North Carolina A & T State University

Public · Selective · NC

Photo: Educatedblkman1914 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationNC · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads12,182

Student:faculty20:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate36.3%

6-yr grad rate57.2%

Drop-out rate22.5%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$7k

Out-of-state tuition$21k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity97.4%

Gender diversity62.5%

International0.5%

IdentityHBCU

Overview

North Carolina A&T, in Greensboro, is the largest historically Black university in the country, a public land-grant institution whose history includes the four freshmen who launched the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins at the Woolworth's lunch counter downtown. That legacy of student-led civil rights engagement runs through campus life and institutional identity today, commemorated on campus and treated as a living part of the university's mission rather than a closed historical chapter. A&T pairs that history with a genuinely large, comprehensive research university built on land-grant roots in agriculture and applied science.

Academics

Engineering is the flagship strength — A&T is among the very top producers of Black engineers in the U.S. — alongside strong agriculture and business programs reflecting its land-grant mission, and a nanoscience and nanoengineering program run jointly with a neighboring university that gives students access to specialized fabrication and research facilities. The engineering college in particular draws students specifically for its track record and deep industry recruiting relationships. Class sizes scale with a large public research university, but STEM departments in particular maintain close research mentorship pipelines connecting undergraduates to graduate-level work.

Campus & student life

Homecoming, known as GHOE (the Greatest Homecoming on Earth), is a nationally famous celebration and one of the biggest events on any HBCU calendar, drawing alumni and visitors from across the country for a full week of events. The Blue and Gold Marching Machine and campus Greek life built around the historically Black fraternities and sororities are central to student culture, and campus itself carries a proud, tradition-heavy identity rooted in the university's civil rights history and land-grant mission.

Getting in

A&T evaluates applicants holistically, with engineering and other STEM programs drawing particularly strong, competitive applicant pools relative to the rest of the university. Demonstrated interest in a specific engineering discipline and solid math and science preparation matter more in those programs than in A&T's broader liberal arts and agriculture colleges, where admission is comparatively more accessible.

After graduation

The engineering pipeline feeds major aerospace, defense, and industrial employers looking specifically to recruit Black engineering talent, and A&T's name carries real weight in that recruiting space nationally. The alumni network is large and engaged, reflecting the university's size and prominence among HBCUs, and A&T graduates are well represented in engineering leadership roles at a number of major companies.

Worth knowing

GHOE homecoming's national reputation and the university's civil rights history — commemorated on campus near where the Greensboro Four sit-ins began — are part of what makes A&T's campus culture distinct from other large public universities of similar size. Its nanoscience partnership is also worth knowing for students specifically interested in advanced materials research.

ncat.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate49.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1020–1190 · ACT 17–23

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Regular decisionFeb 1

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App or Own application.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗