Shaw University

Private · Moderately Selective · NC

Photo: Daderot (Public domain)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationNC · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads875

Student:faculty14:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate9.7%

6-yr grad rate21.8%

Drop-out rate48.4%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$18k

Out-of-state tuition$18k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity98.3%

Gender diversity51.4%

International9%

IdentityHBCU · Baptist

Overview

Shaw University, in downtown Raleigh, is the oldest historically Black college in the South, founded in 1865 by Baptist minister Henry Martin Tupper shortly after the Civil War to educate formerly enslaved people. It carries deep civil rights significance and retains a Baptist heritage, with a mission built around leadership grounded in faith and service, serving a small, tight-knit student body in the heart of the state capital.

Academics

Programs concentrate in business, education, social work, and criminal justice, with religious studies reflecting the school's Baptist founding. Class sizes are small, and the university has historically served students who are first in their families to attend college, with academic support built around that population.

Campus & student life

The campus sits in the middle of downtown Raleigh, within walking distance of the state capitol, an urban setting rather than a traditional quad-and-lawn campus. Shaw is part of Raleigh's historic HBCU corridor alongside Saint Augustine's University, and its small size fosters close relationships between students, faculty, and administration.

Getting in

Shaw's application process is access-oriented rather than highly selective, consistent with its historic mission of educating students - particularly first-generation and Black students from the Southeast - who might not have other paths to a four-year degree.

Worth knowing

Shaw's civil rights history is a defining feature: Ella Baker organized the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee here in 1960, and the campus is recognized as a landmark of the movement. The university has weathered real financial and enrollment challenges in recent years, worth knowing alongside its historic significance.

shawu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate80.2%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying