Spelman College claims top ranking among HBCUs for second year in a row

Spelman College in Atlanta – the liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, was last week, named the U.S. top historically Black college or university (HBCU) for the second year in a row by U.S. News and World Report.

The publication’s 30th annual ranking of tertiary education institutions in the United States included nearly 50 different types of numerical rankings and lists to “help students narrow their college search.” In addition to its ratings of the best national universities and liberal arts colleges, the magazine also ranked regional colleges and universities and HBCUs.

In the ranking of HBCUs, the schools were compared only with one another. Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Morehouse College in Atlanta, ranked second and third best, respectively.

The institutions switched spots from last year’s rankings when Morehouse was second and Howard third. Following closely behind was Virginia’s Hampton University and Tuskegee University in Alabama, which held the fifth spot as it did a year ago.

Rounding out the top 10 positions in descending order were: New Orleans’ Xavier University; Fisk University of Nashville; Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee; Claflin University of Orangeburg, South Carolina; and North Carolina A&T State University of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Morgan State University in Baltimore tied for the 15th spot with Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. The University of Maryland-Eastern Shore came in 23rd; Bowie State University came in 25th and Coppin State’s ranking was not published.

The ranking of historically Black schools comprised only those institutions currently designated by the U.S. Department of Education as HBCUs. To qualify for the U.S. News ranking, HBCUs also needed to be an undergraduate baccalaureate-granting institution that enrolls primarily first-year, first-time students.