Atlanta University Center

Atlanta University Center (AUC), privately operated consortium of six historically black academic institutions, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The AUC is the oldest and largest consortium of black higher education in the world, with more than 10,000 students and 700 faculty members. The AUC's member institutions offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in various fields of study.

The institution that became Atlanta University held its first class in a railroad car in 1865 and was chartered two years later. In 1929 Atlanta University, then a graduate school, developed a Memorandum of Agreement with Morehouse College (founded 1867) and Spelman College (founded 1881), both undergraduate institutions, to form the Atlanta University Center. Morris Brown College, founded in 1881 by leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, became a full partner in 1932. Clark College (founded 1869) joined the consortium in 1941, and the Interdenominational Theological Center, a federation of six Protestant seminaries, joined in 1958. Morehouse School of Medicine (founded 1974) became an independent school within Atlanta University Center and became a member of the consortium in 1982. Atlanta University and Clark College merged in 1988 to form Clark Atlanta University.

Reviewed by: Atlanta University Center