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History of Diversity at NCSU

North Carolina State University was founded as an all white, all male institution in 1887 and it remained so until it was forced by the Civil Rights Movement, the courts, and other social events to admit non-white students.  In 1953, NCSU admitted its first African American graduate student and it was not until 1956 that the first African American undergraduate students were enrolled.  For the next three decades North Carolina State was neither very accessible nor very hospitable to African American students.

Now North Carolina State University is among the most diverse of the UNC campuses. In the short 40 years since the civil rights movement, NCSU has made significant progress in the admission, retention, and graduation of minority students. Today, NCSU is among the nation's leaders in the graduation of African American students with graduate degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology (Black Issues in Higher Education, 2004). Since 1993, NCSU has been recognized as one of the 100 best colleges for African American students (The 100 Best Colleges for African American Students by Erlene B. Wilson, 1993 and 1998)). In addition, the NCSU Women in Science and Engineering program is considered a model for higher education. NCSU is now a campus where everyone is welcome.

1989 A University-Wide Evaluation of Minority Programs at NCSU (40 MB)

1995 The Watauga Seminar Report and Recommendations (8 MB) on Student Diversity and the Quality of Education at NCSU