Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) are U.S colleges and universities that enroll a high percentage of minority students. Because minority populations have experienced disproportionate barriers to higher education, the federal government provides financial support through various titles of the Higher Education Act. MSIs include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as well as colleges and universities with high enrollments of Native Americans, Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders, and Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.

In 2012, The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) achieved designation from the Department of Education as a Title III & Title V Minority Serving Institution (MSI).  In 2015, UNLV achieved designations as an Asian-American and Native-American, Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), and as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).

Qualification for these designations requires that institutions meet specific primary indicators that include diversity of the student body by race and ethnicity and students qualifying for federal assistance under Federal Pell Grant, Federal College Work Study, Federal Perkins Loan or Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.

UNLV is now competing for grants under Title III & Title V of the Higher Education Act. To be competitive, we must be able to show institutional commitment and support for these student populations