Overall enrollment of black students among undergraduates was slightly above their estimated 12.7-percent representation in the U.S. population. Blacks were overrepresented in certain categories in addition to the expected one of historically black colleges and universities: Among the other categories are two-year and four-year for-profit institutions, two-year private nonprofit institutions, and colleges where more than half of students were enrolled exclusively in distance education. Although the proportion of degrees earned by black undergraduates was usually lower than their share of enrollment at institutions in the various categories, they earned their greatest number of bachelor’s degrees at nonflagship four-year public institutions, and their greatest numbers of master’s degrees and research doctorates at distance-education-dominant institutions. They were most significantly underrepresented at flagship four-year public institutions and highly selective four-year private nonprofit institutions.
Undergraduate students
| | | Enrollment | Associate degrees | Bachelor’s degrees |
| Institution type | Number of colleges | All | Black or African-American | Percent black | All | Earned by blacks | Percentage earned by blacks | All | Earned by blacks | Percentage earned by blacks |
| Distance-education dominant | 277 | 1,038,240 | 209,060 | 20.1% | 51,488 | 11,217 | 21.8% | 170,031 | 26,015 | 15.3% |
| Historically black colleges and universities | 97 | 242,623 | 186,749 | 77.0% | 5,391 | 2,396 | 44.4% | 33,272 | 26,911 | 80.9% |
| Flagship four-year public institutions | 50 | 1,131,277 | 58,669 | 5.2% | 1,520 | 106 | 7.0% | 261,110 | 12,149 | 4.7% |
| Other four-year public institutions | 617 | 5,417,937 | 561,226 | 10.4% | 185,113 | 19,261 | 10.4% | 963,344 | 81,223 | 8.4% |
| Other four-year private nonprofit institutions, highly selective | 90 | 347,664 | 20,811 | 6.0% | 473 | 90 | 19.0% | 85,701 | 4,440 | 5.2% |
| Other four-year private nonprofit institutions, less selective | 1,137 | 1,826,722 | 172,194 | 9.4% | 30,707 | 4,110 | 13.4% | 408,336 | 31,341 | 7.7% |
| Other four-year for-profit institutions | 294 | 189,208 | 38,426 | 20.3% | 24,209 | 4,707 | 19.4% | 30,576 | 5,831 | 19.1% |
| Other two-year public institutions | 853 | 4,479,401 | 623,658 | 13.9% | 661,916 | 71,161 | 10.8% | — | — | — |
| Other two-year private nonprofit institutions | 91 | 26,876 | 6,455 | 24.0% | 6,471 | 1,129 | 17.4% | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Other two-year for-profit institutions | 486 | 176,216 | 52,897 | 30.0% | 30,986 | 7,619 | 24.6% | 24 | 4 | 16.7% |
| All | 3,992 | 14,876,164 | 1,930,145 | 13.0% | 998,274 | 121,796 | 12.2% | 1,952,399 | 187,915 | 9.6% |
Graduate students
| | | Enrollment | Master’s degrees | Research or scholarship doctorates |
| Institution type | Number of colleges | All | Black or African-American | Percent black | All | Earned by blacks | Percentage earned by blacks | All | Earned by blacks | Percentage earned by blacks |
| Distance-education dominant | 194 | 408,868 | 100,308 | 24.5% | 113,204 | 25,079 | 22.2% | 5,080 | 1,450 | 28.5% |
| Historically black colleges and universities | 57 | 34,563 | 24,120 | 69.8% | 7,918 | 5,564 | 70.3% | 708 | 443 | 62.6% |
| Flagship four-year public institutions | 50 | 371,334 | 17,610 | 4.7% | 84,589 | 3,803 | 4.5% | 18,611 | 673 | 3.6% |
| Other four-year public institutions | 466 | 1,020,655 | 84,846 | 8.3% | 272,731 | 20,439 | 7.5% | 24,445 | 1,323 | 5.4% |
| Other four-year private nonprofit institutions, highly selective | 62 | 311,405 | 16,506 | 5.3% | 91,676 | 4,245 | 4.6% | 11,530 | 371 | 3.2% |
| Other four-year private nonprofit institutions, less selective | 1,067 | 819,439 | 83,984 | 10.2% | 223,373 | 21,910 | 9.8% | 9,634 | 1,219 | 12.7% |
| Other four-year for-profit institutions | 146 | 38,996 | 5,776 | 14.8% | 11,193 | 1,832 | 16.4% | 803 | 230 | 28.6% |
| All | 2,042 | 3,005,260 | 333,150 | 11.1% | 804,684 | 82,872 | 10.3% | 70,811 | 5,709 | 8.1% |
Note: Undergraduates in the analysis include only degree- or certificate-seeking students. “Distance-education-dominant” institutions are those of any sector with more than 50 percent of students taking courses exclusively through distance education, which encompasses online learning. Each category of institution excludes the categories listed above it. For instance, “other four-year private nonprofit institutions, less selective,” excludes all distance-education-dominant and historically black institutions, as well as all “highly selective” four-year private nonprofit institutions. For the purposes of this table, highly selective institutions are defined as those that accepted 33 percent or fewer applicants for 2017-18. Completions are for the academic year 2016-17, and enrollment is for the fall of 2017. The number of colleges indicates the number of each institution type that awarded degrees to the group identified in the heading above: either undergraduates or graduate students. Four degree categories — certificates below the baccalaureate, certificates above the baccalaureate, professional-practice doctoral degrees like M.D. or J.D., and doctoral degrees other than research or professional degrees — are not shown above. A dash means no data are available. Blacks made up 12.7 percent of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013-2017 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data
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