Washington, District of Columbia · Private nonprofit · 4-year · Large city
Overview
Howard University is a private nonprofit four-year institution based in Washington, the District of Columbia. The campus sits in a large city. It enrolled 14,890 students in fall 2024, including 11,519 undergraduates and 3,371 graduate students. It is a historically Black college or university. It holds the Carnegie R1 designation for very high research activity.
Howard University offers certificates, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and professional doctorates across 91 programs. Its largest programs by number of graduates are Biology, Political Science and Government, and Psychology, General. It awarded 3,221 degrees and certificates in 2024-25. 4 of its programs can be completed entirely online.
91% of full-time first-year students return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio is 13 to 1.
Key figures
14,890
Students enrolled
91%
First-year retention
3,221
Degrees and certificates awarded, 2024-25
91
Programs and majors
13:1
Student-to-faculty ratio
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Delivery modes
CampusOnlineHybrid
Program levels
CertificateBachelorMasterPhDProfessional
Programs and majors offered 91
Graduate counts are degrees and certificates awarded in each program between July 2024 and June 2025. Largest fields are listed first.
Retention is for students who started in fall 2023 and returned in fall 2024.
First-year retention, full-time students
91%
First-year retention, part-time students
29%
Student-to-faculty ratio
13:1
Degrees and certificates awarded
Awards conferred between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
Bachelor's degrees
2,266
Master's degrees
403
Doctoral degrees (research)
96
Professional doctorates
433
Post-master's certificates
23
Enrollment
Students, fall 2024
14,890
Undergraduates, fall 2024
11,519
Graduate students, fall 2024
3,371
Full-time, fall 2024
85%
Students over the full 2024-25 year
16,646
Undergraduates, 2024-25
13,017
Graduate students, 2024-25
3,629
Full-time, 2024-25
78%
Size category
10,000 to 19,999 students
Student body
Share of all students enrolled during 2024-25. Small groups can round to zero and are not listed.
Women
69%
Men
31%
White
1%
Hispanic or Latino
7%
Black or African American
62%
Asian
2%
Two or more races
4%
International (U.S. nonresident)
4%
Race or ethnicity unknown
21%
Online and flexible learning
Distance education in 2024-25.
Programs that can be completed fully online
4
Programs with a fully online option
7
Online undergraduate programs
Yes
Online graduate programs
Yes
Students studying fully online
15%
Students taking some online courses
58%
Campus and services
Setting
Large city
Academic calendar
Semester
Carnegie classification
Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity
Research designation
Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production
Athletic association
NCAA
Athletic conference
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
President
Wayne A.I. Frederick
Services and opportunities
Study abroad, ROTC, Undergraduate research, Teacher certification, Academic and career counseling, Student employment services, Job placement for graduates, Accepts AP credit