R2 ResearchPrivate nonprofitHBCUMedical

Howard University

Washington, District of Columbia·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Mid East·howard.edu
6-yr Graduation
70%
-7.0pp vs R2 Research
Total enrollment
14,890
peer median 9,259
Avg net price
$47,919
+$16k vs R2 Research
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeResearch fundingDocuments

About

Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It is the only HBCU with R1 designation.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
34,211
34,211 candidates competed
Admitted
14,144
41.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
2,738
19.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
70%-7.0pp vs R2 Research
4-year graduation
60%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
70%
Full-time retention
91%

Pell equity

5.0pp gap
Pell recipients
66%
Non-Pell
71%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 5.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 148 Title IV programs, 29 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 119 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
148
Passing
29
19.6% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

148programs
  • Passing29 · 19.6%
  • No Data119 · 80.4%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
29
No data
119

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

29
Arts Entertainment and Media Management
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+27.4%
$44,345 vs $34,808
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+34.7%
$80,980 vs $60,112
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+44.2%
$86,658 vs $60,112
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+57.1%
$54,696 vs $34,808
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
+60.6%
$55,902 vs $34,808
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+64.1%
$75,734 vs $46,158
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+69.7%
$59,069 vs $34,808
Communication Journalism and Related Programs Other
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+72.1%
$59,909 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

29
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Doctoral Degree · Psychology
231%
$212,743 debt · $92,090 earn
Medicine
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
211%
$234,879 debt · $111,199 earn
Dentistry
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
182%
$298,931 debt · $164,425 earn
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
170%
$240,564 debt · $141,811 earn
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
147%
$170,508 debt · $116,413 earn
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
146%
$126,225 debt · $86,658 earn
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
115%
$86,798 debt · $75,734 earn
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
96%
$77,963 debt · $80,980 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1921Next review Jan 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 29

Action history · 78

  1. Sep 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
  2. Sep 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  3. Sep 2025Initial Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels
  4. Aug 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RADTT) - Programs for radiation therapists
  5. Aug 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Predoctoral

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$44,234
$30–48k$45,504
$48–75k$49,005
$75–110k$50,842
$110k+$51,384

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$47,919
+$15,539vs R2 Research median $32,380
Federal loans
57.1%
In-state tuition
$33,344
Out-of-state
$33,344

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 4,681 students received $27.8M in Pell grants, alongside $295.5M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
4,681
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$27.8M
$27,765,224 total
Direct Loans
$295.5M
18,619 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

3k
’20
4k
’21
4k
’22
4k
’23
5k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$23.3M
5,226 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$17.3M
5,603 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$60.0M
2,359 loan awards
Parent PLUS$105.0M
3,380 loan awards
Grad PLUS$89.8M
2,051 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 2,225 borrowers who entered repayment, 61 (2.7%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.7%
+0.4pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
2,225
Defaulted
61
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
8.0%
2017
7.2%
2018
6.0%
2019
2.7%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Howard

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs90
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,282 total completions
01Health Professions
50522.1%
02Business
37216.3%
03Social Sciences
29112.8%
04Communication
23010.1%
05Biological Sciences
2169.5%
06Psychology
1968.6%
07Legal Professions
1546.7%
08Public Admin
1275.6%
09Engineering
974.3%
10Computer Sciences
944.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
14,890
12-mo unduplicated
14,631
Undergraduate
11,087
Graduate
3,544

Gender split

Men
30%4,425
Women
70%10,206

Race / ethnicity composition

Black
71.4%
Unknown
7.8%
Hispanic
6.9%
Two or more
5.1%
Non-resident
4.9%
Asian
3.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.4%
White
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
485
251 M · 234 W
Women athletes
48.2%
Athletic aid
$10.6M
Total student aid
Budget
$23.6M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$5.8M
$4.8M
Recruiting expense
$40K
$24K
Head-coach salaries
$187K
$94K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 11

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
80 M · 91 W
$2.3M
Football
101 M · —
$5.9M
Soccer
38 M · 33 W
$1.6M
Swimming and Diving (combined)
27 M · 23 W
$1.0M
Basketball
21 M · 17 W
$3.9M
Softball
— · 33 W
$849K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
3.18
41 offenses · 12,886 students

3-year trend

2.032 yrs ago2.981 yr ago3.18Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
99
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
13
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
17
Robbery
12
Rape
7
Burglary
2
Aggravated assault
2
Murder
1

By location

41total
  • On campus41

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
1,052

Howard vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Howard selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectHoward University
70%—14,890$47,919R2 Research
American University
75%62.0%12,321$41,945R2 Research
Azusa Pacific University
62%88.4%6,272$19,798R2 Research
Brigham Young University
81%67.8%35,873$14,487R2 Research
Chapman University
82%65.4%9,760$47,527R2 Research
Claremont Graduate University
——1,771—R2 Research
Clark Atlanta University
49%64.2%4,252$35,115R2 Research
Clark University
77%39.5%3,925$27,711R2 Research
Clarkson University
75%77.4%3,348$31,955R2 Research
Creighton University
83%79.8%8,581$32,380R2 Research
DePaul University
68%75.9%21,210$29,141R2 Research
Duquesne University
77%83.6%8,234$34,978R2 Research
Florida Institute of Technology
62%57.7%8,992$35,300R2 Research
Fordham University
82%59.3%16,150$42,581R2 Research
Illinois Institute of Technology
75%54.9%8,834$19,353R2 Research
Lehigh University
88%25.9%7,692$33,549R2 Research
Loma Linda University
——4,210—R2 Research
Long Island University
55%86.2%16,689$23,901R2 Research
Loyola Marymount University
79%45.1%10,179$45,723R2 Research
Loyola University Chicago
75%81.6%17,384$35,196R2 Research
Marquette University
83%81.3%11,746$29,237R2 Research
Mercer University
70%68.9%9,196$22,350R2 Research
Nova Southeastern University
63%73.2%20,910$31,303R2 Research
Rochester Institute of Technology
71%66.9%17,098$29,694R2 Research
Saint Louis University
80%75.0%17,059$27,075R2 Research
Seton Hall University
69%73.3%9,571$28,921R2 Research
Southern Methodist University
84%63.3%12,116$41,778R2 Research
Stevens Institute of Technology
87%47.6%8,469$40,468R2 Research
Teachers College at Columbia University
——4,401—R2 Research
Texas Christian University
85%44.5%12,938$33,531R2 Research
The Catholic University of America
79%82.8%5,243$32,798R2 Research
The New School
69%63.5%9,068$55,359R2 Research
Thomas Jefferson University
69%81.0%8,238$28,163R2 Research
University of Dayton
80%65.4%10,506$31,236R2 Research
University of New England
70%91.6%6,573$37,109R2 Research
University of San Diego
84%52.4%9,714$31,265R2 Research
University of Tulsa
72%61.5%3,914$23,678R2 Research
Villanova University
92%27.0%10,041$44,876R2 Research
Wake Forest University
89%21.7%9,322$28,746R2 Research
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
90%60.2%7,584$43,273R2 Research
Peer group median77%65.4%9,259$32,380

Institutions like Howard

Explore the federal data for institutions in Howard's comparison group.

IPEDS

Howard Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Institutional Research and Assessment
Reports to Office of the Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Email
ir [at] howard.edu
Phone
202-865-0207
Address
Administration Building, Suite G20, Washington, D.C. 20059

Institutional Research and Assessment at Howard University operates under the Office of the Provost and Chief Academic Officer with a two-fold mission. The Institutional Research team supports the university community by reporting timely, accurate, and consistent data for internal decision-makers and external reporting requirements. The Assessment team supports assessment activities across campus, helping to continuously improve academic and administrative programs through thoughtful planning and data-driven decisions.

Visit IR office page
Team
13 members
  • Daphne B. Bernard
    Associate Provost, Institutional Accreditation and Assessment
  • Daphne B. Bernard, PharmD, RPh
    Associate Provost, Institutional Accreditation and Assessment
  • Kyron Carter
    Director of Institutional Research
  • Kyron Carter, MBA
    Director of Institutional Research
  • Pavithra Suresh
    Director of Assessment & Survey Research
  • Pavithra Suresh, Ph.D.
    Director of Assessment & Survey Research
  • Amleset Abrhale
    Senior Research Analyst
  • Ruth Charlene Franks
    Administrative Officer
  • Ruth Charlene Franks, MDiv.
    Administrative Officer Institutional Research & Assessment
  • Anil Lalwani
    Associate Director of Assessment
  • Anil Lalwani, Ph.D.
    Associate Director of Assessment
  • Fnu Sonum
    Data Analyst
  • Alexus Laster
    Graduate Assistant

Research funding

External research funding from NSF, NIH, HERD, and federal spending sources.

NSF
NSF awards
$5,291,716
NIH awards
$3,464,515
USA Spending
$164,912,816
All sources
$173,669,047

Reports & documents (4)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Frequently asked questions about Howard University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Howard.

What is the graduation rate at Howard University?

Howard University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 70% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Howard University?

Howard University reports a total enrollment of 14,890 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Howard University?

The average net price at Howard University is $47,919 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Howard University?

Howard University's yield rate is 19.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Howard University located?

Howard University is located in Washington, District of Columbia 20059.

Who runs Institutional Research at Howard University?

Howard University's IR work is done by the Institutional Research and Assessment, which reports to Office of the Provost and Chief Academic Officer.

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