The Rise · HBCU

Wilberforce University

School colors: Green & Gold

Historic photograph. Unknown, book in which the image is published in was edited by W. N. Hartshorn and George W. Penniman., 1910, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wilberforce, Ohio · Founded 1856

Private · Four-year · ~620 students

www.wilberforce.edu · official site

Founding

Wilberforce University was founded in 1856, at a time when the education of African Americans was both socially prohibited and illegal. After a temporary closure during the Civil War, it was re-incorporated in 1863 by Bishop Daniel A. Payne of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Source: Admissions, Wilberforce University, read 2026-09-14.

On the official record

Campus address: 1055 N Bickett Rd, Wilberforce, OH 45384-1001
Control: Private not-for-profit
Students: ~620 students
Directory id: 206491
OPE id: 00314100
Student aid: Takes part in Title IV student aid
Title III Part B list, FY 2026: Listed
Location: 1055 N Bickett Rd, Wilberforce, OH. See it on the Ledger map.
Where this location comes from
Campus 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 39.707291, -83.880595 as published. The Census Bureau geocoder also matched this address exactly on 2026-09-14.

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Sources

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 provisional data collection. Unit id 206491. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/HD2024.zip. File dated 2025-09-21.
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.
Admissions, Wilberforce University. https://wilberforce.edu/admissions/. Read 2026-09-14.
Students: 617 total, Fall 2023 (602 undergraduate, 15 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.
School colors: Green & Gold. Values as stated. Wilberforce University, Wikipedia (revision 1373482607). Read 2026-09-16.
Photograph: Unknown, book in which the image is published in was edited by W. N. Hartshorn and George W. Penniman., 1910, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arnett_Hall,_Wilberforce_University.jpg. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
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/wilberforce-university · All HBCUs

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