Historic HBCU founded 1865, pioneering research university in Atlanta's heart.
Clark Atlanta offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through the School of Arts & Science, School of Business, School of Education, and School of Social Work. The university is classified as an R2 doctoral university with high research activity and is one of only two private HBCUs authorized to award doctoral degrees in more than five disciplines. The social work graduate program consistently ranks among the 100 best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The Center for Functional Nanoscale Measures has graduated more Black Ph.D.s in nanoscale science than any HBCU in the nation.
The main campus comprises 37 buildings on 126 acres, located 1.4 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. Undergraduate students with fewer than 58 credit hours are required to live on campus in residence halls. The university's athletic teams, the Panthers, compete in NCAA Division II within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). All nine National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations have chapters at CAU. The student body is approximately 75% female and 25% male, with 30–40% Georgia residents and 89% identifying as African American/Black (2018 data).
Clark Atlanta accepts applications through multiple pathways: Early Action (deadline November 1), Regular Decision (April 15), Transfer (June 1), and Spring Admission (November 1). The university offers both undergraduate and graduate admissions. Approximately 95% of first-year students receive need-based financial aid, with an average need-based scholarship or grant of $5,713. Contact: (404) 880-6605 or admissions@cau.edu.
Atlanta University, founded in 1865 by formerly enslaved African Americans James Tate and Grandison B. Daniels, became the nation's first graduate institution to award degrees to African Americans and the first to award bachelor's degrees to African Americans in the South. Clark College, established in 1869 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, was the nation's first four-year liberal arts college serving African American students. The 1988 consolidation created a comprehensive institution continuing a 160-year legacy of academic excellence and service to humanity.