Howard University: Statistics

Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees

Position	Category
# 577 of 13,329	In the World
# 203 of 2,137	In North America
# 179 of 2,128	In the United States
# 4 of 65	In Washington
# 136 of 1,054	For Social Work
Top 1-3	For 12 other topics

Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate

41%

Enrollment

29,640

Average SAT

1,205

Average ACT

Avg. cost to attend

$33,368 /y

Aid receiving

100%

Undergraduates

11,519

Graduates

3,371

Male:Female Ratio

29:71

Type

Privatenot-for-profit

Highest Degree

Doctor's degree

Website

howard.edu

Acceptance rate & Admissions

Howard University has an acceptance rate of 41% and is among the top 1% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

	Total	Men	Women
Acceptance Rate	41%	41%	41%
Applicants	34,211	9,963	24,248
Admissions	14,144	3,967	10,177
Freshmen enrolled full time	2,735	672	2,063

Admissions requirements

College-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Secondary school GPA	Required
Secondary school record	Required
TOEFL	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies	Considered but not required
SAT/ACT	Considered but not required
Secondary school rank	Considered but not required
Other Tests	Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

■ Nonresident Alien	4%
■ Asian	2%
■ Hispanic	7%
■ Black or African American	68%
■ Two or more races	4%
■ Unknown	15%

Howard University majors

Howard University has granted 1,995 bachelor's degrees across 47 programs, 342 master's across 33 programs, and 537 doctorate degrees across 32 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Howard University.

Major	Bachelor	Master	Doctoral
Biology & Biological Sciences, General	202	-	7
Political Science and Government, General	194	2	-
Psychology, General	170	3	9
Law	-	-	152
Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other	137	-	-
Social Work	-	123	4
Health Services & Allied Health & Health Sciences, General	97	-	-
Medicine	-	-	95
Computer Science	81	2	11
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	87	-	-
Finance, General	72	9	-
Marketing, Other	76	-	-
Registered Nursing & Registered Nurse	74	-	-
Business Administration and Management, General	-	73	-
Dentistry	-	-	72
Criminal Justice & Safety Studies	64	-	-
Pharmacy	-	-	53
Sociology, General	39	4	5
Economics, General	37	1	9
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	46	-	-
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education & Fitness, General	46	-	-
Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, General	44	-	-
Architecture	24	18	-
English Language and Literature, General	40	-	1
Occupational Therapy & Therapist	-	-	38
International Business & Trade & Commerce	33	-	-
Mechanical Engineering	32	-	1
Theatre & Theatre Arts Management	32	-	-
Art & Art Studies, General	24	3	-
Health & Health Care Administration & Management	27	-	-
Divinity & Ministry	-	19	6
Management Information Systems, General	25	-	-
Mathematics, General	18	2	4
Chemistry, General	20	2	1
History, General	15	2	5
Accounting	14	6	-
Elementary Education and Teaching	19	1	-
Chemical Engineering	18	1	-
Nutrition Sciences	16	1	2
Physical Therapy & Therapist	-	-	19
Computer Engineering, General	18	-	-
Electrical and Electronics Engineering	15	-	3
Human Development and Family Studies, General	18	-	-
Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management	18	-	-
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, Fitness, and Kinesiology, Other	16	-	-
Educational Leadership and Administration, General	-	8	7
Music, General	13	2	-
African-American & Black Studies	14	-	-
Physics, General	8	6	-
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education & Fitness, Other	14	-	-
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services, Other	-	11	-
Philosophy	11	-	-
Film & Cinema & Media Studies	-	10	-
Civil Engineering, General	9	-	-
African Studies	3	2	3
School Psychology	-	6	2
Public Health, General	-	7	-
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, General	-	3	3
Higher Education & Higher Education Administration	-	-	6
Spanish Language and Literature	6	-	-
Clinical Laboratory Science & Medical Technology & Technologist	5	-	-
Communication and Media Studies, Other	-	-	5
Data Science, General	-	5	-
Counseling Psychology	-	-	4
Special Education and Teaching, General	-	4	-
Medical Radiologic Technology & Science - Radiation Therapist	3	-	-
Pharmaceutical Sciences	-	-	3
Anatomy	-	2	-
Biochemistry	-	-	2
Educational Psychology	-	-	2
Legal Studies	-	2	-
Microbiology, General	-	-	2
Health & Medical Physics	-	1	-
Physiology, General	-	-	1
Radio and Television	1	-	-
Secondary Education and Teaching	-	1	-
Grand Total	1,995	342	537

Publications & Citations

Howard University is a world-class research university with 25,046 scientific papers published and 580,533 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Genetics, Biochemistry, and Environmental Science.

Publications

25,046

Citations

580,533

Publication / Citation count by topic

Biology	14,137 / 380,633
Medicine	13,000 / 375,085
Chemistry	11,528 / 308,373
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences	11,209 / 262,464
Physics	9,124 / 201,479
Engineering	8,977 / 203,234
Computer Science	8,217 / 212,654
Genetics	7,769 / 237,678
Biochemistry	7,567 / 237,717
Environmental Science	7,392 / 159,453
Psychology	6,623 / 181,172
Political Science	6,527 / 126,407
Sociology	6,187 / 174,449
Quantum and Particle physics	6,126 / 115,407
Law	6,078 / 123,190
Organic chemistry	5,851 / 126,768
Pathology	5,180 / 199,800
Philosophy	4,666 / 84,357
Materials Science	4,277 / 91,585
Mathematics	3,961 / 120,953
Geology	3,800 / 79,790
Geography and Cartography	3,629 / 69,997
Psychiatry	3,528 / 118,328
History	3,333 / 53,933
Economics	3,119 / 79,688
Business	3,075 / 71,736
Statistics	2,847 / 104,134
Surgery	2,835 / 71,709
Paleontology	2,733 / 61,708
Ecology	2,592 / 69,413
Public Health	2,444 / 114,164
Neuroscience	2,344 / 73,306
Demography	2,333 / 116,121
Immunology	2,231 / 60,413
Artificial Intelligence (AI)	2,229 / 40,089
Optics	2,216 / 73,348
Archaeology	2,192 / 38,779
Linguistics	2,140 / 38,701
Metallurgy	2,093 / 43,155
Development Studies	1,955 / 47,524

Annual publication & citation counts

Academic rankings

100 Notable alumni

1. Bradford Young

1977-. (aged 49)

cinematographer

Bradford Marcel Young, A.S.C is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his work on the films Selma, A Most Violent Year (both 2014), Arrival (2016)—which earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography—and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as well as the Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019).

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2. Shirley Franklin

1945-. (aged 81)

politician

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3. Shirley Horn

1934-2005 (aged 71)

recording artist pianist jazz musician singer

Shirley Valerie Horn was an American jazz singer and pianist. She collaborated with many jazz musicians including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Ron Carter, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis and others. She was most noted for her ability to accompany herself with nearly incomparable independence and ability on the piano while singing, something described by arranger Johnny Mandel as "like...

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