Howard University

Overview

Rankings

• #4 Best HBCUs for Engineering
• #4 Best HBCUs for Mechanical Engineering
• #4 Best HBCUs for Electrical Engineering
• #4 Best HBCUs for Civil Engineering
• #8 Best HBCUs for Communications
• #9 Best HBCUs for Social Work
• #10 Best HBCUs for Health Professions
• #11 Best HBCUs for Social Sciences

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Howard University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in Washington, District of Columbia, Howard University reviews applications selectively. The acceptance rate runs near 41%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,213. The graduation rate is roughly 69%.

Acceptance Rate

41%

Retention Rate

91%

SAT Average

1213

ACT Midpoint

24

SAT Range

1090–1320

ACT Range

22–28

Full-Time Faculty

64%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$11,580

Student–Faculty Ratio

14:1

Diversity Index

0.40

First-Gen Students

24%

Applicants

19,188

Admitted

10,253

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Howard University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 16% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

16%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

47%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

15%

of enrolled freshmen

Early Decision Admit Rate

84.4%

vs 42.2% overall

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Howard University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Howard University is $35,810, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $50,539. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $46,051 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $24,500 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$35,810

Out-of-State

$35,810

Avg Net Price

$50,539

Median Debt

$24,500

Pell Grant Rate

40%

Federal Loan Rate

59%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Howard University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Howard University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Howard University earn a median of $63,066, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$47,379

8 Years

$54,819

10 Years

$63,066

Debt-to-Earnings

0.39x

Earning > $25K

69%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Howard University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Howard University is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 4.00%, among the highest in the country. Access is a real strength here. Roughly 10.8% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile, a high share that gives low-income students a real foothold. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 37.1% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $76,900, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

4.00%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

37.1%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

10.8%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$104,480

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Howard University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Howard University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.62, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.00), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.62

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.00

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

7.0%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Research Score

11/100

Times Higher Ed

Academic Influence

45/100

Citation impact (THE)

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$-19,192,000

Top Programs

The fields Howard University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 16% $83,715 early-career
• Health Professions 13% $82,635 early-career
• Communications 12% $40,540 early-career
• Social Sciences 11% $50,714 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 10% $23,930 early-career
• Psychology 8% $36,562 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 5% $23,930 early-career
• Engineering 4% $100,584 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.