A Statistical Report on the Educational Attainment Status of Black Americans

This report presents a brief statistical overview of the higher education attainment status of Black Americans. The report begins by presenting college enrollment data, which show that by October 2012, while 5.9% (8.6 million) males aged 3 and over were enrolled in college, the rate was 6.8% for Black males; and while 7.4% (11.33 million) of females aged 3 and over were enrolled in college, the rate was 9.4% for Black females. By 2012, there were 2.15 million Black women and 1.522 million Black men with bachelor's degree; 124,000 Black men and 105,000 Black women with doctorates; and 121,000 Black women and 105,000 Black men with professional degrees. The report presents data on doctoral degree recipients in the United States in 2012, including their debt level, with Blacks having a cumulative debt (undergraduate and graduate) of $54,132, $25,992 for Whites and $14,866 for Asians. The report presents data showing that Black American doctoral recipients in 2012 had fewer opportunities for various types of scholarships and grant, and that they paid the highest amount for their education with their own resources: 39.4%; 21.3% for Whites and 12% for Asians. Finally the report shows that compared with other racial groups, fewer proportions of the fathers and mothers of Black American degree recipients in 2012 had bachelors and graduate degrees.