Highest graduation rates – HBCUs

These 50 HBCUs rank highest by 6-year graduation rate, drawn from 88 institutions with reported data in the most recent U.S. Department of Education release (2024-25). Spelman College (Atlanta, GA) leads at 78.5%.

#	Institution	Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)
1	Spelman CollegeGA · Private	78.5%
2	Howard UniversityDC · Private	70%
3	Morehouse CollegeGA · Private	59.4%
4	Alcorn State UniversityMS · Public	57.4%
5	North Carolina A & T State UniversityNC · Public	57.2%
6	Hampton UniversityVA · Private	57.2%
7	Tuskegee UniversityAL · Private	55%
8	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityFL · Public	53.3%
9	Claflin UniversitySC · Private	51.6%
10	Jackson State UniversityMS · Public	50.9%
11	Clark Atlanta UniversityGA · Private	49%
12	Xavier University of LouisianaLA · Private	48.5%
13	Winston-Salem State UniversityNC · Public	46.7%
14	Oakwood UniversityAL · Private	44.6%
15	Lincoln UniversityPA · Public	43.5%
16	Elizabeth City State UniversityNC · Public	43.5%
17	Dillard UniversityLA · Private	43.3%
18	Prairie View A & M UniversityTX · Public	43.2%
19	Voorhees UniversitySC · Private	43%
20	North Carolina Central UniversityNC · Public	41.6%
21	Fort Valley State UniversityGA · Public	41.1%
22	Morgan State UniversityMD · Public	40.9%
23	Cheyney University of PennsylvaniaPA · Public	40.6%
24	University of Arkansas at Pine BluffAR · Public	40.4%
25	Virginia State UniversityVA · Public	39.4%
26	West Virginia State UniversityWV · Public	39.2%
27	Delaware State UniversityDE · Public	39.1%
28	American Baptist CollegeTN · Private	38.9%
29	Norfolk State UniversityVA · Public	38.5%
30	Fayetteville State UniversityNC · Public	38.5%
31	Bowie State UniversityMD · Public	38.2%
32	Virginia University of LynchburgVA · Private	37.6%
33	Bluefield State UniversityWV · Public	37%
34	South Carolina State UniversitySC · Public	36.6%
35	Grambling State UniversityLA · Public	36.2%
36	University of Maryland Eastern ShoreMD · Public	35.3%
37	Johnson C Smith UniversityNC · Private	34.3%
38	Virginia Union UniversityVA · Private	34.2%
39	Tennessee State UniversityTN · Public	34%
40	Huston-Tillotson UniversityTX · Private	33.9%
41	University of the District of ColumbiaDC · Public	33.2%
42	Tougaloo CollegeMS · Private	33.1%
43	Kentucky State UniversityKY · Public	31.9%
44	Florida Memorial UniversityFL · Private	31.1%
45	Albany State UniversityGA · Public	31.1%
46	Talladega CollegeAL · Private	30.9%
47	Bethune-Cookman UniversityFL · Private	30.5%
48	Philander Smith UniversityAR · Private	30.4%
49	Alabama State UniversityAL · Public	30.3%
50	Fisk UniversityTN · Private	29.9%

A data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using the most recent College Scorecard & IPEDS release, which lags the current academic year by 2–3 years. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent release, 2024-25), with NSF NCSES (HERD), the Clery Act & EADA collections, Census ACS, BLS Employment Projections, WICHE & the FSA Direct Loan Dashboard. Compiled by Ibex Insights. For informational benchmarking only, not financial, investment, or accreditation advice. See the methodology.