A Healthy Increase in the Number of Blacks in Academic Nursing

African Americans have made tremendous strides in increasing their enrollments in academic nursing programs nationwide over the past 10 years. But at some of the nation's leading nursing schools, the black presence is still very small.

Over the past decade JBHE has examined the status of African Americans in a wide variety of academic disciplines. In many cases we were obliged to report disappointing news on the progress blacks have made in particular academic fields.

Although many academics look down on nursing as a professional career, we are nevertheless pleased to report that blacks have made tremendous strides in nursing education. In 1990 there were 8,745 African Americans enrolled in bachelor's degree programs in nursing in the United States. They made up 10.1 percent of all nursing students in the nation that year. In 2003 the number of blacks in bachelor's degree programs in nursing reached a total of 14,616. This is an increase of 67 percent over the 12-year period. In 2003 blacks were 12.4 percent of all nursing school students.

The progress has been even more spectacular at the graduate level. In 1990 there were 1,197 blacks enrolled in master's degree programs in nursing in the United States. They made up 5.7 percent of all students in master's degree programs in nursing. By 2003 the number of blacks in these graduate nursing programs had more than tripled to 3,635. At that time blacks made up 10.5 percent of all students in master's degree programs in nursing.

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