by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major” ranking.
African American Studies is the 389th most popular major in the country with 1,196 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major” ranking, we looked at 214 colleges that offer a degree in African American studies. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in African American studies.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for african american studies students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hampshire College. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s African American studies degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
Out of the 214 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Bard College at Simon’s Rock landed the #2 spot on the list. Simon’s Rock is a private not-for-profit institution located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on African American Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wellesley College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Wellesley College is a small school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts that handed out 10 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Amherst College. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s African American studies degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Out of the 214 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Swarthmore College landed the #5 spot on the list. Swarthmore College is a small school located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania that handed out 6 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on African American Studies at Swarthmore College
With a ranking of #6, University of Puget Sound did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Puget Sound is located in Tacoma, Washington and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s African American studies degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Lake Forest College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Lake Forest is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lake Forest, Illinois. It awarded 5 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Howard University ranked #8 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 24 degrees to qualified ’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Berea College ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Berea is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Berea, Kentucky. It awarded 3 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Wesleyan University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking, coming in at #10. Wesleyan University is a small school located in Middletown, Connecticut that handed out 10 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #11, Oberlin College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Oberlin College is a small school located in Oberlin, Ohio that handed out 7 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Pitzer College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking, coming in at #12. Pitzer is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 2 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Claflin University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 degrees to qualified ’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #14, Denison University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Denison is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Granville, Ohio. It awarded 5 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Princeton University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Princeton University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Princeton, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
The College of Wooster did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking, coming in at #16. Wooster College is located in Wooster, Ohio and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 ’s African American studies degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Knox College ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Knox is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Galesburg, Illinois. It awarded 2 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 85 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Yale University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Yale University is located in New Haven, Connecticut and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 24 ’s African American studies degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Bates College landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Bates College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lewiston, Maine. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Pomona College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking, coming in at #21. Pomona is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 2 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Lehman College ranked #22 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Located in Bronx, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 19 diplomas to qualified ’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
Brandeis University ranked #23 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. This medium-sized school is located in Waltham, Massachusetts, and it awarded 11 ’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about African American Studies at Brandeis University
Smith College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Located in Northampton, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 degrees to qualified ’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Wheaton College Massachusetts came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Located in Norton, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Wheaton College Massachusetts African American Studies Report
Not only did these schools make the top 33 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
