In 1837, before slavery was abolished, the nation's first black college was founded by Richard Humphreys, a Quaker, who opened the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia as a teacher training college. However, most historically black colleges and universities were founded after the Civil War. North Carolina has eleven historically black colleges and universities, including the oldest in the South, Raleigh's Shaw University, founded in 1865, and North Carolina's newest HBCU, Durham's North Carolina Central University, founded in 1910 and today one of the sixteen senior institutions in the University of North Carolina system.

Barber-Scotia College is a coed liberal arts school founded by the Presbyterian church in 1867. Today Barber-Scotia offers both bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees with the majority of students specializing in either the social sciences or business administration.

Founded as a coeducational school in 1873 in Greensboro and affiliated with the United Methodist church, Bennett College since 1926 has been a college devoted to the education of black women. To that end Bennett's past president, Dr. Gloria Randall Scott, established the Women's Leadership Institute and Center for African Women and Women of the African Diaspora.

With more than 2,000 students, Elizabeth City State University is a vibrant part of the University of North Carolina system. Established in 1891 for African Americans, today Elizabeth City State's students are increasingly multicultural and earn bachelor degrees in the arts and sciences as well as several professional and pre-professional areas. The University has a master's degree program in elementary education. Elizabeth City students may also earn master's degrees through cooperative programs with other institutions.

A coed liberal arts college founded in 1867 as The Howard School, Fayetteville State University is also a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina. Fayetteville State enjoys an administration for whom student development is a high priority. The Chancellor, Dr. T. J. Bryan, is the first African-American woman appointed to head a University of North Carolina institution.

Originally organized by two Presbyterian ministers in 1867, the name of today's Johnson C. Smith University reflects the generosity of Mrs. Jane Berry Smith, who over her lifetime donated enough money to build eight of the college's buildings, in addition to funding a substantial endowment in memory of her late husband, Johnson C. Smith. The first mission of the school was to prepare men for the Presbyterian ministry, but the school became coeducational in 1942 and now grants bachelor's degrees primarily in liberal arts and business subjects.

Livingstone College is a coed private college affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church. Livingstone has been located in Salisbury, North Carolina since 1879 and offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science and bachelor of social work degrees as well as degrees from the graduate school of theology known as Hood Theological Seminary. Livingstone combines a heritage rooted in the Christian faith, an emphasis on the contributions of African American culture, community service and modern technological expertise.

With around 400 faculty members and over 6,000 students North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University is one of the nation's largest historically black universities. Originally North Carolina A & T was established in Raleigh in 1891, but moved to Greensboro two years later where it has remained for over 100 years. A & T students can certainly choose to specialize in agricultural or technical subjects, but the school also offers degree programs in everything from business management and home economics to landscape architecture, fine and applied arts and foreign languages.

One of the sixteen senior institutions in the University of North Carolina system and the state's youngest historically black college, (founded in 1910), North Carolina Central University grants bachelor's degrees in multiple disciplines, and has 38 graduate and professional degrees, including the Juris Doctor degree from the School of Law. Central requires fifteen hours of community service from each student each semester, has a university honors program, an undergraduate research program, and has reorganized its undergraduate programs so that students develop proficiencies in the five areas of communications, mathematics and science, cultural foundations, arts and humanities, and personal and social development, in addition to pursuing course work in their chosen fields.

St. Augustine's College, affectionately known as "St. Aug's," has been shaping the lives of young African Americans since 1867, when it opened its doors in Raleigh. A private college, St. Aug's is supported by the Episcopal church and the United Negro College Fund as well as being a member of the Association of Episcopal Colleges. The student body numbers about 1,900 full and part-time students, of which about fifty percent come to St. Aug's from out-of-state.

Known for its excellence in business education, Shaw University grants bachelor's and associate degrees to a student body of over 2,300. A private university, Shaw was founded in North Carolina's capital in 1865 at the end of the Civil War and is affiliated with the Baptist church. Whatever their major field of concentration, all Shaw students receive a solid grounding in both the humanities and the arts and sciences.

Winston-Salem State University has lived by its motto Enter to Learn ... Depart to Serve for over 100 years since the school was founded in 1892. Today's student body can choose from courses in health sciences, business and economics, education, and the arts and sciences. Winston-Salem State also reaches out to the community with extension courses and lifelong learning services.