HBCU Masters Grant

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a grant under the HBCU Masters Grant, an institution must be designated by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education as a Historically Black College or University. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as an institution established prior to 1964 whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and must not be eligible to receive the Title III Historically Black Graduate Institution (HBGI) grant. For the purposes of this grant, the term ‘qualified masters degree program’ means a masters degree program that provides a program of instruction in mathematics, engineering, the physical or natural sciences, computer science, information technology, nursing, allied health, or other scientific disciplines in which African Americans are underrepresented and has students enrolled in such program of instruction at the time of application.

Program Activities

Institutional Grant Activities are developed to support the mission and strategic plan and are based on the following Legislative Allowable Activities:

  • Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including instructional and research purposes;
  • Construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, and other instructional facilities, including purchase or rental of telecommunications technology equipment or services; ‘
  • Purchase of library books, periodicals, technical and other scientific journals, microfilm, microfiche, and other educational materials, including telecommunications program materials;
  • Scholarships, fellowships, and other financial assistance for needy graduate students to permit the enrollment of the students in, and completion of, a masters degree in mathematics, engineering, the physical or natural sciences, computer science, information technology, nursing, allied health, or other scientific disciplines in which African Americans are underrepresented;
  • Establishing or improving a development office to strengthen and increase contributions from alumni and the private sector;
  • Assisting in the establishment or maintenance of an institutional endowment to facilitate financial independence pursuant to section 331;
  • Funds and administrative management, and the acquisition of equipment, including software, for use in strengthening funds management and management information systems;
  • Acquisition of real property that is adjacent to the campus in connection with the construction, renovation, or improvement of, or an addition to, campus facilities;
  • Education or financial information designed to improve the financial literacy and economic literacy of students or the students’ families, especially with regard to student indebtedness and student assistance programs under title IV;
  • Tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success;
  • Faculty professional development, faculty exchanges, and faculty participation in professional conferences and meetings; and
  • Other activities proposed in the application submitted and approved by the funding agency.