African American students were prohibited from enrolling at the University of North Carolina until 1951, when a court decision forced the university to begin admitting African American students to the graduate schools. African American students joined the undergraduate population in 1955.
The number of African American students enrolled at UNC has increased steadily since the 1950s. In Wilson Library, we frequently receive requests asking for statistical data on the historic enrollment of African American students at UNC. The table below represents our best efforts to determine enrollment numbers and statistics. With changes in campus administration and frequent reorganization, there was not a single place we could look to easily find all enrollment numbers from the past 65 years. For some years, we have not been able to find any statistics on African American enrollment, but we are still looking and will update this table whenever we have additional information. These statistics are also available in an Excel spreadsheet that includes numbers by student type (undergraduate / graduate / professional) and full citations for each year’s figures.
Year | African American Students Enrolled | Total Enrollment | Percentage of African American Enrollment |
1951-1952 | 6 | 5,773 | 0.01% |
1952-1953 | 2 | 5,474 | 0.04% |
1953-1954 | 3 | 5,676 | 0.05% |
1954-1955 | 14 | 6,061 | 0.2% |
1955-1956 | 10 | 6,575 | 0.2% |
1956-1957 | 11 | 6,971 | 0.2% |
1957-1958 | 15 | 7,038 | 0.2% |
1958-1959 | 26 | 7,513 | 0.3% |
1959-1960 | % | ||
1960-1961 | % | ||
1961-1962 | % | ||
1962-1963 | 9,604 | % | |
1963-1964 | 10,887 | % | |
1964-1965 | 11,303 | % | |
1965-1966 | 12,419 | % | |
1966-1967 | 13,480 | % | |
1967-1968 | 15,601 | % | |
1968-1969 | 16,233 | % | |
1969-1970 | 238 | 16,430 | 1.40% |
1970-1971 | 420 | 18,130 | 2.30% |
1971-1972 | 637 | 19,160 | 3.30% |
1972-1973 | 844 | 19,224 | 4.40% |
1973-1974 | 985 | 19,396 | 5.10% |
1974-1975 | 1198 | 19,563 | 6.10% |
1975-1976 | 1363 | 20,536 | 6.60% |
1976-1977 | 1,281 | 20,293 | 6.30% |
1977-1978 | 1,269 | 20,162 | 6.30% |
1978-1979 | 1,385 | 20,294 | 6.80% |
1979-1980 | 1,581 | 21,060 | 7.50% |
1980-1981 | 1,687 | 21,465 | 7.90% |
1981-1982 | 1,809 | 21,575 | 8.40% |
1982-1983 | 1,941 | 22,016 | 8.80% |
1983-1984 | 1,883 | 21,757 | 8.70% |
1984-1985 | 1,792 | 21,612 | 8.30% |
1985-1986 | 1,742 | 22,021 | 7.90% |
1986-1987 | 1,773 | 22,781 | 7.80% |
1987-1988 | 1,726 | 22,921 | 7.50% |
1988-1989 | 1,840 | 23,579 | 7.80% |
1989-1990 | 1,921 | 23,592 | 8.10% |
1990-1991 | 2,060 | 23,852 | 8.60% |
1991-1992 | 2,023 | 23,794 | 8.50% |
1992-1993 | 2,078 | 23,944 | 8.70% |
1993-1994 | 2,082 | 24,299 | 8.60% |
1994-1995 | 2,161 | 24,463 | 8.80% |
1995-1996 | 2,254 | 24,439 | 9.20% |
1996-1997 | 2,310 | 24,141 | 9.6% |
1997-1998 | 2,364 | 24,189 | 9.8% |
1998-1999 | 2,402 | 24,328 | 9.9% |
1999-2000 | 2,419 | 24,635 | 9.8% |
2000-2001 | 2,398 | 24,872 | 9.6% |
2001-2002 | 2,490 | 25,464 | 9.8% |
2002-2003 | 2,574 | 26,028 | 9.9% |
2003-2004 | 2,658 | 26,359 | 10.1% |
2004-2005 | 2,686 | 26,878 | 10.0% |
2005-2006 | 2,692 | 27,276 | 9.9% |
2006-2007 | 2,756 | 27,717 | 9.9% |
2007-2008 | 2,813 | 28,136 | 9.9% |
2008-2009 | 2,820 | 28,567 | 9.9% |
2009-2010 | 2,793 | 28,916 | 9.7% |
2010-2011 | 2,504 | 29,390 | 8.5% |
2011-2012 | 2,489 | 29,137 | 8.5% |
2012-2013 | 2,422 | 29,278 | 8.3% |
2013-2014 | 2,334 | 29,127 | 8.0% |
2014-2015 | 2,304 | 29,135 | 7.9% |
2015-2016 | 2,353 | 29,048 | 8.1% |
Statistics from 1951 to 1970 come primarily from the Records of the Office of the Registrar and Director of Institutional Research (#40130). Those from 1971 to 1980 come from the Records of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration (#40301), and those from 1981 to 1986 come from the Records of the Office of the Chancellor (Fordham, #40024). Statistics from 1986 to present come from the UNC-Chapel Hill Fact Books produced by the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. See the Excel spreadsheet for more detailed information on sources used.