FAMU ranks No. 1 in Niche’s '2024 Best HBCU Schools in America,' topping Spelman, Howard

Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat
·3 min read
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Lee Hall on FAMU's campus.
Lee Hall on FAMU's campus.

Florida A&M University’s success in national rankings continues after placing No. 1 in Niche’s “2024 Best HBCU Schools in America” category.

FAMU President Larry Robinson says he is pleased about the ranking.

"Great things happen every day at FAMU, and we are proud to know that what we do is being recognized nationally," Robinson said. "For 136 years, FAMU has been in the business of changing and transforming lives and we will continue to stay true to this important mission."

Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson
Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson

The top ranking comes after the university rose to No. 91 among public universities across the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s “2023-2024 Best Colleges” ranking — breaking into the Top 100 — while also being ranked the nation's top public HBCU (historically Black college and university).

More on FAMU rankings: 'Outstanding': FAMU breaks into Top 100 in U.S. News & World Report rankings

Other FAMU news: FAMU Police Department’s $9,000 pay raise bumps starting salary to $60,000 for officers

Niche, which was founded in 2002, analyzes dozens of public data sets from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Post-Secondary Education, The Center for Measuring University Performance and the National Center for Education Statistics for its college and graduate school rankings.

Millions of reviews and survey responses from current students and recent alumni are also gathered by the ranking site.

On top of the HBCU ranking, Niche declared that FAMU is No. 9 on the national list of Best Greek Life Colleges and No. 11 in best colleges for criminal justice majors in America.

While FAMU was ranked No. 1 among the mixture of public and private HBCU schools in the country by Niche, Spelman College holds the No. 2 spot and Howard University — which will be battling the FAMU Rattlers football team in Saturday’s Cricket Celebration Bowl for the HBCU national championship — was ranked No. 3.

If FAMU — Southwestern Athletic Conference Champions — triumphs over the Howard Bison, Mid Eastern Athletic Champions, that means holding the national football championship title would be another bragging right that the FAMU community would have under its belt.

Florida A&M Rattlers head coach Willie Simmons (middle) hoists the Southwestern Athletic Conference Football Championship trophy alongside Florida A&M Vice President and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes (left) and University President Dr. Larry Robinson (right) after defeating the Prairie View A&M Panthers 35-14 on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.

Related news: Vice President Kamala Harris to attend FAMU-Howard HBCU National Championship football game

FAMU was given an Overall Niche Grade of an A-, topping Spelman and Howard’s B+ score.

In addition, the university’s extended report card on the Niche site showed an A for student life and campus food, a B for diversity and a B+ for athletics and professors.

One of the most recent Niche reviews about FAMU on the site from a current graduate student stated that the university’s instructors are “very attentive to student needs and offer assistance when requested.”

But at the same time, Niche gave FAMU a C+ for residence halls during a time where multiple demolitions have taken place on the university's campus recently — including Truth Hall and Gibbs Hall this year — and plans are in the making to bring the current 2,684 bed count to 4,600 through an ambitious residence hall project.

Two out of the three new buildings in the initiative are slated to be complete by fall 2025 after construction.

Contrary to Niche, the No. 1 spot among public and private HBCUs continued to be held by Spelman College out of 79 schools in the 2023-24 U.S. News and World Report while Howard University came in second place once again, with FAMU coming in third place overall.

Niche’s “2024 Best HBCU Schools in America” ranking consists of 73 of the nation’s HBCUs. Here is a list of the top 10 colleges and universities in the site’s category:

  • No. 1: Florida A&M University

  • No. 2: Spelman College

  • No. 3: Howard University

  • No. 4: Alcorn State University

  • No. 5: North Carolina A&T University

  • No. 6: Jackson State University

  • No. 7: Winston-Salem State University

  • No. 8: Prairie View A&M University

  • No. 9: Tuskegee University

  • No. 10: Huston-Tillotson University

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Niche ranks FAMU as No. 1 among '2024 Best HBCU Schools in America'