Criminal justice education at historically black colleges and universities: Three decades of progress

The first examination of criminal justice education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) occurred in the early 1980s. Twenty-five years later this paper examines the progress of criminal justice education at these colleges and universities. To gather current information, surveys were used to contact institutional representatives at HBCUs. The survey results showed a dramatic increase in the number of students enrolled in both undergraduate and graduate criminal justice programs. The results also demonstrated that a substantial number of programs had faculty with Ph.D.s, specifically doctorates in criminology or criminal justice. Findings indicated that the most significant challenge facing these criminal justice programs is funding. Program representatives also reported that increasing enrollments was their most significant initiative strategy for the next five years. Though this paper notes considerable progress and promise of criminal justice programs at HBCUs, it also notes several challenges. The paper concludes with prospects for the future of criminal justice education at HBCUs.