by our College Data Analytics TeamHoward University is a private not-for-profit institution in Washington, District of Columbia enrolling 10,108 undergraduates. It accepts 41% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 70%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #922 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 18%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Howard University ranks #922 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 18%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Howard University was awarded 8 badges in the 2027 rankings.
HU is ranked #922 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, HU holds the #6 spot on the Best Colleges in District of Columbia ranking.
See all of the rankings for Howard University.
Howard University has an acceptance rate of 41%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for HU.
About 23% of students accepted to HU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 560 and 670. Math scores were between 530 and 650.
HU received ACT scores from 9% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 28.
Learn more about Howard University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Howard University is about average at 13 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Howard University is 64%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 91% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Howard University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at HU for first-time, full-time students is 70%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Howard University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 10,108 undergraduates at HU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Howard University.
The typical net cost at HU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $46,051 | $47,477 | $50,245 | $52,981 | $54,270 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of HU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At HU, approximately 59% of students took out student loans averaging $6,743 a year. That adds up to $26,972 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 9.6%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Howard University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Howard University make around $63,066 per year during the early years of their employment. That’s great news for Howard University students since it is 28% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Howard University make the most money.
Howard University is an private not-for-profit institution found in Washington, District of Columbia. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Howard University.
Contact details for Howard University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2400 Sixth St NW, Washington, DC 20059 |
| Phone: | 2028066100 |
| Website: | www.howard.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/howarduniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/HowardU |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 26 majors graduated from Howard University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 3,221 | NA |
| General Biology | 231 | $24,174 |
| Political Science & Government | 189 | $31,844 |
| General Psychology | 187 | $22,431 |
| Social Work | 177 | $53,307 |
| Other Communication & Journalism | 169 | $27,756 |
| Law | 160 | $62,960 |
| Health Sciences & Services | 154 | $24,776 |
| Medicine | 110 | $57,999 |
| Business Administration & Management | 105 | $77,088 |
7,596 students took at least one online class at Howard University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Howard University.
Interested in comparing HU? Match them up using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References