What Everyone Should Know About Fisk University
Founded in 1866, Fisk University, the oldest institution of higher
education in Nashville, TN, celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2016.
ENROLLMENT
- The average GPA for regularly admitted students in Fisk’s Class of 2015 (Freshman Class) is 3.19.
- Among Fisk’s Class of 2015, Biology is the most popular major, followed by Psychology, Chemistry and Political Science. English is the fifth most popular major.
- The retention rate for the Class of 2014 is 91%.
FUNDRAISING
Over the past five years ending June 30, 2011, Fisk Trustees have donated 24% of annual fundraising revenues. The average Trustee gift per year is $44,428.78. Fisk Trustees donated a total of $5,997,885 of the $25,452,300 raised over the same period. Fisk alumni participation over the last five years, ending June 30, 2011 averaged 18% and total alumni gifts averaged $1,070,659.13.
Fisk is a market leader in fundraising among Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Fisk’s annual average of $4.49M exceeds by 45% the $3.1M national average by HBCU’s. (1)
Fisk scholarships represent the second greatest source (29%) of student financial assistance, while federal student/family loans provide the greatest source of student support (49%). Federal grants are the third greatest source of student support. (2)
HIGHLY RESPECTED ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Fisk ranked in the top 20 percent of 650 higher education institutions listed in Forbes’ 2012 Top Colleges List. Ranked #135, Fisk is the highest ranked HBCU on Forbes’ list. Fisk also ranked #119 among all private institutions and #34 among all institutions in the South.
U.S. News & World Report’s Top Colleges and Universities, 2011, ranked Fisk in tier one at #144 of more than 1,400 Liberal Arts Institutions in the United States. Among the Liberal Arts Tier One rankings are four HBCUs: Claflin, Fisk, Morehouse and Spelman.
The Washington Monthly, September/October 2011, ranked Fisk as the “#1 Liberal Arts Institution in Research in the South” and the 16th Best Liberal Arts University in the nation in its “Top Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities” rankings. Fisk ranks in the top 10 percent of the 250 leading liberal arts institutions based on social mobility, research and service.
For the past 16 years, Money Magazine has included Fisk on its “100 Best College Buys” list.
For the 19th consecutive year, the Princeton Review included Fisk on its 2011 list of “The Best 373
Colleges” in the nation and on its list of “The Best Southeastern Colleges.”
In 2011, 46% of Fisk students were accepted in graduate and professional programs; this is 23% above the national average reported by the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE).
The most recent National Science Foundation study reveals that Fisk alumni earned more doctorate degrees in the natural sciences than African-American graduates from any other college or university in the nation.
Fisk ranks in the 77th percentile of all institutions in the United States receiving federal science and engineering research funds.
Fisk is the number one producer of African Americans who obtain their master’s degrees in physics.
Fisk ranks among the top 50 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering.
Fisk received a charter for the first chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society on a predominantly black campus in 1952. Fisk’s 2012 graduating class included five students who were inducted into The Phi Beta Kappa Society.
[1] Voluntary Support for Education, 2011
[2] Fisk University Fact Book 2011-2012
[3] National Science Foundation, Academic Institutional Profile, 2007
[4] National Science Foundation, Academic Institutional Profile, 2007
[5] National Science Foundation, 2007
[6] National Science Foundation, 2007
Source: Office of Institutional Advancement
August 12, 2012
Print version: What Everyone Should Know About Fisk University Fall 2012