Over that decade the number of computer science degrees earned by Black students went up — from 4,011 to 6,558. More Black students earned computer science degrees in 2018 than in 2008, by a wide margin.
And the share went down, from 10.8% to 8.9%, because the field grew faster than the participation in it did. Computer science enrolment roughly doubled nationally in the same period. Everyone gained. Some gained much faster.
Which sentence gets quoted depends on what someone is trying to prove. A press release picks the rising count. A critique picks the falling share. You are getting both, because either one on its own cannot be checked.
What the pair actually means: this is not a story of decline. It is a story of a boom that did not reach evenly. The gap widened during the best decade the field has ever had. It tells you the gap does not close on its own when conditions improve.
For context on scale: in 2021–22 American institutions awarded 108,503 bachelor's degrees in computer and information sciences, 9,594 of them to Black students.
What is already paid for
- Pell grants — do not have to be repaid, and most families who qualify never file. studentaid.gov.
- WIOA — federal training money through your local workforce board. Every county is covered. Not a loan. CareerOneStop.
- Registered apprenticeships — a wage from the first day. apprenticeship.gov.
- Employer tuition reimbursement and certification vouchers — among the least-claimed benefits in American employment. Ask in writing.
- HBCU institutional and federal aid — ask the specific school's financial aid office for the net price, not the sticker price.
Programme names, amounts and deadlines change. These are the doors; verify current terms with the source before counting on a number.
What to do this week
Start at a community college with a transfer agreement into the state university's computer science degree. It is one of the highest-yield routes on this site and it costs a fraction of the flagship.
Eight routes in, and what each one actually asks of you
Ordered by what has to be true before the route exists: an institution with a record, a public programme with money, a school that offers the course, or nobody at all.
An HBCU
101 institutions, 3% of American higher education, 28% of the STEM bachelor's degrees Black students earn.
Proven route, uneven accessCommunity college
Open enrollment in every state, and the cheapest credit in American higher education.
Open, but nobody has to teach youRegistered apprenticeship
A wage from the first day, a credential at the end, and no tuition.
Publicly or employer fundedAn industry certificate
CompTIA, Cisco, AWS, Microsoft. Months, not years, and employers screen on them directly.
Publicly or employer fundedAP Computer Science in high school
2,246 Black students took AP Computer Science A in 2020. 715 of them were girls.
Depends on your schoolWIOA-funded training
Federal training money through a local workforce board. Every county has one, and it is not a loan.
Publicly or employer fundedMoving across where you already work
More people reach a technical job from an adjacent one at the same employer than by any single school route.
Open, but nobody has to teach youSelf-taught with a portfolio
No permission required, nothing required of anyone else, and the highest drop-off rate of the eight.
No disclosure dutyBy state
Where you are decides which of the eight are within reach. Find your state.
Photographs on this campaign are licensed stock used as illustration — not portraits of the people inside the federal counts. Full credits: CREDITS.md.