Environmental, Agricultural and Natural Resource Advanced Degrees at HBCU's

It was an illuminating question posed by an individual on Twitter regarding the availability of ecology degrees offered at HBCU's. I was not at all ashamed to admit that I had no clue what types of programs were offered, at what level and where they were. This sat with me for some days until I mustered up the energy and the courage to discover what the State of HBCU's were regarding the matter.  What I found was not at all depressing but surprising. Below is a list of HBCU's and the programs they offer for advanced degrees in environmental, agricultural and natural resource sciences.  What was not astonishing was that most of the universities have agricultural programs of some sorts. Considering the long history of agriculture and animal husbandry and farming/ranching in the United States it is fitting that these types of programs exist to create an employable workforce, especially considering where these universities are located in farming sectors of the U.S.

There are four doctoral programs at Alabama A&M, Howard, Jackson State and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. I did not investigate if the degrees being granted in these programs were to minorities or to other ethnic groups just that they were available.  A recent talk I gave highlighted the reality of educational attainment of African Americans.  Less than 25% of African Americans in 2013 were receiving a Bachelors or beyond.  Seems like a Bachelors IS the advanced degree for African Americans and many of those in school attend college but did not complete their college degrees.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau


So what does this all mean?  How is it that we can generate a population of minority professionals in these fields if we aren't event getting the education to apply to Masters and PhD programs?  As we push for diversity in STEM the reality for African Americans in advanced degrees is that retention and completion of PhD's is a conversation that has yet to begin.  When we think of the successful completion of intellectuals that will teach college classes, conduct ground breaking research, give testimony to congress, provide scientific information that moves public policy, write books, become chairs of departments, editors of journals, members of NSF review panels, committees for grants and funding there has to be some way to express the importance of our participation at all levels in STEM.

But the reality based upon Dr. Taylors Green 2.0 Report on The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations is that it is possible even the most educated of us will hit a "Green Ceiling" in which leadership within these fields will be highly unlikely. People of color include ALL Black and Brown people in the United States which is shown in green (~36%) and people of color in S&E aren't too far below that but the red line is what is daunting. The report is clear in that regardless of the attainment of education the access and opportunity for careers outside of academia are going to be a challenge for minorities. This study was of NGO's, Foundations and Government organizations as well.

The workforce of professionals can not and should not always be more minorities within entry-level positions. I will try to do some more digging into the advanced degrees at the HBCU's to find out what the demographics look like in the environmental, agricultural and natural resource programs in comparison to social sciences and education for example. I would not be surprised to find that even at minority serving institutions we are under represented in these programs.

                                             Source: Dr. Taylor Green 2.0

So for those of you who are looking into advanced degrees within these fields the list is below.  Just as a note I am all for diverse experiences to be a well rounded individual. However because of inadequate support systems for minorities in graduate school I would not be surprised to find that there is a greater percent of retention and completion of PhD's and Masters at HBCU's in comparison to other institutions.  There is light at the end of the tunnel. There are programs within our HBCU system that exist and likely will be evolving due to the state of our social and environmental climate.  For a population of thinkers and problem solvers there needs to be access and spaces to thrive.  Black intellectuals still exist and helping the next generation of social and environmental leaders means that we must cultivate them using our strongest and most consistent resources. It also means that we must be willing as environmental professionals of color to mentor, teach and engage our own students on an intellectual level beyond their current one.

Tweet me your institution and programs including the level so I can keep this list updated! @greenkels

Alabama A&M University	Agribusiness Management (Masters) Animal Science (Masters) Environmental Planning (Masters) Food Science (Masters, Doctorate) Plant and Soil Science (Masters, Doctorate)
Alabama State University Delaware State University	Agriculture (Masters) Food Science (Masters) Family and Consumer Sciences Education (Masters)
Florida A&M University	Agricultural Sciences (Masters)
Grambling State University	Natural Science (Masters)
Howard University	Zoology (Masters, Doctorate) Botany (Masters)
Jackson State University	Environmental Science (Masters, Doctorate)
Mississippi Valley State University	Environmental Health (Masters)
North Carolina A&T State University	Agricultural Economics (Masters), Natural Resources and Environmental Design (Masters)
North Carolina Central University North Carolina A&T	Parks and Recreation Management (Masters) Agricultural & Environmental Systems (MS), Energy & Environmental Systems (Ph.D.)
Prairie View A&M University	Agri-Economics (Masters) Animal Science (Masters)
South Carolina State University	Agribusiness (Masters)
Southern University	Environmental Science (Masters)
Tennessee State University	Agricultural Science (Masters)
Tuskegee University	Agricultural Economics (Masters) Animal and Poultry Science (Masters) Food and Nutritional Science (Masters) School of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
University of Maryland Eastern Shore	Agriculture (Masters) Environmental Science (Masters, Doctorate)
Virginia State University	Agricultural Education (Masters) Earth Science (Masters)