Delaware State University Named to Forbes' First-Ever Ranking of America's Top HBCUs

DOVER, Del. — Delaware State University has earned a place on Forbes' inaugural ranking of America's Top Historically Black Colleges and Universities, standing as one of only ten public HBCUs in the entire country to make the list. The recognition, released this month, marks a defining moment for the university and for a rankings industry that is beginning to measure what families have always cared about most: what a degree actually returns.

What sets Forbes' new list apart is its method. Rather than relying on reputation surveys or peer assessment, the ranking is built on outcomes alone — graduation rates, alumni earnings, student debt, and return on investment. By those measures, Delaware State graduates earn a median of $57,700 early in their careers and $96,700 by mid-career, according to Payscale data published in the Forbes rankings. That early-career figure is more than the full four-year, in-state cost of attending, and DSU graduates' earnings nearly double between early and mid-career — among the fastest earnings growth of any public HBCU ranked.

The Forbes honor is the latest in a remarkable run of national recognition for the university. DSU has been named a Top 5 public HBCU for seven consecutive years and a Top 10 HBCU overall for nine years by U.S. News & World Report, ranks as the No. 2 HBCU in the nation for online programs per Forbes, and sits in the top one percent of all U.S. institutions for social mobility as published by CollegeNET. The timing is notable: on July 1, new federal limits on student and parent borrowing took effect, tightening the financing millions of families depend on.

University leaders framed the moment as validation of a long-term strategy built for exactly the test the rankings now apply. “The country is finally measuring what these institutions were built for,” said Delaware State University President Tony Allen. “Families deserve scoreboards that tell the truth about what a degree returns — and when the truth is told, institutions like ours stop being a category and start being the model. We were chartered in 1891 because the first industrial revolution excluded our students. We intend to lead them through the second one. We are honored by the recognition. We are not finished.” Board of Trustees Chair and 1975 graduate John Ridgeway added that the state's investment “is not charity, and it never was — it is the soundest economic development decision this state can make. Every dollar invested returns six.”

That strategy is deliberate: remove the price barrier at the moment of decision through the Inspire Scholarship, build student completion as permanent infrastructure, and aim academic offerings at where the economy is heading — from aviation, where DSU remains the nation's leading producer of professional pilots of color, to artificial intelligence, nursing, and agriculture. The university also serves as the lead institution of eHBCU.edu, the first national online HBCU learning consortium. The results are easiest to see one student at a time: this year Malcolm Coley became DSU's first doctoral student in data science and artificial intelligence, and this spring Jamayah Robertson graduated with a degree in Forensic Biology as the inaugural recipient of the Words Are A Creative Force Scholarship, created to help a student raising a child finish her degree.

For the HBCU Connect community — students weighing where to enroll, alumni tracking the standing of their alma maters, and employers seeking proven talent — Delaware State's recognition is a powerful reminder of the return HBCUs have delivered for more than a century. Learn more about Delaware State University at desu.edu, and read the full Forbes ranking of America's Top HBCUs.