HBCU graduate programs reached 140,880, and HBCUs collectively offered 2,258 graduate programs (See Figure 1 below). Thirteen of the seventy-five HBCUs currently offering graduate programs did not offer any in academic year 2012–13. Some institutions may feel compelled to expand their graduate offerings to remain competitive, increase enrollment, and bring in additional revenue, but this can create disruptions if programs are later suspended due to lack of enrollment.⁴² Before adding a graduate program, institutions must consider not just the population they hope to serve but also how a new division can change their mission. 

Figure 1

Though HBCUs were originally founded with a mission to educate Black students prohibited from enrolling at white institutions, HBCUs serve students of other races as well. In the 2020–21 academic year, nearly a quarter of master’s degrees and 40 percent of doctoral degrees conferred by HBCUs were to students who did not identify as Black or African American.⁴³ In the academic year 2023–2034, nearly 20 percent of Morehouse Medical College’s total enrollment were non-Black students.⁴⁴ At Florida A&M University College of Law, which offers the lowest in-state and out-of-state tuition of any law school in Florida, current enrollment is 51 percent non-Black.⁴⁵

While the role HBCUs play in diversifying talent pipelines cannot be understated, what they truly offer is a quality education at a value that keeps our global labor market competitive.⁴⁶ The caliber of education students receive relative to the cost of HBCUs is important. In 2025, Howard University, which boasts a law and medical school, became the sole HBCU to achieve a R1 Carnegie classification.⁴⁷ To achieve this designation, which signifies very high research activity, an institution must spend an average of $50 million annually on research and development and award seventy or more research doctorates. Additional federal and state funding can support HBCUs interested in becoming research universities and expanding their graduate divisions. 

HBCUs also play an important role by training graduate students for careers in socially valuable fields. As we face rampant teacher shortages,⁴⁸ a national nursing crisis,⁴⁹ and a growing need for social workers as calls for mental health access increase,⁵⁰ there is a great need for affordable, high-quality graduate education in these fields. HBCUs are already heeding that call by expanding graduate offerings in education and establishing new programs to address demand in “social good” fields. In keeping with trends in projected growth for specialized nursing fields,⁵¹ Howard University established an online doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program.⁵² In 2024, Virginia State University became the first HBCU to offer a Council on Social Work Education-accredited master’s in social work program specializing in trauma-informed care.⁵³

While there have been calls to remove barriers to entry and limit the overprofessionalization of teaching and social work in particular, with some states embracing alternate certification programs and others pushing for compacts that would permit a single multistate license for social workers, the education these students receive in graduate school can still be valuable.⁵⁴ For those looking to practice clinical social work, the additional training offers the ability to learn evidence-based practices while gaining tools that will assist with job functions like supervision and administration. Additionally, while calls for reforms and alternatives are present and growing, many states still require a master’s degree for licensure, so those who want to enter the field must enroll in graduate school. Industry and higher education stakeholders must have honest conversations to determine whether these degree requirements make sense for the compensation recipients receive after completion.

Despite smaller short-term economic returns, graduate enrollment in education and in social and behavioral sciences among the class of 2023 remained high, with nearly 350,000 master’s and doctoral students pursuing career paths in the helping professions.⁵⁵ For a variety of reasons, research and fellowship opportunities are more limited for students in the humanities and social sciences. Additionally, Black graduate students often have fewer opportunities for graduate and teaching assistantships. Just one-quarter of Black doctoral students received institutional and grant aid, compared to 45 percent of all doctoral students across racial groups.⁵⁶ And Black medical residents are the group most likely to have debt, and the majority hold loans for premedical and medical education on top of non-educational consumer debt.⁵⁷ Scholarships, fellowships, and other financial assistance are crucial for graduate students from low-income and low-wealth communities to succeed. Additional investment in HBCU graduate education will enable students to enroll, persist, and graduate from these programs.

While philanthropy has worked to fill the gaps underfunding has created, more meaningful and robust investment is needed in HBCUs that deliver on the promise of quality education at an affordable price. Underfunding impedes expansion and innovation, limiting institutional growth opportunities. To meet the moment, policymakers must increase support for pipeline initiatives and workforce development opportunities at graduate degree-granting HBCUs. And as HBCUs go all-in on graduate education, administrators and students must remain mindful of the importance of offering high-quality, affordable graduate programs.

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Tags: graduate school, HBCU, educational equity