Top HBCU Agriculture Programs: 19 Land-Grant Schools

The top HBCU agriculture programs are at the 19 historically Black land-grant universities, often called the 1890 institutions. The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) lists all 19, from Alabama A&M to West Virginia State. Each runs an agriculture college or school with degrees, research farms and a Cooperative Extension program for farmers in its state.

Below, all 19 schools from A to Z with degrees, farms and a “Best for” line, plus funding charts, the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program and a degree cost calculator.

HBCU agriculture programs at a glance

Graduate degrees are the agriculture-related ones each school lists online; college names are in the list below. Programs change, so check each catalog before you apply.

How we chose and checked this list

This list is not a ranking; we found no official ranking of HBCU agriculture programs. It includes every university in the 1890 land-grant system, the HBCUs with federal land-grant status for agriculture, in alphabetical order. School facts come from each school’s own website, read in October 2026, and federal facts from NIFA, the federal Program Inventory and the USDA. Where a website was unclear, we left the fact out. The “Best for” lines are our reading of what each school puts first.

The 19 land-grant HBCUs with agriculture programs

Research farms show where students do hands-on work. The chart compares the acreage six schools state for their main farm or station.

Chart

Main research farm size at six 1890 universities

Acres, as stated on each university’s own website (selected schools)

1. Alabama A&M University (Huntsville area, Alabama)

Best for: plant and soil science up to the Ph.D. level.

Alabama A&M was founded in 1875 by a former slave and is a public 1890 land-grant university. Its Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, in the College of Agricultural, Life and Natural Sciences, offers environmental science and forestry at the undergraduate level, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in plant and soil science. Field research happens at the Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Station, which covers 972 acres in Hazel Green, north of Huntsville.

2. Alcorn State University (Lorman, Mississippi)

Best for: a master’s degree in a classic farm field.

Alcorn calls itself the oldest public historically Black land-grant institution in the United States; it was founded in 1871. Its College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences offers B.S. degrees in agribusiness management, agricultural economics and agricultural sciences (seven concentrations), and a Master of Science in Agriculture in agricultural economics, agricultural extension education, agronomy and animal science. The school has held its Small Farmers Conference for growers for more than three decades.

3. Central State University (Wilberforce, Ohio)

Best for: sustainable agriculture outside the South.

Central State sought land-grant status for more than 120 years and gained it in 2014, which made it the newest 1890 university. The Department of Agricultural and Life Sciences sits in the John W. Garland College of Engineering, Science, Technology, and Agriculture and offers an interdisciplinary major in sustainable agriculture.

4. Delaware State University (Dover, Delaware)

Best for: aquaculture and natural resources on the East Coast.

Delaware State was founded in 1891 as the State College for Colored Students. Its College of Agriculture, Science and Technology offers a B.S. in agriculture with eight concentrations, a B.S. in natural resources and a B.S. in food and nutritional sciences, plus M.S. degrees in agriculture, food science, natural resources and nutritional sciences. The college runs a 13-acre Aquaculture Research and Demonstration Facility and a vertical farm.

5. Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Florida)

Best for: research on water, small fruit and biological pest control.

FAMU was founded on 3 October 1887, and its agriculture programs date from 1891. They are now housed in the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences. The college runs a Center for Biological Control, a Center for Water Resources and a Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research. Its Brooksville research station (BAERS) in Hernando County covers 3,800 acres.

6. Fort Valley State University (Fort Valley, Georgia)

Best for: animal science and veterinary science.

Fort Valley State dates from 1895. Its College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology has four departments, including Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Science and Public Health. Undergraduate majors include agricultural economics, agricultural education, animal science and plant science, and the college offers an M.S. in animal science and an M.S. in biotechnology. The college says it is Georgia’s top producer of African American students earning bachelor’s degrees in agriculture and related sciences.

7. Kentucky State University (Frankfort, Kentucky)

Best for: aquaculture and aquatic science.

Kentucky State was chartered in 1886. Its College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources includes a School of Agriculture and Natural Resources and a School of Aquaculture and Aquatic Science. Degrees include a B.S. in agriculture, food, and environment, a B.S. in biological and agricultural engineering, and M.S. degrees in aquaculture and aquatic science and in environmental science and technology. Facilities include the 300-acre Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm and a 14-acre Aquaculture Research Center.

8. Langston University (Langston, Oklahoma)

Best for: goat research and small ruminants.

Langston was founded as a land-grant college in 1897. Its Sherman Lewis School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences offers B.S. degrees in natural resource management, animal science, crop and soil sciences, and agribusiness. It is home to the E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research, set up in 1984, along with centers for horticulture and agronomy, aquaculture and aquaponics, and plant biotechnology.

9. Lincoln University of Missouri (Jefferson City, Missouri)

Best for: sustainable farming with three working farms.

Lincoln was founded in 1866 by soldiers of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries. Its College of Agriculture, Environmental and Human Sciences offers a B.S. in agriculture, a B.S. in agriculture education and an M.S. in sustainable agriculture. Students can work on the university’s research farms, including the Busby, Carver and Freeman farms, and use its GIS lab.

10. North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, North Carolina)

Best for: a broad choice of degrees, from lab animal science to a Ph.D.

N.C. A&T’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences lists nine B.S. degrees, three M.S. degrees and a Ph.D. in agricultural and environmental sciences. Majors include agribusiness, animal science, laboratory animal science, food science, biological engineering and landscape architecture. Its University Farm covers 581 acres, 14 of them certified organic, and the college reports that 8,231 small farmers gained new skills through its programs. The university says it is the top producer of African American undergraduates in agriculture.

11. Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, Texas)

Best for: goats, meat science and Texas livestock.

Prairie View, founded in 1876, is the second-oldest public university in Texas. Its College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources offers the agriculture major with concentrations in agribusiness, agricultural sciences teaching, animal and food sciences, and plant and soil sciences, plus an M.S. in nutrition. The college runs the International Goat Research Center and a Meat Science Center.

12. South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, South Carolina)

Best for: agribusiness with a dedicated scholarship.

South Carolina State’s College of Agriculture, Family and Consumer Sciences offers a B.S. in agribusiness and, with the business college, an MBA in agribusiness. The SC State/USDA 1890 Agriculture Innovation Scholarship pays $10,000 a year for up to four years. Its 1890 Research and Extension program runs a Research and Demonstration Farm in Olar.

13. Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Best for: pre-veterinary study and urban forestry.

Southern University opened in 1880 in New Orleans and moved to Baton Rouge in 1914. Its College of Agricultural, Human, and Environmental Sciences offers one B.S. in agricultural sciences with five concentrations: agricultural economics, agricultural business, animal science, pre-veterinary medicine, and plant and soil science. It also has a Department of Urban Forestry. The SU Ag Center’s main research station covers about 385 acres in Baker, Louisiana.

14. Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tennessee)

Best for: graduate study in a big city.

Tennessee State was founded in 1912 and gained full land-grant university status in 1958. Its College of Agriculture offers two B.S. degrees with 11 concentrations, four M.S. programs (agricultural sciences, environmental science, agricultural business and leadership, and food and animal sciences) and a Ph.D. in agricultural sciences. The college says its students used more than $1 million in scholarships in one year.

15. Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Alabama)

Best for: a path to veterinary medicine.

Tuskegee was founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington, and it is a private university. Its College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences carries the legacy of George Washington Carver. Undergraduate programs include agribusiness; animal, poultry and veterinary sciences; environmental, natural resources and plant sciences; and food and nutritional sciences. Graduate options include M.S. degrees in environmental science, plant and soil sciences, and animal sciences, and a Ph.D. in agricultural and environmental sciences engineering. Its College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1945, offers the DVM.

16. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (Pine Bluff, Arkansas)

Best for: fish farming and fisheries science.

UAPB traces its roots to 1873. Its School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences offers the only bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aquaculture and fisheries in Arkansas, plus a Ph.D. in the field. The Department of Agriculture offers a B.S. in agriculture (agricultural economics, agricultural business, plant science and animal science), a B.S. in regulatory science, a B.S. in agricultural engineering and an M.S. in agricultural regulations.

17. University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Princess Anne, Maryland)

Best for: food science and pre-vet study in the Mid-Atlantic.

UMES’s Department of Agriculture, Food, and Resource Sciences sits in the Simon A. Haley School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. It offers degrees in agribusiness management and urban forestry, and a general agriculture degree with options in agricultural studies, animal and poultry science (including a pre-veterinary option), and plant and soil science, plus an M.S. and a Ph.D. in food and agricultural sciences. UMES is also building a School of Veterinary Medicine; its first class is planned for June 2027.

18. Virginia State University (Petersburg area, Virginia)

Best for: aquaculture and Extension work in Virginia.

Virginia State was founded in 1882, and it received Virginia’s land-grant program for Black students in 1920. Its College of Agriculture offers three B.S. degree programs and runs Randolph Farm, a 416-acre learning center with 57 research ponds, a fish hatchery and a fish processing facility. With Virginia Tech, it manages Virginia Cooperative Extension.

19. West Virginia State University (Institute, West Virginia)

Best for: biotechnology and a growing new agriculture school.

West Virginia State was founded under the Second Morrill Act as the West Virginia Colored Institute. It is the only 1890 institution that lost its land-grant status, which was fully restored in 2001. In October 2026 it received a $26.5 million USDA grant to build an Agriculture Complex for its new Purdy School of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; construction is planned to start in early 2027. Its College of Business, Sciences, and Technology offers an M.S. in biotechnology, and its research station studies trout and catfish farming.

Why the 1890 land-grant HBCUs matter for farming

The first Morrill Act of 1862 funded land-grant colleges in every state, but Southern states kept Black students out of them. The Second Morrill Act, signed on 30 August 1890, said Black students must be included without discrimination, and states that kept separate colleges had to designate or set up a college to train Black students in agriculture and the mechanical arts. That is why these schools are called the 1890 institutions.

Chart

How Black producers compare with all US producers

Percent of producers, 2022 Census of Agriculture

Their Extension programs focus on small and limited-resource farms. That fits the farmers they serve. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 46,738 Black producers, 1.4% of all US producers, down 4% from 2017, while the land they operated rose 14% to 5.3 million acres. NASS found that 87% of Black producers live in 12 states, and every one of those states has an 1890 university.

Black producers also differ from US producers overall. They are older on average (60.8 years against 58.1) and twice as likely to have served in the military. Their farms are smaller: 55% of Black-operated farms had sales and government payments under $5,000 a year, against 41% of all farms.

Chart

Black producers by state, top eight states

Number of producers who identified as Black, alone or with another race, 2022

How federal funding supports HBCU agriculture programs

NIFA runs several programs only for the 1890 universities. The main ones are below; Evans-Allen and 1890 Extension money arrives each year by formula:

• Evans-Allen research funds pay for agricultural research. Each school must match the money one-to-one from non-federal sources, though NIFA can grant waivers.
• 1890 Extension formula grants pay for outreach education, mainly for people with limited social and economic resources.
• 1890 Scholarships fund undergraduate scholarships that lead to degrees in the food and agricultural sciences.
• Capacity Building Grants fund teaching, research and Extension projects, and the 1890 Facilities Grants pay for buildings, equipment and libraries.

Evans-Allen funding has grown since the late 2010s. The federal Program Inventory reports $54.185 million appropriated in each of FY 2016 to FY 2018, rising to $58 million in FY 2019, and 19 awards that funded 332 projects in FY 2024. The Association of 1890 Research Directors reports $67 million for FY 2020, and the APLU appropriations chart shows $89 million for both FY 2023 and FY 2024, with 1890 Extension at $72 million.

APLU, the association of public land-grant universities, states that most Black students who major in agriculture graduate from 1890s institutions.

Chart

Federal capacity funding for the 1890 universities

$ million appropriated per fiscal year, selected years (FY 2021 and FY 2022 not shown)

Paying for an HBCU agriculture degree

The best-known award is the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program. It covers full tuition, fees, books, and room and board for students at one of the 19 1890 universities who study agriculture, food, natural resource sciences or a related field, and it may include work experience at USDA. High school seniors and rising college sophomores and juniors seeking a bachelor’s degree can apply. The program page lists US citizenship, a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, and a minimum ACT score of 21 or SAT score of 1080. The application window for the 2026-27 year has closed, so check the USDA page for the next cycle.

Many schools also run their own awards. South Carolina State’s 1890 Agriculture Innovation Scholarship pays $10,000 a year for up to four years, and Tennessee State reports more than $1 million in scholarships used by its agriculture students in a year. Use each school’s net price calculator, and talk to its financial aid office before you borrow.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

How to choose an HBCU agriculture program

1. Pick the field first. Aquaculture points to UAPB, Kentucky State, Delaware State or Virginia State. Goats point to Langston or Prairie View. A vet career points to Tuskegee, to a pre-vet option at Southern or UMES, or to veterinary science at Fort Valley State.
2. Check the exact degree. Read the catalog to see if your field is a full major or only a concentration.
3. Look at the farm. Ask how many hours students spend on the research farm and which crops and animals it keeps.
4. Compare the net cost. Apply for the 1890 National Scholars Program and each school’s own awards, then run your real numbers through the cost calculator in the section above.
5. Plan ahead. If you want a master’s or Ph.D., check which schools offer one in your field.

Careers after an HBCU agriculture degree

Graduates go into farm and ranch management, agribusiness, food science, Extension, natural resource agencies, veterinary medicine and research. UAPB lists jobs such as food safety inspector, soil conservationist, farm credit manager and Extension agent for its agriculture graduates, and N.C. A&T notes that agriculture employs more than 17% of North Carolina’s workforce. For the skills employers look for, see our guide to agricultural science and soil science careers.

Forestry is another path. Alabama A&M offers an undergraduate forestry program, and Tuskegee’s plant sciences program also covers forestry. Our overview of sustainable forest management techniques explains the field methods foresters use.

▶ A career counsellor walks through 20 agriculture jobs, what each one involves and what it typically pays in the US. · 7:04

Technology on HBCU research farms

Several 1890 schools now teach digital farming. N.C. A&T’s University Farm is investing in drones, robotics and smart tractors with sensors, and Lincoln University gives agriculture students a GIS lab. Satellite crop maps show where a field’s plant growth is weaker, so a student or farmer knows where to walk first. Farmonaut’s Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System is one such tool; campus farms and Extension teams can use the admin dashboard for large farm groups or the web and mobile apps.

▶ Six plain steps to start precision farming without buying a robot, from field maps to satellite monitoring. · 4:18

Related pages on our site: carbon footprint tracking, product traceability, farm fleet management, crop loan and insurance checks, the satellite data API and the API developer docs.

FAQ

How many HBCUs have land-grant agriculture programs?

Nineteen. NIFA lists 19 universities in the 1890 land-grant system, and the federal Program Inventory says they sit in 18 states. Alabama has two: Alabama A&M and Tuskegee. Central State in Ohio joined most recently, in 2014.

Which is the oldest 1890 land-grant HBCU?

Alcorn State, founded in 1871, calls itself the oldest public historically Black land-grant institution. Lincoln University of Missouri was founded earlier, in 1866, as Lincoln Institute, and was designated a land-grant university in 1890.

Can I study veterinary medicine at an HBCU?

Yes. Tuskegee’s College of Veterinary Medicine offers the DVM and dates from 1945. UMES is setting up a School of Veterinary Medicine with a first class planned for June 2027. Several other schools offer pre-veterinary options.

What does the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program cover?

Full tuition, fees, books, and room and board at one of the 19 1890 universities, for students in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences or a related field. It may also include work experience at USDA. Check the USDA page for current dates and rules.

Do you have to be Black to attend an 1890 university?

No. The 1890 universities admit students of all backgrounds. Prairie View, for example, says it has opened its doors to every person since 1876.