Howard University, founded in 1867, is a private federally chartered historically black research university, located in Washington, D.C. It offers undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in over 120 programmes. Since its founding, the university has been nonsectarian and open to all regardless of sex and race. The university was named after General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War hero; he founded the university whilst also working as commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau. In its first five years, the university educated over 150,000 formerly enslaved people.