The gap between the matriculation rates of Hispanic undergraduate students and their graduation rates warrants a closer look, as the degree attainment of Hispanics is necessary for the nation's academic and economic health (Freeman & Martinez, 2015). Rural four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are an important piece of this puzzle as the rural Hispanic population is growing rapidly (HAC, 2012; USDA, 2005), Hispanics are more likely to attend HSIs (HACU, 2018), and four-year institutions are the gateway to professional and graduate degrees, where Hispanics continue to attain degrees at significantly lower rates than their non-Hispanic counterparts (HACU, 2018). This study uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to determine whether the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) competitive grant program, the only federal program specifically targeting increased matriculation and academic achievement, is a causal condition of increased graduation rates at rural four-year HSIs. Cross-referencing the HSID (2018) Eligibility Matrix with the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) degree of urbanization data identified the institutions and IPEDS data, HSID documents, institutional documents, and member checking and interviewing staff at the HSIs of interest yielded the data and narratives needed to develop the QCA causal conditions table. Application of the QCA process to the 16 rural four-year HSIs in the United States determined that DHSIP acquisition after 2015 is a causal condition (in the intermediate solution of the QCA process), along with being an established HSI and having management systems and support organizations (present in all three solutions). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]