Through independent research, Fahey Associates has identified UC Berkeley, NYU, MIT, UCLA, CMU, USC, Harvey Mudd, Georgia Tech, UC Riverside, and Rutgers as being among the most diverse colleges in the US based on a greater presence of multiple ethnic groups as opposed to a single majority. Our analysis sourced data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and measures the size of several ethnic groups across these schools.
The pie chart below depicts the ethnic breakdown of the total student population (graduate and undergraduate) at these schools. Asian and white students constitute the greatest proportions, each group making up more than 25%. African-American/Black students comprise approximately 5%. Native and Pacific Islander students are the smallest groups on these campuses.
At UC Riverside, Latinx and Asian students are the largest groups on campus at 39% and 37% respectively. MIT, UC Berkeley, and CMU also have large Asian student populations of roughly 35% at each school. Other schools with large Asian populations include UCSD (34%) and UCI (38%). These numbers are significantly higher than the 7% that Asian students comprise in the greater US undergraduate population. Larger Latinx populations can be found at UC Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, and UCLA at roughly 21%, equal to the undergraduate Latinx enrollment across the US. Of these colleges, Georgia Tech has the largest white population at 37%, followed by Rutgers (32%) and USC (30%). White students make up 50% of the undergraduate student population nationally.
The largest African-American/Black populations are found at Georgia Tech, NYU, and MIT at 8% compared to the broader 12% Black undergraduate student population of the United States. Even at some of the most diverse schools in the country, African-American/Black, Native, and Pacific Islanders remain underrepresented in the broader student population.
Cumulative Student Ethnic Breakdown Across UC Berkeley, NYU, MIT, UCLA, CMU, USC, Harvey Mudd, Georgia Tech, UC Riverside, and Rutgers
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