There is no single agreed count of how many HBCU in Alabama institutions exist: the state says fourteen, and according to the State of Alabama's own Office of Community Engagement that is the largest number of any state in the nation.
You will also find sources saying Alabama has eight. Both figures are defensible and the difference is not a mistake, so this page starts there, because a reader who does not understand the discrepancy will not be able to make sense of any list they find.
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Every HBCU in Alabama, and the Count Nobody Agrees On
Here is the state's own list, in the order its Office of Community Engagement presents it.
| Institution |
| Alabama A&M University |
| Alabama State University |
| Bishop State Community College |
| Drake State Community and Technical College |
| Gadsden State |
| Lawson State Community College |
| Miles College |
| Oakwood University |
| Selma University |
| Shelton State Community College |
| Stillman College |
| Talladega College |
| Trenholm State Community College |
| Tuskegee University |
Why fourteen and why eight. The state's count includes community colleges. Of the fourteen above, five are community or technical colleges: Bishop State, Drake State, Lawson State, Shelton State and Trenholm State. Gadsden State is also a two-year institution. Count only the four-year universities and colleges and you arrive at roughly eight, which is the figure most national lists use.
Neither count is wrong. They answer different questions. If you are asking which institutions in Alabama carry the historically Black designation, the answer is fourteen. If you are asking where you can earn a bachelor's degree at an Alabama HBCU, the answer is around eight.
One transparency note about the source. The state presents its list as a row of logos rather than as text, so the names above were read from the images' alt text. Two were visibly garbled there: Lawson State appeared as "Lawston State" and Stillman College was labelled only "Slide". Both are corrected above. Anyone relying on this for an application should confirm against the federal designated-institutions list.
African American Colleges in Alabama by Type and Mission
The fourteen are not variations on one model. They divide into four fairly distinct groups, and knowing which group an institution sits in tells you more than any ranking will.
The public universities. Alabama A&M in Huntsville and Alabama State in Montgomery are the two public HBCU universities, both offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, both land-grant or state-supported, and both substantially larger than the private institutions.
The private universities and colleges. Tuskegee University, founded in Tuskegee and the best known nationally; Oakwood University in Huntsville, affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church; Miles College in the Birmingham area; Stillman College in Tuscaloosa; Talladega College in Talladega; and Selma University in Selma. These are smaller, private, and in several cases among the oldest institutions of their kind in the United States.
The community and technical colleges. Bishop State, Drake State, Lawson State, Shelton State and Trenholm State. Two-year institutions offering associate degrees, certificates and technical training, and in practice the most accessible and least expensive route into higher education in the state.
Gadsden State, which appears on the state's list and is a two-year institution. Its designation history differs from the four-year universities and this page does not characterise it, because no primary source for that history was retrieved.
What the Record Actually Shows, and What It Does Not
This is the part where an honest page has to disappoint you slightly.
No published acceptance rate could be retrieved for any HBCU in Alabama. Not for Alabama A&M, not Alabama State, not Tuskegee, not any of the others. The Common Data Set filings and institutional research pages that make the University of Alabama's 71.2% and UAB's 88.2% straightforward to verify either do not exist publicly for these institutions or were not retrievable.
That is a real gap in the public record and it is worth naming rather than papering over. Every page you find quoting a precise acceptance rate for Tuskegee or Alabama State is drawing on an aggregator's reconstruction rather than on the institution's own filing. The figures may well be approximately right. They are not verifiable in the way the state's predominantly white institutions' figures are, and you should treat them accordingly.
What is verifiable is the trajectory at the largest of them.
Alabama A&M, the state's largest
From Alabama A&M's own reporting, for Fall 2024:
| Measure | Figure |
| Total enrolment | 7,295, up 10.3% |
| First-time students | 2,421, its largest ever incoming class |
| Undergraduate enrolment | 6,370, up 8.9% |
| Graduate enrolment | 925, up 20.3% |
| First-year retention | 70%, up six percentage points |
Three details give that table its weight. The record enrolment was the second consecutive record year, and the record incoming class was likewise a second consecutive record. The undergraduate growth rate of 8.9% was, by the university's own account, the highest in Alabama. And the retention improvement of six points followed a gain of more than five points the year before, which is the measure that matters most, because enrolment growth without retention growth is just a wider funnel.
President Daniel K. Wims attributed it to "a collective Bulldog effort." Provost Dr. John Jones pointed to "intentional focus on advisement and persistence of our students," which is the mechanism the retention figure reflects.
A precision note that says something about how institutions report. A&M's own release discloses that it reported a preliminary count of 7,445 to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in September 2024, while the official census-date federal figure is 7,295, a gap of 150 students. The release states both, which is more transparent than most institutions manage, and the official figure is the one used here.
What This Means If You Are Applying
The two public universities are the default starting point if you want a four-year HBCU in Alabama with graduate programmes and scale. Alabama A&M is growing fast and improving retention, which is the combination you want to see.
Tuskegee carries the strongest national recognition of the Alabama HBCUs, and for students whose plans involve leaving the state, that matters in a way enrolment figures do not capture.
The community colleges are the underrated route. Five of the fourteen are two-year institutions, and in a state where the University of Alabama meets only 62.7% of demonstrated financial need and UAB meets 39.8%, starting at a two-year HBCU and transferring is a genuinely rational financial strategy rather than a fallback.
And ask every institution directly for its admissions data. Because the published record is thin, the information you would normally look up is information you will have to request. Ask for the admit rate, the average GPA of the entering class, the first-year retention rate and the percentage of demonstrated need met. The last of those is the one that will determine your bill, and in Alabama the state's largest institutions perform poorly on it.
On housing, two of the Alabama HBCUs sit in cities with verified student accommodation inventory: Stillman College in Tuscaloosa and Miles College in the Birmingham area. Student housing in Tuscaloosa and student housing in Birmingham are the comparisons to run against whatever on-campus figure your institution quotes, and in Tuscaloosa the benchmark to beat is the University of Alabama's published $13,616 for housing and food.
The Short Version
There are fourteen HBCUs in Alabama by the state's own count, the most of any state in the nation, and roughly eight if you count only four-year institutions. Five are community colleges, two are public universities, six are private universities and colleges.
Alabama A&M in Huntsville is the largest and the fastest growing, at 7,295 students with a second consecutive record intake and retention up six points to 70%. Tuskegee carries the most national weight. And the public record on admissions at all of them is thinner than it should be, which means the figures you most need are the ones you will have to ask for.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many HBCUs are in Alabama?
Fourteen, according to the State of Alabama's own Office of Community Engagement, which states this is the largest number of any state in the nation. That count includes six two-year institutions: Bishop State, Drake State, Lawson State, Shelton State, Trenholm State and Gadsden State. Counting only four-year universities and colleges gives roughly eight, which is the figure most national lists use.
How many black colleges in Alabama offer four-year degrees?
Around eight. The four-year institutions are Alabama A&M University in Huntsville and Alabama State University in Montgomery, both public, plus the private institutions Tuskegee University, Oakwood University, Miles College, Stillman College, Talladega College and Selma University. The remaining institutions on the state's list of fourteen are community and technical colleges offering associate degrees and certificates.
What are the african american colleges in alabama that are public?
Two: Alabama A&M University in Huntsville and Alabama State University in Montgomery. Both offer undergraduate and graduate degrees and both are substantially larger than the state's private HBCUs. The five community and technical colleges on the state's list are also public but are two-year institutions.
What is the biggest HBCU in Alabama?
Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, with Fall 2024 enrolment of 7,295, up 10.3% and its largest in history for a second consecutive year. It enrolled 2,421 first-time students, also a record for a second consecutive year, with 6,370 undergraduates and 925 graduate students. First-year retention rose six percentage points to 70%.
What is the acceptance rate for Alabama HBCUs?
No published acceptance rate could be verified from a primary source for any Alabama HBCU, including Alabama A&M, Alabama State and Tuskegee. The institutional filings that make the University of Alabama's 71.2% and UAB's 88.2% verifiable either are not public for these institutions or were not retrievable. Any precise figure you find elsewhere comes from an aggregator's reconstruction, so request the number directly from the admissions office.
Which Alabama HBCU is best known nationally?
Tuskegee University. For students whose plans involve working or studying outside Alabama, that recognition carries weight that enrolment figures do not capture. Within the state, Alabama A&M and Alabama State are the two largest and the only public HBCU universities, with graduate programmes and the scale that follows.
Are Alabama's HBCU community colleges worth considering?
Yes, and they are the most underrated option on the list. Five of the fourteen are two-year institutions, and given that the University of Alabama meets only 62.7% of demonstrated financial need and UAB meets 39.8%, beginning at a two-year HBCU and transferring into a four-year degree is a rational financial strategy rather than a compromise.
What should I ask an Alabama HBCU before applying?
Four things, because the published record will not tell you: the admit rate for the most recent cycle, the average high school GPA of the entering class, the first-year retention rate, and the average percentage of demonstrated financial need met. The last is the one that determines your actual bill, and it is the figure on which Alabama's largest institutions perform worst.