Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): 2011-2012 Four-Year

Institutions at a Glance
Statement of purpose:
Currently, most of the research on Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) focuses on the
undergraduate populations attending these institutions; however, little research has been done
to examine the diversity of the graduate population. The data in this summary looks at HSIs in
2011-2012 to examine how many of the 356 institutions1 offer graduate degrees (masters,
doctoral or both), the location of the HSIs, what programs of study are offered, and percentage of
undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent enrollment. 2 The information provided below is to
advance awareness about the diversity among HSIs and disseminate knowledge.
Overview:
Hispanic Serving Institutions are federally defined by the Higher Education Act 2 as non-profit,
public or private degree granting institutions of higher education with at least 25 percent
Hispanic full-time equivalent enrollment.
In 2011-12, 45.1% of Latino students were enrolled at HSIs.
In 2011-12, 46.1% of Latino students were enrolled at 4-year public HSIs, and 62.5% were
enrolled a four- year public HSIs.
Among the 356 HSIs, 133 institutions offer graduate degrees which accounts for 37% of all
HSIs.
HSIs are continually growing and demand attention in order to enhance the quality of
institutions providing post-secondary education to Hispanics and increase degree
completion.
FIGURE 1: Types of Graduate Degrees Offerred at HSIs
Offer No Master's degree

Offer No Graduate Degrees

35

59 degree Only
Master's
Doctoral
1 degree only

72

Offer both M & D degrees

Geographic Location:
HSIs who offer graduate degrees (masters and doctorate) are heavily concentrated in three
states to include California (31), Texas (25), Florida (12) and Puerto Rico (35). These states
account for 77% of all HSIs who offer graduate degrees. On the other hand, the data shows
universities in Arizona, Indiana, Maryland and Oregon are not heavily populated with Latino
students.
Graduate Programs (Figure 1):
1 Data gathered from IPEDS Data Warehouse, June 2013
2 As defined in The Higher Education Act, Title V, Part A ,Section 1101

Among the 133 institutions offering graduate degrees, 60 institutions offer doctoral programs
and 131 offer masters degrees. Over half (61%) of all HSIs that offer graduate degrees are fouryear private institutions, whereas, 39% of HSIs that offer graduate degrees are public
universities.

FIGURE 2: Top 4 Graduate Degree Programs at HSIs

Count of HSIs Offering Degree Programs

Programs of Study (Figure 2):

There is an increasing demand for graduate degrees. The data illustrates the amount of HSIs
that offer the following graduate degree program areas at high rates: Business Administration
(100), Education (88), Psychology (71), and Health Professions and Related Services (60) 3. Of the
133 institutions, 101 institutions (76%) offer degrees in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Interestingly enough, four year private (49%) and four-year
public (51%) offer approximately the same amount of STEM and Business, Management,
Marketing and Related degrees at all HSIs. While there are smaller numbers of graduate degree
programs being offered in Liberal Arts, Family Consumer Sciences, and Area, Ethnic, Culture and
Gender Studies at both sectors.
Methodology:
The institutional characteristics, student enrollment completion data, and financials were selfreported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) and converted to
percentages from the counts provided. The data was disaggregated by sector (two/four year and
public/public private). The data regarding types of degrees awarded and programs of study were
gathered through individual HSIs websites. The data was disaggregated in a categorization
IPEDs created for degrees programs called Classification of Instruction Programs (CIP) Codes.
This consists of 50 categories which we used as a general domain of programs of study. The
degrees were coded into two categories: Masters (M) or doctorate degree (D). Once the
collection was complete, the programs were calculated by degree type and program of study and
then converted to a percentage.

3As defined by IPED Classification of Instruction Programs (CIP) Codes