The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is a collaboration between four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in southwest Atlanta, Georgia: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. It is the only contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The consortium structure allows for students to cross-register at the other institutions in order to attain a broader collegiate experience. They also share the Robert W. Woodruff Library, a dual degree engineering program, and career planning and placement services and the AUC Data Science Initiative.

The Atlanta University Center (AUC) was created in April 1929, when John Hope, then president of both Morehouse College and the former Atlanta University saw the potential gains from such a consortium. Atlanta, Morehouse and Spelman signed the affiliation agreement and became the original members of the AUC. Clark College and Morris Brown College joined in 1957, followed by the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in 1959. Morehouse School of Medicine (which became independent from Morehouse College) joined the AUC in 1983. Morris Brown ended its affiliation with AUC when the school lost its accreditation in December 2002.

The Atlanta University Center has undergone several administrative and governance changes since its inception. In 2004, the business operating as AUC, Inc. was dissolved. A new corporation, known as the AUC Consortium, Inc., was established in its place and Marilyn Jackson became the first female CEO and executive director, with fiduciary responsibilities. In 2011, the current executive director, Dr. Sherry Turner, was selected to expand the Consortium's community revitalization efforts.

To be eligible for membership in the AUC Consortium, a college or university must be regionally accredited, maintain tax-exempt status, and pay a membership assessment. Morris Brown College was a member of the AUC Consortium until it lost its accreditation and federal funding in 2002 during the 1998–2002 tenure of Dr. Dolores E. Cross as school president.

The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is eligible for membership in AUC Consortium, but is not currently a member. However, the ITC is a member of the library sharing consortium of Robert W. Woodruff Library, which is part of the AUC Consortium.

The AUC campuses are located in the Atlanta University Center District, near Downtown Atlanta and immediately southwest of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art and Clark Atlanta University Museum of Art are the two designated art museums in the AUC.

Olive Branch is a long-standing tradition where new first-year students from Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman gather for an official AUC unity ceremony and celebration every August before the beginning of the fall semester.^{[citation needed]}