Historically Black Colleges That Teach Cosmetology
Cosmetology Programs at HBCUs (2026)
Published
Edited by Zoe MacDougall, BS in Psychology
Nine historically Black colleges and universities in the College Scorecard teach cosmetology. Eight of them are public community colleges: six in Alabama, one in Mississippi, one in South Carolina. The ninth is Spelman College in Atlanta, a private non-profit. That is the whole national list rather than a shortlist, so if you want to train at an HBCU, these are the options.
They are listed here, not ranked. Nine institutions do not support an order, and the completion figure the federal file carries for each one describes the whole college rather than the cosmetology department. Sorting on that would put the colleges in order of everything they teach and tell you nothing about the cosmetology course you would actually enroll in.
Figures in this section: College Scorecard, June 2026.
The 9 Cosmetology Programs at HBCUs
Listed, not ranked. These are the historically Black colleges and universities in the College Scorecard with a cosmetology program. There are too few to order meaningfully, and all but one are public community colleges whose completion figure describes the whole college.
| # | School | HBCU |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coahoma Community College | HBCU |
| 2 | Gadsden State Community College | HBCU |
| 3 | Bishop State Community College | HBCU |
| 4 | Shelton State Community College | HBCU |
| 5 | Lawson State Community College | HBCU |
| 6 | H Councill Trenholm State Community College | HBCU |
| 7 | J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College | HBCU |
| 8 | Denmark Technical College | HBCU |
| 9 | Spelman College | HBCU |
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#1
Coahoma Community College
Clarksdale, MS · Licensed school
HBCU
State board license
- Barbering
- Cosmetology
- Instructor training
What the record shows
Coahoma Community College trains in Clarksdale, licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. Its license covers barbering, cosmetology and instructor training. It is the only licensed school the board lists in Clarksdale. 41 percent of students across the college finish, out of 1,144 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. At 41 percent the college as a whole keeps its students better than most schools on this page. It is a good sign about the institution; the cosmetology program's own completion is a separate number to ask the cosmetology department for. It awarded 85 beauty credentials in the reporting year. That is roughly 8 percent of everything awarded by federally reporting beauty programs in the state, so it is one of the larger training operations here. Confirm the school's current license with the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering first: that entry is what qualifies your hours, whatever the federal figures say.
Where it leads
In Mississippi, the median cosmetologist earns $27,560, the bottom tenth $17,370 and the top tenth $58,790. The distance between $17,370 and $58,790 is the whole argument for staying past the first couple of years. Mississippi employs the trade at only about 0.5 times the national rate, so graduates enter a thinner local market than average.
Sources: US Department of Education, College Scorecard; Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering, read 2026-08-31.
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#2
Gadsden State Community College
Gadsden, AL
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
- 88 graduates a year
What the record shows
Based in Gadsden, Gadsden State Community College is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. Across all 3,548 students at the college, 38 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. A college that holds onto 38 percent of its students generally tends to hold onto them on the cosmetology floor too, though that floor's own figure is the one to ask for. The school conferred 88 credentials in the year reported. That is roughly 9 percent of everything awarded by federally reporting beauty programs in the state, so it is one of the larger training operations here. Licensing is the business of the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering rather than the federal file's, so its register is where to confirm this school by its legal name first.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Gadsden earn under $27,070, with the tenth percentile at $21,770 and the ninetieth at $35,210. The ninetieth percentile at $35,210 is 1.3 times the median, so the upside is real but bounded, and the floor sits 20 percent under the median, so the first year is lean but not the cliff it is in some states. This is a comparatively thin market: Gadsden runs at roughly 0.7 times the national concentration, about 40 people in the occupation.
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#3
Bishop State Community College
Mobile, AL
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
- 38 graduates a year
What the record shows
Based in Mobile, Bishop State Community College is one of the cosmetology programs the federal government tracks. 36 percent of students across the college finish, out of 2,437 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. At 36 percent the college as a whole keeps its students better than most schools on this page. It is a good sign about the institution; the cosmetology program's own completion is a separate number to ask the cosmetology department for. Its 38 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 2,437. Licensing is the business of the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering rather than the federal file's, so its register is where to confirm this school by its legal name first.
Where it leads
Pay for cosmetologists around Mobile runs from $21,840 at the tenth percentile to $59,190 at the ninetieth, with a median of $29,700. The upside is capped near 2.0 times the median and the floor is 26 percent under it, a market where the first year is tight rather than dangerous and the ceiling is earned slowly. The occupation is about as common around Mobile as it is nationally.
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#4
Shelton State Community College
Tuscaloosa, AL
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
- 52 graduates a year
What the record shows
Shelton State Community College runs its cosmetology program in Tuscaloosa and reports to the US Department of Education. 30 percent of students across the college finish, out of 3,148 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. That 30 percent is ordinary for this page, and it belongs to the whole campus; ask the cosmetology department for the program's own figure. Its 52 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 3,148. The Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering holds the record that counts your hours; find this school on it by its legal name and check it is current before a deposit.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Tuscaloosa earn under $30,250, with the tenth percentile at $21,920 and the ninetieth at $58,440. Few people hold this occupation locally, so a graduate is competing in a small pool and is likely to be known in it quickly. Tuscaloosa employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 160 people.
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#5
Lawson State Community College
Birmingham, AL
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
- 20 graduates a year
What the record shows
Lawson State Community College runs its cosmetology program in Birmingham and reports to the US Department of Education. 27 percent of students across the college finish, out of 2,900 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. Read that 27 percent as the college's rate, not the cosmetology floor's, so it neither ranks this program up nor down. Its 20 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 2,900. Look this school up on the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering register by its legal name before you pay, because that entry and not this one is what makes your hours count.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Birmingham earn under $29,000, with the tenth percentile at $21,830 and the ninetieth at $55,230. Neither end of this market is extreme: the top tenth earns about 1.9 times the median and the floor sits 25 percent under it, which makes the first year a budget question rather than a survival one. Local concentration around Birmingham sits near the national average.
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#6
H Councill Trenholm State Community College
Montgomery, AL
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
What the record shows
H Councill Trenholm State Community College teaches cosmetology in Montgomery, with its results published federally. Across all 1,674 students at the college, 16 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. That 16 percent is low for this page, but it is the college's rate and the cosmetology program is a small part of it; the cosmetology department's own completions are the check. Licensing is the business of the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering rather than the federal file's, so its register is where to confirm this school by its legal name first.
Where it leads
Half of cosmetologists around Montgomery earn under $30,530, with the tenth percentile at $21,660 and the ninetieth at $59,270. Few people hold this occupation locally, so a graduate is competing in a small pool and is likely to be known in it quickly. Montgomery employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 260 people.
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#7
J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College
Huntsville, AL
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
- 31 graduates a year
What the record shows
J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College teaches cosmetology in Huntsville, with its results published federally. 14 percent of students across the college finish, out of 755 enrolled, and cosmetology is one of the programs inside that figure. That 14 percent is low for this page, but it is the college's rate and the cosmetology program is a small part of it; the cosmetology department's own completions are the check. Its 31 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 755. Licensing is the business of the Alabama Board of Cosmetology and Barbering rather than the federal file's, so its register is where to confirm this school by its legal name first.
Where it leads
Around Huntsville, the median cosmetologist earns $29,150, the bottom tenth $21,050 and the top tenth $55,920. An ordinary shape: the top tenth at 1.9 times the median and a floor 28 percent below it, so a good first year and a good tenth year here are separated by a client book rather than by a cliff. Huntsville employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 550 people.
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#8
Denmark Technical College
Denmark, SC
HBCU
State board license
- Public institution
- 12 graduates a year
What the record shows
Denmark Technical College teaches cosmetology in Denmark, with its results published federally. Across all 519 students at the college, 13 percent finish, which covers cosmetology along with everything else it teaches. Most of the students behind that 13 percent are in other programs, so ask the cosmetology department for its own figure rather than reading this one as the program's. Its 12 completions a year make cosmetology a small program inside a college of 519. Ask the state board directly whether the license is in good standing, because a lapse while you are enrolled costs you the hours rather than the school.
Where it leads
For cosmetologists in South Carolina, the range runs $21,340 to $77,430 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles, with a median of $33,700. Most of that range is a following, which is why two graduates of the same program can end up far apart. On concentration, South Carolina is unremarkable, tracking the national rate closely.
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#9
Spelman College
Atlanta, GA
HBCU
State board license
- Private nonprofit
What the record shows
Spelman College runs its cosmetology program in Atlanta and reports to the US Department of Education. The school is a private nonprofit, a category covering only a handful of cosmetology providers nationally. Verify the school's standing with the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers before any deposit changes hands, since that record and not this one governs your hours.
Where it leads
Around Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, the median cosmetologist earns $34,640, the bottom tenth $17,630 and the top tenth $80,880. A gap that size tracks clientele rather than seniority. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell employs the trade at close to the national rate, around 5,760 people.
Cosmetology Programs at HBCUs by State
How many schools in each state meet the definition, with the schools listed there, from the College Scorecard and IPEDS. Each state page carries the board's own roster and hour requirement.
| State | Schools |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 6 |
| Georgia | 1 |
| Mississippi | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
What an HBCU Cosmetology Program Is and Isn't
The HBCU designation belongs to the college. Federal law defines it and it applies to the institution as a whole, its founding and its history. It is not a description of the cosmetology department, and none of it changes what that department teaches or how long you sit in the building.
Inside the college, the cosmetology course runs on clock hours like every other cosmetology course in the state. Same hour requirement, same state board, same license exam as a private beauty school across town. The hour rule belongs to the state, not to the college, so it does not shift because the college is an HBCU.
That makes the state page the more useful read. The hour requirement, the agency that writes the license and the schools on its roster sit on Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Georgia. Read the one you would train in before you read the cards below.
Figures in this section: IPEDS 2023 and College Scorecard, June 2026.
Reading the Figures on These Cards
Every completion rate here is institution-wide. Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Mississippi shows 41% of students finishing across a college of 1,144, the highest of the nine. J. F. Drake State in Huntsville shows 14% across 755 students. That is a gap between two whole colleges, and it is not evidence about either cosmetology department.
The federal file also holds a cosmetology earnings median for two of them, and that figure is course-level: it covers cosmetology graduates five years after they finished. Coahoma's is $16,554. Gadsden State Community College in Gadsden, Alabama, shows $24,629. Two numbers are not a pattern, and earnings track the local salon market as much as the school.
So read a card as two different things sitting next to each other, a college and a cosmetology cohort, and do not average them into a verdict. For what the trade pays once you are working, the cosmetologist salary page carries the wage spread, which is wide enough that a median alone will mislead you.
Figures in this section: College Scorecard, June 2026.
Alabama's Community College System and Cosmetology
Six of the nine are Alabama community colleges: Gadsden State in Gadsden, Bishop State in Mobile, Shelton State in Tuscaloosa, Lawson State in Birmingham, H Councill Trenholm State in Montgomery and J. F. Drake State in Huntsville. Two thirds of the country's HBCU cosmetology options are in one state, spread across six cities.
That concentration is worth knowing before you plan anything. Six campuses in Alabama means one hour requirement, one board and one exam covering most of this list, and an in-state search that is genuinely a search. Mississippi, South Carolina and Georgia have a single college each, so training at an HBCU there means that college or a move.
Nothing on this page ranks the six against one another. The federal file gives their cities and their college-wide figures and says nothing about the cosmetology department, so the honest use of the list is to work through it one college at a time. The community college list covers the other public colleges teaching cosmetology.
Figures in this section: IPEDS 2023 and College Scorecard, June 2026.
What This List Does Not Tell You
The HBCU designation is the institution’s, set in federal law, and says nothing about the cosmetology department specifically. Every figure on these cards is institution-wide. Every figure is quoted as published in the College Scorecard.
Nothing here checks a school's state board license, which is what makes your hours count toward the exam. Before you pay a deposit, find the school on its state page and confirm the license is current in the board's own lookup. How the rankings are built explains every figure used on this site.
Common Questions About Cosmetology Programs at HBCUs
Answers draw on the College Scorecard and IPEDS figures behind the list above, and on the state board rules linked from each state page.
Which HBCUs have cosmetology programs?
Is an HBCU cosmetology program accredited?
Do you get an associate degree at an HBCU cosmetology program?
Can you use a Pell Grant at an HBCU cosmetology program?
Are these HBCU cosmetology programs ranked?
Sources
- US Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study and institution files, June 2026 release. Completion, cost, debt, enrollment, ownership and credential for 1,574 institutions with a cosmetology program (CIP 12.04).
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics and Directory files, 2023. Veteran services, religious affiliation, HBCU status and metro area, as reported by each institution.
- State board license files, read from each board directly and matched to the federal record by name and city. Each card cites its board and the date the file was read.