University of the District of Columbia

What it is like

The University of the District of Columbia sits in northwest Washington, on a 23 acre campus in the North Cleveland Park neighborhood at Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness Street. The Red Line Metro station that carries the university's name, Van Ness-UDC, is nearby at the same 4200 Connecticut Avenue address. UDC calls itself the only public university in the nation's capital and the only urban land-grant university in the United States, and it is a historically Black institution.

Federal data counts 3,351 undergraduates and 592 graduate students, and about 56% of students are Black. Those students are spread across engineering, business, nursing, a law school and a community college. It also helps to know that UDC is mostly a commuter school: it opened its first student housing in August 2010, by leasing an apartment building across the street.

The school is really two schools under one name: a four-year university at Van Ness and a community college based at the Lamond-Riggs campus in Northeast Washington. The outcomes are modest and you should hear them plainly. Federal figures show a 30% graduation rate and 68% of first-year students returning for a second year, and 36% of students receive Pell Grants. Take those numbers to a visit and ask what support exists to help students finish.

History

The story starts in 1851, when a teacher named Myrtilla Miner opened a school for free Black girls in Washington, a city where slavery was still legal. She began with six students. A local newspaper article describes her working through mobs and attempted arson, and it credits a donation from the royalties of Uncle Tom's Cabin with helping her buy land. In 1879 the Miner school joined the District's public school system. Lucy E. Moten ran it as principal from 1883 to 1920.

A separate school for white girls, the Washington Normal School, had opened in 1873 and later became Wilson Teachers College. In 1929 the teacher-training schools became four-year colleges, and in 1955, after the Supreme Court's school desegregation ruling, the two merged into the District of Columbia Teachers College.

Two more institutions arrived in 1966, when an act of Congress created Federal City College and the Washington Technical Institute. Each was given land-grant status and an endowment of $7.24 million in place of actual land. Congress approved a merger in 1975, and on August 1, 1977, the three schools were formally consolidated as the University of the District of Columbia, with Lisle C. Carter as its first president. The Washington Technical Institute had already been using part of the original Van Ness campus of the National Bureau of Standards on Van Ness Street.

Two later steps shaped the school you would attend. In 1996 the District's law school, formerly the Antioch School of Law, merged with UDC and became the David A. Clarke School of Law. In 2009 the Community College was created as its own unit.

One alumna shows how long the line runs. Euphemia Haynes, who earned a doctorate in mathematics from The Catholic University of America in 1943, is described by Wikipedia as the first African American woman to earn a mathematics Ph.D. She taught in Washington's public schools for decades and, at the university, built a division to train Black teachers.

Academics

UDC's programs sit in a college of arts and sciences, a land-grant college, a school of business and public administration, an engineering school, the law school and the community college. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences offers eight bachelor's degrees: biomedical, civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering, plus computer science, cybersecurity and information technology. It also offers a doctorate in computer science and engineering. In September 2026 the university announced a $4.99 million renewal of its National Science Foundation award for the Center for Nanotechnology Research and Education, which sits in the engineering school, and a separate $9.9 million federal award to build research in quantum information device manufacturing.

The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences carries the land-grant mission in a city setting. Its bachelor's programs include architecture, community health sciences, nursing for registered nurses finishing a bachelor's, nutrition and dietetics, and urban sustainability. Its land-grant centers include one for urban resilience, one for urban agriculture and gardening education, and one for nutrition, diet and health, and the college runs the East Capitol Urban Farm, which it describes as the largest urban farm in the District.

What students actually finish tells its own story. Among bachelor's degrees, business administration leads with 60 awards, followed by biology with 21, then mechanical engineering and human development and family studies at 20 each, and computer science, psychology and political science at 19 each. Accounting adds 15. Among associate degrees, education leads with 91 awards and general studies follows with 58.

The David A. Clarke School of Law awarded 48 first professional degrees in the federal counts. The university reports that U.S. News and World Report ranked it second in the nation for the share of graduates entering public interest careers and nineteenth for clinical training in 2025. Its clinical requirement is among the largest in the country, with supervised work in areas such as housing, immigration and juvenile justice.

The Community College lists more than 25 degree programs plus certificates, from nursing and respiratory therapy to mortuary science and aviation maintenance. The aviation maintenance classes are held in a hangar at Reagan National Airport.

Campus life

Housing is apartment style. UDC manages two apartment communities across the street from campus, AVA Van Ness and 3003 Van Ness. Apartments are fully furnished with one or two bedrooms and hold up to four students, with a kitchen, a private patio or balcony, a fitness center and a 24-hour front desk. Students apply through the housing office and pay a $150 non-refundable deposit to hold a space, and the housing page says students arrange their own internet service.

The Office of Student Life lists more than 50 clubs and organizations. There are separate student governments for the Community College, undergraduates and graduate students. Greek life centers on the National Pan-Hellenic Council: UDC recognizes chapters of all nine Divine Nine fraternities and sororities. To join one, a student must be enrolled at the Van Ness campus and hold at least a 2.5 grade point average.

The Firebirds compete in NCAA Division II in the East Coast Conference, which UDC joined in the 2011 to 2012 academic year. Wikipedia lists nine varsity teams: basketball, lacrosse, tennis and soccer for men, and basketball, lacrosse, tennis, cross country and track and field for women. The university once had football but dropped it. The men's basketball team won the 1982 NCAA Division II championship under coach Wil Jones and finished as runner-up in 1983. The mascot is Felix the Firebird.

Music has a home here too: the Jazz Studies program produces the Calvin Jones Big Band Jazz Festival, described below.

Traditions

Homecoming is the big week. In 2024 it ran November 9 through 16 under the theme A Firebird Reunion, and the university's own recap gives a sense of the mix: a royal coronation and ball, a silent headphone brunch, a worship service at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, a fashion show at Lamond-Riggs, a career fair with more than 60 employers, a Firebird Festival and men's and women's basketball games with a tailgate, which the university called a return home to the Nest. One alumnus told the Washington Informer that homecoming is the rallying cry for Firebirds. Dates and events change every year, so check the current schedule on udc.edu.

The Calvin Jones Big Band Jazz Festival is the other tradition worth knowing. It began in 1987 as part of a citywide tribute to Duke Ellington and is produced by UDC's Jazz Studies program with the Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives. Ensembles from UDC, Howard University and the University of Maryland play, and it usually falls on the last Monday evening in April. The 2027 festival is set for Monday, April 26, 2027, in the university's Theater of the Arts. The festival carries the name of Calvin Jones, who directed the UDC jazz program.

The university also describes itself as the nation's second oldest HBCU, tracing its start to Myrtilla Miner's school in 1851. That is the university's own claim, and it is used in its homecoming messaging.

Getting in

There are two doors in, and which one you use depends on your record. The Community College takes anyone with a high school diploma, a GED or an equivalent from an accredited school. The four-year bachelor's programs at Van Ness have stated standards: either a 2.5 high school GPA with an 890 on the SAT or a 16 on the ACT, or a 2.0 GPA with a 1030 SAT or a 19 ACT. The university's standards page adds that starting in fall 2020 it became temporarily test optional, so check the page for what applies to your year.

Students who do not meet the four-year standards can usually still be admitted to the Community College and later move up once they meet the academic requirements. Transfer students can enter the four-year school with at least 24 college credits and a 2.0 GPA, or with fewer than 24 credits and a 2.5 high school GPA.

Applying is done online. UDC asks for official high school transcripts, and official transcripts from any colleges attended. As of the page read in September 2026, the undergraduate application fee was waived. Read the current requirements and deadlines on the admissions pages before you plan around any of this.

Paying for it

UDC steers students to a scholarship matching tool called Scholarship Universe, where admitted students log in with their university credentials, see internal and outside scholarships they may fit, and apply from one place. The public scholarship page does not list individual awards or amounts, so ask the financial aid office what is open to you.

For federal aid, the FAFSA opens each October 1 and UDC's school code is 007015. There is a net price calculator on the financial aid site, and it is the right first stop for a family trying to see a real number.

There is also emergency help. The Firebird Retention Grant is a one-time grant of up to $1,250 for full-time undergraduates who have finished at least 30 credit hours at UDC and hit an unexpected hardship. International students cannot use it. UDC also offers a course materials program that charges $34 per credit hour so books and materials are ready by the first day of class. The application fee waiver is open to current D.C. high school students with financial hardship, and to Community College graduates automatically.

Visiting

UDC runs in-person campus visits, and its tours page also carries a virtual tour you can take from home first. Individual visitors can book on Mondays and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m., and groups of up to 50 students on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the same times. Groups need one chaperone for every 15 students and must be approved before they are confirmed. You reserve through the university's events portal by choosing the Undergraduate category.

Each visit includes a 15 minute question and answer session with an admission counselor and a 60 minute walking tour led by student ambassadors, with lunch options available. Confirm the schedule when you book, because the university can change or cancel visits.

Bring questions about the outcomes numbers and about work schedules. On the walk, look at the E.B. Henderson Sports Complex plaza, where the 2024 homecoming crowd gathered, and ask about the apartment communities across the street. If your family has an extra day, ask about seeing the Community College at Lamond-Riggs.

Who it fits

UDC suits a student who wants a city university with access to the capital. The school describes itself as the most affordable college education in Washington, so it is worth a look from any family watching cost. If you are drawn to engineering, computer science, nursing, business or urban sustainability, the list of programs is wide. If you think you may want law school, the on-campus law school and its clinical emphasis are worth a serious look.

It also suits a student who wants a second path. The Community College door lets you start with an associate degree and move up, and the school says students turned away from the four-year programs can enter that way.

It may not suit a student who wants a traditional residential campus with a big football weekend. UDC has no football team, campus housing is apartments across the street rather than dorm halls, and it is still mostly a commuter school. It may also be harder for a student who needs a lot of built-in structure, because the federal graduation rate is 30%, so many students do not finish. Ask what support the school offers. If you are coming from the West Coast, know that Howard University is 3 miles away, and Bowie State is 17, if you want to compare HBCUs in one trip.

Getting there from the West Coast

The closest major commercial airport is Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA). Wikipedia puts it about five miles from Washington, and a trip planner lists it at roughly 9 miles from the campus station. By Metro, that trip takes about 29 minutes with one transfer: ride the Red Line from Van Ness-UDC to Gallery Place, then switch to a Yellow Line train to the airport station, which is served by the Yellow and Blue Lines. A taxi for the same trip is listed at about 15 minutes.

The Van Ness-UDC station is at 4200 Connecticut Avenue, the same address as the campus, so from the airport you can reach the school without a car. If you rent a car, visitors can park in the Van Ness campus garage at the daily rate, driving in from Van Ness Street only.