California State University, Sacramento, said its Black Honors College topped 900 students for 2026-27 after adding 400, extending a program that pairs Black history study with academic and career support.
President Luke Wood announced the number Aug. 27. The college opened in August 2024. Applicants of any race may apply if they meet the 3.5 GPA minimum and are interested in Black history, culture and contributions. Students can pursue any major. The program adds cohort general-education classes, mentoring, internships, scholarships and a residential learning community.
Sacramento State reported 77 students in fall 2024 and 228 in fall 2025. It said Black student enrollment had risen 23% since fall 2023. The university counted 3,266 Black students in spring 2026 under a broader measure that includes people identifying with more than one race.
The college is part of a wider effort by the California State University (CSU) system to improve Black student outcomes. A 2023 system review found declines in Black enrollment, retention and graduation and proposed 13 responses, including expanded outreach and student-retention support. In April 2024, the CSU system awarded Sacramento State $250,000 for faculty teaching and program development.
The college opened after the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision that admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Equal Protection Clause. President Donald Trump’s Jan. 21, 2025, executive order directed the attorney general and education secretary to guide colleges on the ruling and called for action against DEI programs the order said involved illegal discrimination or preferences.
The California State University Student Success Network reported in February 2026, citing Dean Boatamo Mosupyoe, that 96% of the college’s first-year cohort continued from fall 2024 through fall 2025, compared with 82% of Sacramento State students overall. Those figures do not show that the college caused the difference. The network also reported that budget and space constrain expansion. Mosupyoe said, “We don’t have a budget that matches the need.”
NPR quoted Zyearre Amoah, a Sacramento State graduate who recruits for the college, describing Black students on campus as “actually showing their faces.”
