Howard University

Howard University International Student Insurance

Howard University, located in Washington, D.C., is a historically black university established in 1867. Its namesake, founder, and one of its first presidents was Civil War hero General Oliver Otis Howard, head of the post-Civil War Freedmen’s Bureau, who convinced Congress to provide funds for the school. The university was initially conceived as a theological seminary, but within weeks, plans expanded to create a university as an option to educate more than 150,000 recently freed slaves. Today, the school enrolls more than 10,000 students (and counting) each year. Its colors are red, white, and blue, and its athletic nicknames are the bison and the lady bison.

On Campus

Howard University houses a business school, a law school, a medical school, a hospital, and a dental school in addition to more standard educational offerings. The campus has eight libraries, and the main one (Founders Library) is home to the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive research centers concerning African-American history. Howard also partners with NASA to run the Beltsville Center for Climate System Observation on its Maryland campus. Finally, in 2017, Google established a tech residency program called Howard University West (renamed Tech Exchange in 2018) in Mountain View, California, in an effort to increase black representation and participation in the tech industry.

Notable Alumni

Notable Howard University alumni and attendees include authors Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Ta-Nehisi Coates; musician Sean Combs; actor Chadwick Boseman; politician Kamala Harris; and former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.