Delaware State University

Public · Selective · DE

Photo: Harrison Keely (CC BY 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationDE · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads4,398

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate28.2%

6-yr grad rate39.1%

Drop-out rate30%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$11k

Out-of-state tuition$21k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity93.8%

Gender diversity64.8%

International2.1%

IdentityHBCU

Overview

Delaware State is a public historically Black, land-grant university in Dover, the state capital, and it has built a distinctive national identity around aviation, training professional pilots with its own aircraft fleet in a way few universities of any kind attempt. Alongside aviation, the university carries land-grant strengths in agriculture and has built a growing research profile in fields like optics and neuroscience, giving it an unusually varied academic identity for a school of its size.

Academics

The aviation program is a genuine standout, one of the few HBCU flight-training programs of its scale, giving students a direct path toward commercial or professional piloting alongside a traditional degree, complete with hands-on flight hours built into the curriculum. Agriculture reflects the university's land-grant mission, with research tied to Delaware's farming economy, and business and education are also established programs serving the surrounding region. Newer research investments in optics and neuroscience, including partnerships that bring in external research funding, have raised the university's research profile well beyond what its size would suggest.

Campus & student life

Located in Dover, the campus offers a fairly traditional HBCU experience with marching band, Greek life, and MEAC athletics anchoring the social calendar. The state capital setting gives students some access to state government internships and civic life, though the campus itself, rather than the surrounding city, remains the true center of student activity and day-to-day social life for most students.

Getting in

Admissions emphasizes access for Delaware and regional students, with the aviation program in particular drawing applicants from well beyond the state given how few universities offer comparable flight training within an HBCU setting. Interest in a specific pre-professional track, like aviation or the health sciences, can be a meaningful part of a student's application.

After graduation

Aviation graduates move into commercial piloting and aviation-industry careers at a rate unusual for an HBCU of this size, a genuine point of distinction nationally. Agriculture and STEM graduates increasingly move into research and graduate programs given the university's growing investment in those areas, and education graduates serve Delaware's public schools directly.

Worth knowing

The aviation program is the university's most distinctive offering and a genuine differentiator nationally; students specifically interested in professional piloting should know few other HBCUs, or universities generally, offer flight training of this scale built directly into an undergraduate degree program.

desu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate46.6%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 800–1020 · ACT 20–24

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App or Own application.

Financial aid formsMar 15

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗