Yes, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a historically Black college and university (HBCU). Founded in 1886 to serve African American students, UMES also holds the distinction of being one of the 19 institutions designated as an 1890 land-grant university, a status that shapes its academic mission to this day.
How UMES Became an HBCU
UMES traces its origins to the Delaware Conference Academy, established on September 13, 1886, by leaders of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school was created specifically to educate Black students and operated as a branch of Baltimore’s Centenary Bible Institute (later Morgan College).
The institution’s trajectory shifted with the Second Morrill Act of 1890. That federal law required southern and border states to either admit Black students to their existing land-grant colleges or establish separate land-grant institutions for them. Since Maryland’s white students attended the College Park campus, the state directed federal land-grant funding to the Princess Anne campus for African American students. This made the school, then renamed Princess Anne Academy, one of the original 1890 land-grant institutions.
Maryland purchased the campus outright from Morgan College in 1935 for $100,000 and placed it under the University of Maryland system the following year. The institution was renamed Maryland State College in 1948 and finally became the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 1970.
What “1890 Land-Grant” Means
The 1890 land-grant designation carries both historical significance and practical benefits. There are 19 such universities across the country, all originally established because southern and border states refused to admit Black students to the land-grant schools created under the first Morrill Act of 1862. Each 1890 institution receives dedicated federal funding for agricultural research, cooperative extension programs, and related sciences. For UMES, this means ongoing support for its School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences and research programs in food and environmental fields.
UMES Student Body Today
As of fall 2025, UMES enrolls 3,378 students. The student body is 64.5% Black, consistent with its HBCU identity. White students make up 14.0% of enrollment, with multiracial students at 5.4%, international students at 4.5%, Hispanic students at 3.2%, and Asian students at 2.2%. Like many HBCUs, UMES welcomes students of all backgrounds while maintaining its historic mission of serving Black students.
The university is located in Princess Anne, Maryland, on the state’s Eastern Shore. It operates as part of the University System of Maryland, alongside institutions like the University of Maryland, College Park and Morgan State University (which itself is also an HBCU, sharing roots with UMES through their common origin in the Centenary Bible Institute).