PWI
Predominantly white institution
Example
I was hoping Malia would attend an HBCU, not a PWI
Related Slang
HBCU | Historically black colleges and universities |
GPA | Grade point average |
prof | Professor |
STEM | Science, technology, engineering, and math |
WASP | White Anglo-Saxon Protestant |
CRT | Critical Race Theory |
White fragility | Sensitivity of white people towards evidence of racism |
yt | Whitey |
When discussing education, PWI stands for "predominantly white institution." This designation describes colleges and universities where 50 percent or more of the current student body is White. Many of these institutions are also HWCUs (historically white colleges and universities), meaning their student body has been majority White throughout their existence.
PWIs are most often discussed in contrast to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Typically, these discussions center on how and why PWIs are predominantly White, as well as what PWIs can or should do to increase their student bodies' diversity. Some examples of prominent PWIs include Harvard, Yale, Brown, and honestly most American colleges and universities.