Three Key Takeaways
- FAMU remains No. 1: Niche ranks FAMU the nation’s top HBCU for the second straight year.
- Students rate FAMU highly: The university earned an A in student life and A- grades in academics and professors.
- Recognition amid challenges: The ranking is a bright spot as FAMU continues addressing housing, graduation rates and institutional performance.
FAMU has been ranked the nation’s top historically Black college and university for the second consecutive year by Niche, placing at No. 1, among the 73 HBCUs in the organization’s 2027 rankings.
FAMU received an overall grade of A-, with particularly strong marks for student life and academics. The ranking comes as the university continues to navigate questions surrounding student success, housing capacity and institutional performance while seeking to strengthen its standing nationally.
Niche, a college and school review platform, bases its rankings on a combination of federal education data and feedback from students and alumni. Its methodology includes academic and admissions statistics, financial information, student-life measures and millions of reviews and survey responses. The organization evaluates more than 1,000 colleges and universities nationwide.
FAMU received an A for student life, an A- for academics and an A- for professors. Its housing grade rose to a B from a B- in the previous ranking.
The student-life grade reflects assessments of campus culture, student organizations, athletics and other aspects of the student experience. Students surveyed by Niche also cited FAMU’s sense of tradition and community, as well as its emphasis on mentorship and leadership.
The university’s A- academic grade incorporates factors including admissions data, assessments of professors and feedback from students and alumni.
The improvement in housing comes as FAMU works to expand its residential capacity. The university has pursued new residence hall construction and other housing initiatives as it contends with demand for on-campus accommodations.
William Hudson Jr., FAMU’s vice president for Student Affairs, said the ranking provides an indication of how students view the university.
“The students have spoken, and this recognition affirms the strength of the FAMU experience from their perspective,” Hudson said.
He also characterized the ranking as a measure that carries an obligation for the university to continue improving the student experience.
The Niche ranking is one of several national measures in which FAMU has received favorable attention in recent years. The university has also made gains in national college rankings and other measures of academic performance, while falling short of some of its own targets for graduation rates, performance funding and other institutional benchmarks.
The distinction from Niche therefore comes with a more complicated picture of the university’s performance.
While the ranking reflects strong student perceptions and institutional indicators in several categories, it does not by itself measure every aspect of FAMU’s academic and financial health.
The consecutive No. 1 ranking provides another national benchmark, and point of pride, based on how students and alumni assess their experience at the university.