List of Black Colleges near Baltimore, Maryland

African-Americans have played a significant role in American intellectual history since colonial times. With Howard University to the north and Morehouse to the south, the Southeastern U.S. has proven a fertile region for black studies and scholarship. Baltimore represents a geographical and academic center for these intellectual crosscurrents, with numerous black college and universities in the vicinity.

Morgan State University is one of the leading institutions in the U.S. for the number of applications submitted by African-American high school graduates. Every year, the school enrolls an average of 6,000 students into its graduate and undergraduate programs. While emphasizing liberal arts in its undergrad curriculum, the school also offers a diverse array of grad programs in professional fields such as engineering, business, teacher education, architecture, hospitality management and social work. Statistically, MSU awards more bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans than any other school in Maryland. Additionally, the university consistently ranks among the top public campuses nationally in the number of black graduates receiving doctorates.

CSU is an urban, residential liberal arts university in Northwestern Baltimore. Founded in 1900 as the Colored High School, Coppin originally began as a one-year training college for African-American elementary school teachers. From this humble beginning, the school now offers 53 majors and nine graduate-degree programs. With a strong spirit of community service, Coppin took over nearby Rosemont Elementary School in 1998 and is the first and only institution of higher learning in Maryland to manage a public school. Another community outreach program spearheaded by Coppin is its Community Nursing Center, a fully-equipped medical clinic that offers affordable healthcare to children and adults. Its nursing program is approved by the Maryland State Board of Examiners and accredited by the National League of Nursing.

Sojourner-Douglass College (SDC) came out of the struggle for self-determination in Baltimore’s black community. In the early 1970s community groups, leaders and the local Council of Churches formed an institution, Adult Education, Inc., to serve the black community by developing its self-reliance and fostering a “culturally pluralistic learning environment.” By 1980 SDC became a publicly accredited institution under Maryland law, continuing its mission to empower and motivate members of the African-American community. The undergraduate and graduate programs focus on professional training (e.g., accounting, public administration, social work) with a special emphasis on community service.

Just an hour north of Baltimore in Washington, D.C., Howard University is a culturally diverse and comprehensive research intensive and a private university for African-Americans. "U.S. News & World Report" has ranked it as the No. 2 top black college in the U.S. The school includes the world’s most concentrated number of black scholars and a rapidly increasing number from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South and Central America. The polyglot faculty creates a fascinating blend of cultures, customs and languages not found on any other college campus in the world, black or white.