Campus information that helps students picture the place, the pace, and the possibilities.
Howard University is one of the most prestigious HBCUs, known for academic excellence, cultural impact, and leadership across multiple industries.
Howard opened the 2026–27 academic year with Bison Week, a campus-wide welcome built around tradition, service and connection. Incoming students took part in the Freshman Pinning Ceremony, the Freshman Walk, campus resource events and Howard’s annual Day of Service. More than 1,600 students participated in service across Washington, D.C., giving the newest Bison an immediate introduction to the university’s “Truth and Service” tradition. The cultural side of the welcome matters too. Taste of Howard gave Divine Nine fraternities and sororities and campus performance organizations an opportunity to introduce themselves to first-year students. That combination of service, history, student organizations and life on The Yard is a useful picture of Howard beyond rankings and athletics. The university also entered the fall with a $10 million scholarship fund announced with the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and a new class selected from more than 36,000 applicants. Howard’s Chadwick A. Boseman Day is another example of a campus remembrance connecting students with one of the university’s most recognizable arts legacies.
Howard’s Greek legacy is unusually deep: the National Pan-Hellenic Council was organized at Howard in 1930, and five Divine Nine organizations were founded at the university. Howard reports that all nine NPHC organizations are active and conducting programming. During Bison Week, Taste of Howard gave Divine Nine fraternities and sororities a visible role in introducing new students to organizations and traditions on campus. Those activities reflect living student culture—not simply historical trivia—and sit within Howard’s larger tradition of service and campus leadership.