SU among top producers of black grads who earn Ph.Ds in science, engineering
Southern University and A&M College is among the nation's top 10 producers of African-American undergraduates who go on to earn doctorates in science and engineering, according to national statistics published recently in The Huffington Post online news magazine.
The January 27 article, citing data from the National Institutes of Health, shows that Southern is 9th among the schools listed. The statistics, gathered from 2002 to 2012, showed that 100 students graduated from Southern during that period and went to obtain doctorate degrees in science and engineering.
Like Southern, all of the top 10 schools are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In fact, according to the article, nearly half of the nation's top 25 best institutions at producing eventual black Ph.D graduates are HBCUs.
"This is great news but not surprising," said Southern Chancellor Dr. James L. Llorens. "This has long been the track of thousands of students who begin their educational careers at HBCUs. Many outstanding students at Southern and other HBCUs are driven to obtain terminal degrees."
"They are successful because of the concrete foundation and nurturing they get on the usually smaller, more family-oriented campus environments at HBCUs," Llorens said.
The NIH shows the top 10 schools in order, include: Howard University, 220; Spelman College, 175; Florida A&M University, 154; Hampton University, 150; Xavier University of New Orleans, 126; Morehouse College, 106; Morgan State, 102; North Carolina A&T, 102; Southern, 100; and Tuskegee University, 80.
The University of Maryland-Baltimore County, which is not an HBCU, was tied with Tuskegee with 80 African-American grads that went on to receive Ph.Ds.