Chapter 8: Trends in Science,Technology, Engineering, and Math (Stem)Participation Among Black Students at Hbcus

Broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is an important national policy issue. For instance, needs of the contemporary knowledge-based economy make it clear that we must tap more talent for STEM professional fields drawing on all segments of our population including women and people of color. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have long played an important role in producing largenumbers of Black scientists and engineers (Smith et al., 2021), though their contribution is not well understood by the masses.

In this chapter, we present trend data from national reports to highlight patterns of enrollment and completion for STEM students generally and among Black students at HBCUs specifically. Additionally, we review existing scholarly literature related to STEM education at HBCUs. Important implications for future policy, practice, and research will be highlighted, especially ideas that may prove useful in forging new possibilities or roles for HBCUs.