Although Historically Black Colleges and Universities produce the most STEM graduates in the nation, their STEM alumni continue to make lower salaries than other STEM graduates across the board.
HBCUs only make up 3 percent of colleges in the nation, yet graduate 27 percent of black STEM graduates.
On average, North Carolina HBCU graduates earn $4,055 less than the national median and much less than the majority of University of North Carolina schools across the state.
Director of the Center for Minority Serving Institutions at the University of Pennsylvania, Marybeth Gasman attributes the salary differential to racism on the part of employers.
“People tend to think less of black institutions. So people might get a lower salary for that reason,” she argued.
However, graduates of North Carolina A&T State University receive the largest median salary among the North Carolina HBCUs, earning a median salary of $33,000, which is only $500 short of the national median of $33,500.
But, how is it that the highest median salary among North Carolina HBCU graduates is still below the national median?
At some of the smaller, private HBCUs, less than 40 percent of graduates earn a salary higher than their peers whose only degree is a high school diploma. At Livingstone College, located in Salisbury, the median salary is only $24,100. Of the private HBCUs in the state only one college—Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte—has a median salary surpassing $30,000.
It is no surprise, then, that even at public HBCUs, there is a significant wage gap between HBCUs and Predominately White Institutions. The median salary for an NC State University graduate is more than $14,000 higher than that of a North Carolina A&T graduate. The only non-HBCU in the UNC system that makes a lower median salary is UNC-Pembroke, which though not explicitly considered an HBCU, houses a large minority population of students.
Thomas Conway, chancellor of Elizabeth City State University, says that “One of the things limiting the salary levels is that we do have a lot of [students] winding up teaching in our public schools in North Carolina.” He has also argued comparing the earnings of students at HBCUs to those at PWIs is unfair to the schools that have strong programs outside of STEM.
Despite Conway’s defense of North Carolina PWIs, it would be outrageous to ignore the racist implications of the two differing post-graduate salaries.
North Carolina A&T State University
Median Earnings: $33,000
2015-2016 Tuition (in-state): $17,943
Winston Salem State University
Median Earnings: $32,300
2015-2016 Tuition (in-state): $18,926
North Carolina Central University
Median Earnings: $31,600
2015-2016 Tuition (in-state):$5,755
Johnson C Smith University
Median Earnings: $30,800
2015-2016 Tuition: $32,136
Fayetteville State University
Median Earnings: $30,500
2015-2016 Tuition (in-state): $15,531
Bennett College For Women
Median Earnings: $29,600
2015-2016 Tuition: $32,462
Elizabeth City State University
Median Earnings: $29,500
2015-2016 Tuition: $13,361
Shaw University
Median Earnings: $26,400
2015-2016 Tuition: $29,478
Saint Augustines College
Median Earnings: $25,300
2015-2016 Tuition: $32,416
Livingstone College
Median Earnings: $24,100
2015-2016 Tuition: $27,140
