by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 1,196 people earned their degree in African American studies, making the major the 389th most popular in the United States.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,057 African American studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,682 and $26,217 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major” ranking, we looked at 205 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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree african american studies students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hampshire College. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Hampshire College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Amherst, Massachusetts. It awarded 5 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about African American Studies at Hampshire College
Out of the 205 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s 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. Bard College at Simon’s Rock is a small school located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts that handed out 2 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% 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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wellesley College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major. Wellesley is a private not-for-profit institution located in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read more about African American Studies at Wellesley College
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 for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major. Amherst is a small school located in Amherst, Massachusetts that handed out 6 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Out of the 205 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s 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 is a small school located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania that handed out 6 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.
Read full report on African American Studies at Swarthmore College
University of Puget Sound ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Located in Tacoma, Washington, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read more about African American Studies at University of Puget Sound
Lake Forest College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Lake Forest College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
Howard University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s African American studies degrees to 24 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
With a ranking of #9, Berea College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Berea is a small school located in Berea, Kentucky that handed out 3 bachelors’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 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.
Read full report on African American Studies at Berea College
Wesleyan University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Wesleyan U is a private not-for-profit institution located in Middletown, Connecticut. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 ranking of #11, Oberlin College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Oberlin, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s African American studies degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 2.0% 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 full report on African American Studies at Oberlin College
Pitzer College landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Pitzer College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Claflin University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Claflin is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s African American studies degrees to qualified students.
Read more about African American Studies at Claflin University
Denison University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Granville, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s African American studies degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%.
With a ranking of #15, Princeton University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. 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 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 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 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about African American Studies at Princeton University
With a ranking of #16, The College of Wooster did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. This small school is located in Wooster, Ohio, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, 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 87%.
Knox College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking, coming in at #17. Knox is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Galesburg, Illinois. It awarded 2 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Bates College ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Bates is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lewiston, Maine. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Pomona College ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Pomona College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Lehman College ranked #20 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Lehman is located in Bronx, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s African American studies degrees to qualified students.
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 70 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Brandeis University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. Brandeis University is a medium-sized school located in Waltham, Massachusetts that handed out 11 bachelors’s African American studies degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on African American Studies at Brandeis University
With a ranking of #23, Smith College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Located in Northampton, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s African American studies students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Wheaton College Massachusetts ranked #24 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major list. Norton, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s African American studies degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Wheaton College Massachusetts African American Studies Report
University of North Carolina at Greensboro landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on African American Studies Major ranking. University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a public institution located in Greensboro, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 20 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Not only did these schools make the top 31 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
