---
title: "Howard University — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Howard University is an HBCU whose medical school trained Black physicians shut out of white institutions. Key for Topic 4.20 and LO 4.20.B on the AP exam."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Howard University — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Howard University is a historically Black university whose medical school trained African American physicians who were excluded from mainstream American medical institutions, making it a cornerstone of Black medical education tested in Topic 4.20 of AP African American Studies.

## What It Is

Howard University is one of the [HBCUs](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/20-science-medicine-and-technology-in-black-communities/study-guide/GGvwKPixbIHELH9o "fv-autolink") (historically Black colleges and universities) that built its own medical school because white medical institutions refused to admit and train Black doctors. Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1867, with its medical department opening in 1868, Howard became one of the main pipelines producing African American physicians in the United States.

In the [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink") CED, Howard shows up in EK 4.20.B.2 alongside Meharry College and Morehouse as an example of African Americans creating their own medical training infrastructure. The bigger pattern here is the one [Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink") keeps hammering. When mainstream institutions locked Black people out, Black communities didn't just protest the exclusion, they built parallel institutions. Howard's medical school is the healthcare version of that strategy, and its graduates went on to staff Black hospitals, serve segregated communities, and push for desegregated medical care.

## Why It Matters

Howard University lives in **Topic 4.20: Science, Medicine, and Technology in Black Communities** (Unit 4: Movements and Debates). It directly supports **LO 4.20.B**, which asks you to describe African Americans' contributions to American medical care, training, and medical advancements. Howard is your go-to evidence for EK 4.20.B.2, the essential knowledge point about HBCU medical schools and the [National Medical Association](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/national-medical-association "fv-autolink") being created to train Black medical professionals who were shut out elsewhere. It also connects to EK 4.20.B.1, since Howard-trained physicians fed into community-based care and the Black hospital movement. If an exam question asks how African Americans responded to exclusion from American medicine, Howard's medical school is one of the cleanest examples you can name.

## Connections

### [Meharry College (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/meharry-college)

Meharry is the other HBCU medical school named in EK 4.20.B.2, and the two are usually tested together. Howard's medical department opened first (1868), while Meharry (1876) became the first medical school for African Americans in the South. Together they trained the majority of Black physicians for decades.

### [Daniel Hale Williams (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/daniel-hale-williams)

Williams shows you what the Howard pipeline was for. He helped establish America's early nonsegregated hospitals, the kind of institution where Black doctors trained at schools like Howard could actually practice. Medical schools and Black hospitals were two halves of the same parallel system.

### Eugenics and forced sterilization (Unit 4)

Topic 4.20 pairs Black medical achievement with medical racism. Eugenics-era stigmatization and [forced sterilization](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/forced-sterilization "fv-autolink") (EK 4.20.C.1) show why Black communities needed physicians they could trust. Howard-trained doctors were part of the answer to a medical system that often harmed Black patients.

### Kizzmekia Corbett and the Moderna Covid-19 mRNA vaccine (Unit 4)

Corbett's work on the Covid-19 vaccine is the modern endpoint of the story Howard starts. The CED traces a through-line from nineteenth-century Black medical schools to twenty-first-century Black scientists shaping global health, which is exactly the continuity argument 4.20.B rewards.

## On the AP Exam

Howard University shows up most often in multiple-choice questions about why Black medical schools existed in the first place. Stems typically ask which historical factor made schools like Meharry and Howard's College of Medicine necessary (answer: exclusion of African Americans from mainstream medical institutions), which institutions trained Black physicians, or which HBCU contributed significantly to Black medical education. The skill being tested isn't memorizing Howard trivia. It's explaining the cause-and-effect chain from systemic exclusion to institution-building. For short-answer or project-based responses on LO 4.20.B, name Howard as specific evidence that African Americans created their own medical training systems, then connect it to outcomes like the Black hospital movement or the National Medical Association.

## Howard University vs Meharry College

Both are HBCUs with medical schools named in EK 4.20.B.2, so students mix them up constantly. Howard is in Washington, D.C. and its medical department (1868) was the earlier of the two. Meharry, in Nashville, opened its medical department in 1876 and became the first medical school for African Americans in the South. On the exam, either one works as evidence for Black-led medical training, but if a question asks which came first or asks about location, the details matter.

## Key Takeaways

- Howard University established a medical school to train African American physicians who were excluded from mainstream American medical institutions.
- Howard is named in EK 4.20.B.2 alongside Meharry College and Morehouse as an example of HBCUs building Black medical education.
- Howard's medical school is evidence of institution-building, the pattern where Black communities created parallel institutions in response to segregation and exclusion.
- Howard-trained physicians connect to EK 4.20.B.1 because they helped staff nonsegregated hospitals and supported community-based care.
- On the exam, the most common question about Howard asks what caused Black medical schools to exist, and the answer is exclusion from white medical institutions.

## FAQs

### What is Howard University in AP African American Studies?

Howard University is an HBCU in Washington, D.C. whose medical school (opened 1868) trained [African American](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/10-black-pride-identity-and-the-question-of-naming/study-guide/sCMCOOHW7DRtM6jH "fv-autolink") physicians excluded from white medical institutions. It appears in Topic 4.20 as evidence for LO 4.20.B on Black contributions to American medical care and training.

### Was Howard University the first medical school for African Americans?

Howard's medical department, opened in 1868, was among the very first to train African American physicians, predating Meharry's medical department (1876). Meharry is usually credited as the first medical school for African Americans in the South.

### How is Howard University different from Meharry College?

Both are HBCUs with medical schools named in EK 4.20.B.2, but Howard is in Washington, D.C. and opened its medical department in 1868, while Meharry is in Nashville and opened its medical department in 1876. The exam treats both as examples of African Americans building their own medical training institutions.

### Why did Howard University create a medical school?

Because mainstream American medical schools refused to admit Black students. Building its own medical school let Howard produce Black physicians who could serve communities that [segregated](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/3-african-americans-and-the-second-world-war/study-guide/xDntAEXmjXPLXZMf "fv-autolink") hospitals and white doctors often neglected or mistreated.

### Is Howard University on the AP African American Studies exam?

Yes. Howard is named directly in essential knowledge EK 4.20.B.2 in Topic 4.20, and multiple-choice questions ask why Black medical schools like Howard and Meharry were established and what they accomplished.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.20 Science, Medicine, and Technology in Black Communities](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/20-science-medicine-and-technology-in-black-communities/study-guide/GGvwKPixbIHELH9o)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university#resource","name":"Howard University — AP African American Studies Definition","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-11T20:45:11.419Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP African American Studies Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university#term","name":"Howard University","description":"Howard University is a historically Black university whose medical school trained African American physicians who were excluded from mainstream American medical institutions, making it a cornerstone of Black medical education tested in Topic 4.20 of AP African American Studies.","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP African American Studies Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is Howard University in AP African American Studies?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Howard University is an HBCU in Washington, D.C. whose medical school (opened 1868) trained [African American](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/10-black-pride-identity-and-the-question-of-naming/study-guide/sCMCOOHW7DRtM6jH \"fv-autolink\") physicians excluded from white medical institutions. It appears in Topic 4.20 as evidence for LO 4.20.B on Black contributions to American medical care and training."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Was Howard University the first medical school for African Americans?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Howard's medical department, opened in 1868, was among the very first to train African American physicians, predating Meharry's medical department (1876). Meharry is usually credited as the first medical school for African Americans in the South."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is Howard University different from Meharry College?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Both are HBCUs with medical schools named in EK 4.20.B.2, but Howard is in Washington, D.C. and opened its medical department in 1868, while Meharry is in Nashville and opened its medical department in 1876. The exam treats both as examples of African Americans building their own medical training institutions."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did Howard University create a medical school?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Because mainstream American medical schools refused to admit Black students. Building its own medical school let Howard produce Black physicians who could serve communities that [segregated](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/3-african-americans-and-the-second-world-war/study-guide/xDntAEXmjXPLXZMf \"fv-autolink\") hospitals and white doctors often neglected or mistreated."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is Howard University on the AP African American Studies exam?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes. Howard is named directly in essential knowledge EK 4.20.B.2 in Topic 4.20, and multiple-choice questions ask why Black medical schools like Howard and Meharry were established and what they accomplished."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"AP African American Studies","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 4","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Howard University"}]}]}
```