LinkedIn Names Howard University as the Nation’s #1 HBCU Based on Alumni Career Success
Washington, D.C., Aug. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LinkedIn has unveiled its inaugural Top Colleges rankings of higher education institutions in the United States, naming Howard University as the #1 HBCU. According to LinkedIn, the list identifies the schools that “set graduates up for long-term success.” The ranking used LinkedIn data to gauge the career outcomes of alumni through an analysis of job placement rates, senior-level roles, undergraduate internships, and alumni entrepreneurship. LinkedIn also evaluated how quickly a recent alumnus finds a job or enters graduate school after graduating with an undergraduate degree. The company points out that the return on investment in a degree from a top program includes higher earnings and more rapid career progression.
“Howard University’s recognition as the top-ranked HBCU by LinkedIn is a powerful testament to the strength of our academic community and the global readiness of our graduates,” said Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., president of Howard University. “It reflects the intentionality behind our holistic model of education — one that combines academic rigor, faculty excellence, and real-world engagement. At Howard, we are cultivating leaders who are not only prepared to meet the challenges of today but are poised to shape the future across industries and around the world.”
LinkedIn’s methodology ranked U.S. colleges based on five pillars: job placement, internships and recruiter demand, career success, network strength, and knowledge breadth. It used LinkedIn hiring data and InMail outreach data. Importantly, the company also evaluated the strength of each college’s network, including how connected alumni are to one another across graduating classes. In addition to Howard, Morehouse College, Spelman College, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Hampton University rounded out the top five HBCUs in the rankings.
“Graduates of top programs often land jobs sooner, build strong professional networks and advance into leadership faster,” LinkedIn noted in its website announcement on the rankings. “That’s why it’s so important for prospective students to know which programs are worth the investment.”
The top LinkedIn ranking is the latest acknowledgement of Howard’s reputation for excellence in education, research, and career development. Earlier this year, Howard was recognized with a Research One (R1) designation, reserved for institutions with the highest levels of research activity among American universities. Howard was also named a top “Opportunity College and University – High Access and High Earnings” by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for facilitating social and economic mobility. Forbes most recent colleges and university rankings also named Howard as the top HBCU. U.S. Earlier this year, U.S. News and World Report ranked Howard as the #1 HBCU for undergraduate programs in business, computer science, economics, engineering, and psychology and the top HBCU for graduate programs in criminal law, constitutional law, dispute resolution, intellectual property law, healthcare law trial advocacy law, economics, English, fine arts, history, political science, and speech pathology. Among all graduate programs, Howard placed #12 in Social Work, the highest ranking among colleges and universities in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area as well as among other HBCUs.
About Howard University
Howard University, established in 1867, is a leading private research university based in Washington, D.C. Howard’s 14 schools and colleges offer 140 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs and lead the nation in producing African Americans with professional doctoral degrees. Howard is the top-ranked historically Black college or university according to Forbes, the only HBCU with an R1 research institution designation, and the only HBCU ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 National Universities. Renowned for its esteemed faculty, high achieving students, and commitment to excellence, leadership, truth and service, Howard produces distinguished alumni across all sectors, which have included the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice and the first woman U.S. vice president; a Nobel Prize laureate; Schwarzman, Marshall, Rhodes and Truman Scholars; prestigious fellows; and over 170 Fulbright recipients. Learn more at www.howard.edu.
Carol Wilkerson Howard University 202-288-7071 carol.wilkerson@howard.edu
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