Howard University (HU or simply Howard) is a federally chartered, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university (HBCU) in Washington, D.C. It is recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with high research activity and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

From its outset Howard has been nonsectarian and open to people of all genders and races.[4] In addition to over 70 distinct undergraduate programs, it has graduate programs in business, nursing, history, computer science, engineering, pharmacy, law, social work, education, communications, art, science, divinity, dentistry, and medicine.

Howard is classified as a Tier 1 national university and ranks second among HBCUs by U.S. News & World Report.[5] Howard is the only HBCU ranked in the top 75 on the 2015 Bloomberg Businessweek college rankings.[6] The Princeton Review ranked the school of business first in opportunities for minority students and in the top five for most competitive students.[6] The National Law Journal ranked the law school among the top 25 in the nation for placing graduates at the most successful law firms.[7] Howard has produced four Rhodes Scholars between 1986 and 2017.[8] Between 1998 and 2009, Howard University produced a Marshall Scholar, two Truman Scholars, twenty-two Fulbright Scholars and ten Pickering Fellows.[9] [10] In 2011, the Huffington Post named Howard the second best-dressed college in the nation.[11] Howard is the most comprehensive HBCU in the nation and produces the most black doctorate recipients of any non-profit university.[12] [13]

Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, members of The First Congregational Society of Washington considered establishing a theological seminary for the education of African-American clergymen. Within a few weeks, the project expanded to include a provision for establishing a university. Within two years, the University consisted of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Medicine. The new institution was named