N.C. A&T Ranks 2nd In UNC System and Among HBCUs in Alumni Starting Salaries

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2021) – In a higher education environment increasingly marked by questions about return on investment, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University continues to rank highly for a significant measure in that area: starting salaries for new graduates.

In the new “Best Colleges 2022” rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report, North Carolina A&T is the second-rated historically black university (HBCU) in America in Median Starting Salary of Alumni at $54,900 a year, trailing only Prairie View A&M, and the second-ranked in the 17-campus University of North Carolina System, trailing only N.C. State.

A&T ranks fourth among all North Carolina campuses, behind Duke, N.C. State and Wake Forest, but significantly ahead of Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro and many other campuses.

The leading performance, both nationally and among state peers, by new Aggie alumni shows how valuable a credential an A&T degree has become in today’s marketplace. As a top producer of Black graduates in Engineering, Agriculture, Liberal Arts, Kinesiology, Math and Statistics, Family and Consumer Sciences and Journalism and Mass Communication, A&T is a must-visit stop on the career fair tours of many of the nation’s top corporate interests.

A&T was recognized in a case study last year for having the largest-ever virtual career fair on Handshake, the dominant online platform for college and university career offices. A&T Career Services has long noted the growing appetite for the university’s grads – even more so as this academic year begins, says Kendra Haywood, associate director.

“We have only been able to accommodate half the employer requests to participate in this Wednesday’s virtual career fair,” said Haywood. “Currently, we have 18,000 full-time jobs, internships or career experiences posted in Career Services and more coming. Employers ask me, ‘What will it take to hire an Aggie?’ And the truth is they really have to bring it.”