The FAMU-Florida State University College of Engineering awarded 50 engineering degrees to 49 graduates this spring, marking the largest graduating class of FAMU engineering students in more than two decades and underscoring what university leaders describe as a sustained effort to expand and strengthen the pipeline of Black engineers.
The milestone, officials say, is not the result of a single exceptional class but the culmination of years of targeted investments in recruitment, academic support and student success initiatives aimed at helping students navigate one of higher education's most demanding disciplines.
"Throughout the four years, I was able to see the continuous growth within engineering, and when we got to graduation and saw that many people graduate, it made me feel prideful and hopeful," said Mariah Johnson, one of this year's graduates.
The record-setting class comes amid significant growth in the college's undergraduate population. Over the past five years, undergraduate enrollment among FAMU engineering students has increased by 66 percent, according to university officials, reflecting expanded recruitment efforts and a broadening array of student support programs.
"Our enrollment has grown, our support infrastructure has matured, and our faculty have deepened their investment in student success," Dean Suvranu De said in an interview.
De said the college has deliberately focused on creating an environment that enables students not only to enroll, but to persist through rigorous engineering curricula and complete their degrees.
Among the initiatives credited for the increase are expanded scholarship opportunities, peer tutoring programs and Engineering Living Learning Communities, which provide students with academic and social support beginning in their first year on campus.
University officials said 85 percent of first-time graduates participated in Engineering Student Access programs, a suite of initiatives designed to improve retention and graduation rates.
For Johnson, those programs proved essential.
"Engineering ... I was like, 'Whoa, this is a lot different than what I'd ever experienced before,'" she said. "But the programs I was in helped me build that foundation and gave me that support system to continue and be able to graduate."
The achievement arrives as universities nationwide face mounting pressure to produce more engineers to meet workforce demands in fields ranging from infrastructure and manufacturing to emerging technologies.
Leaders at the joint engineering college say they hope this year's graduating class represents the beginning of a broader trend, one that will continue to expand opportunities for future engineers while helping address Florida's growing need for highly skilled technical professionals.
For FAMU, the record class also serves as a visible sign of progress in its longstanding mission to increase the number of underrepresented students entering engineering and other STEM professions.