Physics-degree-granting programs at historically black colleges and universities are in serious jeopardy. With each passing year, HBCUs are giving out fewer and fewer physical science degrees, and several physics programs are at risk of closing their doors. According to data published by NSF, the percentage of bachelor’s degrees in the physical sciences awarded to African Americans by HBCUs fell from 43.7% in 1998 to 37.4% in 2007.
Historically, more than half of all African Americans who have earned physics bachelor’s degrees have done so at one of 35 HBCUs. Over the past five years, three HBCU physics programs—nearly 10% of the total number of programs—lost their degree-granting status, while only one new program was added. There are now 32 undergraduate physics degree programs at HBCUs. The total number of physics bachelor’s degrees awarded in the US in 2007 was 5755. Although that number represents the highest production level in nearly...
