September 15, 2025
The Department of Education has increased funding for HBCUs by nearly 50%, building on the framework established by the previous executive order.
The Education Department is boosting funding for historically Black colleges and universities by nearly 50%, highlighting its commitment to investing in the institutions.
On Sept. 15, the Department of Education announced it would allocate $435 million in previously discretionary funds to HBCUs, UNCF reported. Combined with existing congressional appropriations, this brings the total funding for fiscal year 2025 to $1.38 billion, a 48% increase over the previous year.
“This additional funding is nothing short of a godsend for HBCUs,” said Lodriguez V. Murray, UNCF’s senior vice president for public policy and government affairs. “We are grateful to have worked with the Trump Administration, Secretary McMahon, and her Department of Education team in achieving this one-time infusion of grant funding.”
The funding will support several HBCU initiatives, including the Strengthening HBCUs Program, the Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions Program, and the HBCU Master’s Degree Program. The funding boost comes after Trump’s April executive order aimed at promoting excellence and innovation at HBCUs. The order created a White House Initiative on HBCUs to strengthen their ability to provide high-quality education to an increasing number of students.
“When President Trump released his executive order for HBCUs during his first 100 days of this term, many said that it did not produce funding,” Murray said. “That is no longer the case. His order called for strengthening HBCUs by adding fiscal stability. These funds will begin that process.”
Although funding for HBCUs has increased, the UNCF highlights that significant disparities with Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) persist. Studies show that states have underfunded HBCU land-grant universities by $13 billion over the past three decades.
Public HBCUs have endowments per student roughly half the size of those at public non-HBCUs, while private HBCU endowments average only about 21% of those at private non-HBCUs. These funding gaps force many HBCUs to rely more heavily on tuition and fees, impacting low-income students pursuing higher education at an institution where they feel represented.
While the UNCF commends the administration’s efforts to support HBCUs, the ongoing funding disparities remain a significant concern.
“However, no one should be confused: HBCUs are currently and have been underfunded since their inception,” Murray notes. “While we are grateful for these funds, we are still under-resourced. With the right investment and partners, our past, and present, does not have be our future. We hope the private sector will see this as a prime opportunity to invest in our going enterprise.”
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