Morgan State University adds housing for 300 students after record enrollment growth

Morgan State University, Maryland’s largest historically Black college, is expanding its off-campus housing options after another year of record-breaking enrollment.

The public university in Northeast Baltimore has signed a new lease agreement for an apartment building in downtown Baltimore and expanded an existing lease in Towson to offer housing to 314 more students.

The agreements, approved by Maryland’s Board of Public Works earlier this week, will add 254 beds at One Calvert Plaza and 60 beds through the university’s expanded leasing agreement with the Altus Towson Row apartment complex.

Morgan State has recorded five consecutive years of enrollment growth. The university set an all-time enrollment record of 11,559 students for the 2025-26 academic year. The School of Graduate Studies reached a new high of just over 2,000 students, while new transfer enrollment climbed to 403, a 10% increase in a single year.

“While higher education as a whole grapples with enrollment stagnation, Morgan continues to defy national trends — expanding access, attracting exceptional talent and reaffirming our standing as a top choice for students pursuing excellence,” Morgan State President David Wilson said in a statement.

The school will pay One Calvert Plaza $3.6 million and Altus Towson Row $1 million for the expanded housing.

The university this spring conferred nearly 1,900 degrees, the most in its history and a 24% increase from last year. That includes 18% growth in undergraduate degrees, a 45% growth in master’s degrees and a 35% growth in doctorate degrees.

Expanding housing is part of Morgan State’s strategic plan, said Larry Jones, a spokesperson for the university. It’s been “ongoing for at least the last five, six, seven years,” he said.

The university has renovated many of its on-campus housing options and added two new dorms on campus in recent years.

On average, about 30% of students attending public urban universities receive housing, according to Jones. This fall at Morgan State, 46% of students will be housed by the university.

“We’re in a really unique position,” Jones said.

Morgan State is working to become the second historically Black college to earn the coveted R1 Carnegie research classification. The university is also attempting to launch a medical school, though it has hit roadblocks.

The campus continues to see a boom in applications. In 2025, Morgan State experienced a 9% surge in applications, attracting 26,516 interested students. While the majority of the school’s students come from Maryland, 51% of new students last fall hailed from outside the state.

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