A private R1 HBCU in Washington, DC, admitting 41.34% of applicants with programs in law, medicine, and communications and a 150-year history as the flagship historically Black university.
Washington, District of Columbia
Howard University is a private R1 research university and the most prominent historically Black university (HBCU) in the United States, founded in 1867 in Washington, DC. It enrolls 10,108 undergraduates and 3,371 graduate and professional students across thirteen schools and colleges, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the Howard University School of Business, the School of Communications, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Fine Arts, the School of Law, and the College of Medicine.
Business, communications, biological sciences, social sciences, and health sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees. Howard holds a Doctoral University: High Research Activity Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Howard is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Howard's graduate professional schools, particularly Howard University School of Law (which produced Thurgood Marshall) and Howard College of Medicine, have historically trained a significant share of the country's Black lawyers and physicians and are central to the university's national identity.
Official website: howard.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Howard scores 63.13 overall, rated Fair. Outcomes (82.06) reflects a 69.96% six-year graduation rate. Affordability scores 34.42. Value scores 2.81, the lowest in this batch, driven by an average net price of $50,539 relative to ten-year earnings of $63,066. All scores use verified federal data only.
Howard admits 41.34% of applicants. Howard is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Howard uses the Common App with required supplemental essays. The early action deadline is November 1 (non-binding); the regular decision deadline is February 1. Applicants apply to a specific school or college within Howard; the School of Business and School of Engineering are more competitive than the overall admit rate. Howard attracts students who specifically value its HBCU identity, its Washington DC location, and its professional school pipelines in law, medicine, and communications.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Howard University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Howard charges $35,810 in tuition plus $17,322 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $54,630 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $50,539, among the highest at any HBCU. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $46,051. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $47,477. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $52,981.
For families earning above $110,000, it averages $54,270. Howard's net prices reflect the institution's limited endowment relative to its enrollment: with $1.34 billion in endowment for over 10,000 undergraduates, Howard is unable to provide the same depth of institutional grant aid as private universities with larger endowments. The federal loan rate of 58.79% and median debt of $24,500 are among the highest in this peer group; approximately 6 in 10 Howard students carry federal loans.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $45 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Howard completes a majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 69.96% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. First-year retention stands at 90.46%. The federal loan rate of 58.79% and median debt of $24,500 are among the highest in this peer group, reflecting the high net price relative to Howard's ability to offer grant aid. The 69.96% six-year graduation rate is below the peer group average; Howard has invested in student success programs in recent years to improve completion.
Howard graduates earn above the national median for private research universities with similar six-year graduation rates. Median earnings are $47,379 six years after first enrolling and $63,066 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 78.06% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The earnings reflect Howard's program mix across communications, business, social sciences, and pre-medicine, and a significant graduate school pipeline in law, medicine, and policy where the Scorecard ten-year window captures pre-professional program attendance rather than full career earnings.
Howard graduates who proceed through Howard Law, Howard Medicine, or graduate programs at other institutions will see significantly higher earnings beyond the ten-year benchmark. Howard's Washington DC location creates direct pipelines into federal government, policy organizations, journalism, law firms, and nonprofit institutions in a city that is one of the country's leading professional employment centers.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Howard enrolls 10,108 undergraduates in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC, approximately 1.5 miles north of the National Mall. Black students account for 76.81% of undergraduates; Hispanic 6.87%, Asian 1.46%, and white 0.18%. Forty percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 23.64% are first-generation college students, both above average for private research universities, reflecting Howard's role in serving students from lower- and middle-income Black families.
Washington DC provides unmatched access to federal government agencies, policy think tanks, national news organizations, law firms, international organizations, and nonprofit headquarters, all within commuting distance of campus. Howard's alumni network is deeply embedded in Black professional life in America: the Howard University alumni community is represented disproportionately among Black judges, physicians, lawyers, politicians, and cultural leaders.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Howard University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Howard University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 111 distinct programs across 25 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Howard operates at a student-to-faculty ratio consistent with mid-sized research universities. 64.25% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty, below the peer group average. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $14,944 per year, among the lower figures in this peer group. The endowment stands at $1.34 billion, small relative to Howard's enrollment and graduate school scope.
Howard is the only HBCU to hold an R1 (high research activity) Carnegie classification; research programs in physics, chemistry, computational social science, and social justice are among its most active. Howard University Hospital is affiliated with the university and provides clinical training for Howard College of Medicine students.
1,022 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 233 | 23% | $148,471 |
| Associate Professors | 301 | 29% | $110,401 |
| Assistant Professors | 261 | 26% | $96,669 |
| Instructors | 72 | 7% | $73,685 |
| Lecturers | 155 | 15% | $61,361 |
Howard's defining strengths are its status as the flagship HBCU and most prestigious historically Black university in the country, its Washington DC location (unmatched for government, law, and policy careers), its professional schools in law and medicine (both significant producers of Black professionals), and an alumni network deeply embedded in American public and professional life. UCD 63.13 Fair. The financial challenges are significant and are a critical consideration for prospective students: the average net price of $50,539 is among the highest in this peer group; net price for families earning under $30,000 ($46,051) leaves a large gap; the federal loan rate of 58.79% and median debt of $24,500 are exceptionally high; and the 69.96% six-year graduation rate is below the peer average.
The value of the Howard experience, its network, and its mission are real and significant and are not fully captured in the Scorecard metrics. Best fit for students who specifically seek the HBCU experience, who are drawn to Howard's DC location and professional school pipelines, and who secure merit scholarships or institutional aid that significantly reduces net cost below the average.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Howard: how the HBCU environment shapes the experience, what the DC location provides, how cost compares to what graduates earn, and what Howard's law and medical schools are known for.
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