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The Rise · HBCU

Shaw(Shaw University)

School colors: Garnet and White

Tyler Hall - Shaw University
Daderot, 2011-10-05 09:42:21, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Raleigh, North Carolina · Founded 1865

Private · Four-year · ~960 students

www.shawu.edu · official site

Founding

Shaw University was founded as the Raleigh Theological Institute by the American Baptist Home Mission Society in 1865, and states that it was the first HBCU in the American South. It incorporated in 1875, opened Estey Hall for women students in 1873, and opened a law school in 1888.

Source: A History of Progress, Shaw University, read 2026-09-14.

What the school says about itself

Motto
Pro Christo et HumanitateFor Christ and HumanitySource, read 2026-09-17.
On the record
  • Shaw was the first Black college to own a radio station. Source, read 2026-09-17.

On the official record

Campus address
118 East South Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
Control
Private not-for-profit
Students
~960 students
Directory id
199643
OPE id
00296200
Student aid
Takes part in Title IV student aid
Title III Part B list, FY 2026
Listed
Location
118 East South Street, Raleigh, NC. See it on the Ledger map.
Where this location comes fromCampus location from IPEDS 2024-25This campus location comes from the federal IPEDS 2024-25 record, used as published, so the pin on the map is the campus.IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 collection, file dated 2025-09-21, retrieved 2026-09-14: coordinate 35.771181, -78.637693 as published. The Census Bureau geocoder also matched this address exactly on 2026-09-14.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 provisional data collection. Unit id 199643. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/HD2024.zip. File dated 2025-09-21.
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Higher Education Programs Eligibility Matrix, sheet 'HBCU', dated 2026-06-08. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fy-2026-higher-education-programs-eligibility-matrix-june-8-2026-114185.xlsx.
  3. A History of Progress, Shaw University. https://www.shawu.edu/meet-shaw/a-history-of-progress/. Read 2026-09-14.
  4. Mission Statement, Shaw University. https://www.shawu.edu/meet-shaw/mission-statement/. Read 2026-09-17.
  5. Students: 962 total, Fall 2023 (843 undergraduate, 119 graduate). IPEDS Fall Enrollment 2023, derived variables (DRVEF2023). https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/DRVEF2023.zip. File dated 2024-09-30, read 2026-09-17.
  6. A History of Progress, Shaw University. https://www.shawu.edu/meet-shaw/a-history-of-progress/. Read 2026-09-17.
  7. School colors: Garnet and White. Values shown are conventional approximations of the named colors. Shaw University, Wikipedia (revision 1368431922). Read 2026-09-16.
  8. Photograph: Daderot, 2011-10-05 09:42:21, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tyler_Hall_-_Shaw_University_-_DSC05812.JPG. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
  9. U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder, batch address service, benchmark Public_AR_Current. https://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/.

Enrollment is the official 2023 count, rounded. Tap a school for its source.

Machine-readable: /api/v1/hbcus/shaw-university · All HBCUs

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