- Timeline of women's colleges in the United States
The following is a timeline of
women's colleges in the United States . These are institutions ofhigher education in the United States whose student populations are comprised exclusively or almost exclusively ofwomen . They are often liberal arts colleges. There are approximately sixty activewomen's colleges in the U.S.Colleges are listed chronologically by the date in which they opened their doors to students. Current women's colleges are listed in bold text; coeducational or defunct schools are listed in "italics".
First and oldest
:"Main article": "Timeline of historically black women's colleges":main|Women's colleges in the United States
Many of the schools began as either schools for girls, academies (which during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the equivalent of
secondary school s), or as teaching seminaries (which during the early 19th century were forms of secularhigher education ), rather than as a chartered college. During the19th century in theUnited States , "Seminaries educated women for the only socially acceptable occupation: teaching. Only unmarried women could be teachers. Many early women's colleges began as female seminaries and were responsible for producing an important corps of educators." [ [http://www.womenscolleges.org/history/default.htm The Rise of Women's Colleges, Coeducation] ]The following is a list of "oldest" and "first" schools:
*
1742 : "Bethlehem Female Seminary", (nowMoravian College ): The first female educational institution for women; it eventually became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women and later merged with nearby schools to become the coeducational school, Moravian College.
*1772 : "Little Girls' School", (nowSalem College ): Originally established as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and finally a college. It is the oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college, and the oldest female institution in theSouthern United States .
*1818 : "Elizabeth Female Academy ": first female educational institution inMississippi ; it closed in 1843
*1833 : "Columbia Female Academy" (nowStephens College ): Originally established as an academy (high school), it later became a college. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college.
*1837 : "Mount Holyoke Female Seminary" (nowMount Holyoke College ): It is the oldest (and first) of the Seven Sisters. It is also the oldest school which was established from inception (chartered in 1836) as an institution of higher education for women (teaching seminary) that is still a women's college.
*1839 : "Georgia Female College" (nowWesleyan College ): It is the oldest (and the first) school which was established from inception (chartered in 1836) as a college for women.
*1848 : "Philadelphia School of Design for Women" (nowMoore College of Art and Design ): It is the first and only art school which is a women's college.
*1851 : "Tennessee and Alabama Female Institute" (laterMary Sharp College ): It was the first women's college to grant college degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men; the college closed due to financial hardship in 1896.
*1852 : "Young Ladies Seminary" (nowMills College ): It is the first women's college inUnited States west of theRocky Mountains
*1855 : "Elmira Female College" (nowElmira College ): It is the oldest college still in existence which (as a women's college) granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men; the college became coeducational in 1969.
*1861 : "Vassar College ": It is the first of the Seven Sisters which was established from inception as a college for women; it became coeducational in 1969.
*1867 : "Scotia Seminary" (nowBarber-Scotia College ): It was the first historically black female institution of higher education established after theAmerican Civil War and became a women's college in 1946. It became a coeducational school in 1954 and lost its accreditation in 2004.
*1881 : " Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary" (nowSpelman College ): It was the first historically black female institution of higher education to receive its collegiate charter in 1924, making it the oldest historically black women's college.
*1884 : "Industrial Institute & College", (nowMississippi University for Women ): It was the first public women's college; became coeducational in 1982 as a result of theSupreme Court 'sMississippi University for Women v. Hogan case, but maintained its original name.Timeline
*
1742 : "Bethlehem Female Seminary": Founded inGermantown and later moved toBethlehem, Pennsylvania . It received its collegiate charter in 1863 and in 1913, it became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women. In 1954, it merged with the male institution "Moravian College and Theological Seminary" and became thecoeducational school,Moravian College [ [http://www.moravian.edu/about/history.htm Moravian College history] ]
*1772 : "Little Girls' School" (nowSalem College ): Originally established as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and finally a college. It is the oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college, and the oldest female institution in theSouthern United States .1780s -1820s *
1787 : "Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphia" [http://www.jmisc.net/bib-notes/JER-1997-2.htm]
*1792 : "Litchfield Female Academy ": Founded inLitchfield, Connecticut ; it closed in 1833.
*1814 : "Louisburg Female Academy" (nowLouisburg College ): Founded in North Carolina; Louisburg Female College, founded in 1857. Later merged with Franklin Male Academy
*1814 : "Troy Female Seminary": It became the "Emma Willard School " in 1895
*1818 : "Elizabeth Female Academy ": First female educational institution inMississippi ; it closed in 1843
*1821 : "Clinton Female Seminary": Georgia. Forerunner toWesleyan College [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/clintonfemalehistmarker.htm]
*1823 : "Hartford Female Seminary ": It closed towards the later half of the19th Century
*1828 : "Ipswich Female Seminary ": It closed in1878 1830s [
Mount Holyoke College (Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in 1837]
*1831 : "LaGrange Female Academy" (nowLaGrange College ): Founded inLaGrange, Georgia , it became "LaGrange Female College" in1851 , and coeducational in1953
*1833 : "Columbia Female Academy" (nowStephens College ): Originally established as an academy (high school), it later became a college. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college
*1834 : "Wheaton Female Seminary" (nowWheaton College, Massachusetts ): Founded with the help ofMary Lyon ; Wheaton became a college in1912 and coeducational in 1987
*1835 : "Livingston Female Academy and State Normal College" (nowUniversity of West Alabama ); It became coeducational in the1950s
*1837 : "Mount Holyoke Female Seminary" (nowMount Holyoke College ): It is the oldest (and first) of the Seven Sisters. It is also the oldest school which was established from inception (chartered in 1836) as an institution of higher education for women (teaching seminary) that is still a women's college.
*1838 : "Judson Female Institute" (Judson College (Alabama) ): Founded inMarion, Alabama , it became "Judson College" in1903 and later Judson College
*1839 : "Georgia Female College" (nowWesleyan College ): It is the oldest (and the first) school which was established from inception (chartered in 1836) as a college for women.
*1839 : "Farmville Female Seminary Association" (nowLongwood University ): Founded inFarmville, Virginia ; it became coeducational in 1976.1840 s*
1840 :Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
*1842 : "Fulton Female Academy" (nowSynodical College ): Founded inFulton, Missouri , it closed in 1928
*1842 :"Valley Union Seminary" (nowHollins University ): Established inRoanoke, Virginia as a coeducational school, it became a school for women in1852 , and was renamed "Hollins Institute" in1855 , "Hollins College" in1911 , and "Hollins University" in1998
*1842 : "Augusta Female Seminary" (nowMary Baldwin College ): Founded inStaunton, Virginia , it became the "Mary Baldwin Seminary" in1895 , and the "Mary Baldwin College" in1923
*1844 :Saint Mary's College (Indiana) : Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross
*1846 : "Greensboro Female College": Charted in 1838 inGreensboro, North Carolina ; it is now the coeducational schoolGreensboro College
*1846 :" Illinois Conference Female Academy": It is now the coeducational school,MacMurray College
*1847 : " Kentucky Female Orphan School" (nowMidway College )
*1848 : "Philadelphia School of Design for Women" (nowMoore College of Art and Design ): It is the first and only art school which is a women's college
*1848 : "Chowan Baptist Female Institute"; it is now the coeducational schoolChowan University
*1848 : "Drexel University College of Medicine ": It is now, after several changes including becoming co-ed,Drexel University 's College of Medicine
*1849 : "TheOread Institute ": It closed in 1934
*1849 : "Forsyth Female Collegiate Institute": It is now coeducationalTift College 1850s [
Peace College ]
*1851 : "Christian College" (later Columbia College): It was the first women's college west of the Mississippi River to be chartered by a state legislature. [ [http://www.ccis.edu/about/history.asp Columbia College History] ]
*1851 : "Tennessee and Alabama Female Institute" (laterMary Sharp College ): It was the first women's college to grant college degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men; the college closed due to financial hardship in 1896
*1852 : "Young Ladies Seminary" (nowMills College ): It is the first women's college inUnited States west of theRocky Mountains
*1853 : "Beaver College ": It became the coeducational schoolArcadia University
*1853 :"Ohio Wesleyan Female College ": It merged withOhio Wesleyan University in1877
*1854 :Columbia College (Columbia, South Carolina)
*1854 : "Andrew Female College" (nowAndrew College ): Became coeducational in 1956
*1855 : "Elmira Female College" (nowElmira College ): It is the oldest college still in existence which (as a women's college) granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men; the college became coeducational in 1969.
*1855 : "Western Female Seminary": BecameWestern College for Women and later merged with merged withMiami University in 1974.
*1857 : "Peace Institute" (nowPeace College ): Founded inRaleigh, North Carolina
*1857 : "Charlotte Female Institute": founded inCharlotte, North Carolina ; became the coeducationalQueens University of Charlotte afterWWII 1860s *
1861 : "Vassar College ": It is the first of the Seven Sisters which was established from inception as a college for women; it became coeducational in 1969.
*1864 : "Visitation Academy": It later becameOttumwa Heights College and closed in 1980
*1866 : "Baylor Female College (originally the Female Department of Baylor University, founded in 1845)": Became the coeducational schoolUniversity of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1971.
*1867 :Cedar Crest College
*1867 : "Scotia Seminary" (nowBarber-Scotia College ): It was the first historically black female institution of higher education established after theAmerican Civil War and became a women's college in 1946. It became a coeducational school in 1954 and lost its accreditation in 2004. (historically black college)
*1868 : "Wells College ": It became coeducational in2005
*1869 : "Pennsylvania Female College": It becameChatham College in 1955
*1869 : Wilson College
*1869 : "Hamilton College (Kentucky) ": It closed in 19321870s *
1870 : "Hunter College ": became coeducational in the1950s
*1871 :Ursuline College
*1872 : "St. Mary's Institute": BecameMount Mary College in 1929
*1873 :Bennett College : Founded inGreensboro, North Carolina as a coeducational school, it became a women's college in1926
*1873 :College of Notre Dame of Maryland
*1873 : "Blue Mountain Female Institute": NowBlue Mountain College
*1873 : "Cherokee Baptist Female College": Became the coeducational schoolShorter College during the1950s
*1875 :Wellesley College : Originally charted in 1870 (Seven Sisters)
*1875 :Smith College : Originally chartered in1871 (Seven Sisters)
*1875 : "Mount Hermon Female Seminary ": Founded inClinton, Mississippi , it closed in 1924 (historically black college)
*1875 :"Mount Vernon College for Women ": Merged withGeorge Washington University in 1999
*1878 :"Georgia Baptist Female Seminary" (nowBrenau University ): Founded inGainesville, Georgia , it became "Brenau College" in1900 , and "Brenau University" in 1992
*1879 : "Harvard Annex": It was chartered asRadcliffe College by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in1894 ;Radcliffe closed in 1999 when its merger withHarvard University was complete (Seven Sisters)1880s *
1881 : "Tillotson College": Founded as acoeducational , it was a women's college from 1926-1935. It is now thecoeducational school,Huston-Tillotson University (historically black college)
*1881 : "Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary" (nowSpelman College ): It was the first historically black female institution of higher education to receive its collegiate charter in 1924, making it the oldest historically black women's college
*1883 : "Seton Hill University ": It became coeducational in 2002
*1883 : "Hartshorn Memorial College" founded inRichmond, Virginia . In 1932, it merged withVirginia Union University . [ [http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/vuu/virvu00002.document A Guide to the Hartshorn Memorial College Reunion Collection 1976-1980] ] [ [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/archweek/2007/gallery.asp?inst=12 Photos] ]
*1884 : "Industrial Institute & College", (nowMississippi University for Women ): It was the first public women's college; became coeducational in 1982 as a result of theSupreme Court 'sMississippi University for Women v. Hogan case, but maintained its original name
*1884 :Cottey College
*1885 :Bryn Mawr College (Seven Sisters)
*1885 : "The Women's College of Baltimore": Became "Goucher College " in 1910 and coeducational during the1980s
*1886 ":H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College ": Became coeducational in 2007 (merged withTulane University )
*1886 : "Mary Allen Seminary ": Founded in Crockett, Houston County,Texas . It became coeducational in 1933. [ [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/MM/kbm8_print.html Mary Allen Seminary] ]
*1887 : "Evelyn College for Women ": It was the coordinate women's college ofPrinceton University in Princeton,New Jersey ; it closed in1897
*1887 :Alverno College
*1889 :Converse College
*1889 : "Decatur Female Seminary" (nowAgnes Scott College ): Founded inDecatur, Georgia , it became the "Agnes Scott Institute" in 1890, and "Agnes Scott College" in1906
*1889 :Barnard College (Seven Sisters)
*1889 : "Georgia College & State University ": The coordinate college (Georgia Normal & Industrial College) forGeorgia Tech ; it became coeducational in 19671890s *
1890 : "Mount Saint Agnes College ": It closed in 1972
*1891 : "Pembroke College": Was the coordinate women's college forBrown University in Providence,Rhode Island ; It merged with Brown in1971
*1891 : "Randolph-Macon Women's College": It become coeducational and changed its name toRandolph College in 2007
*1891 : "North Carolina Women's College": It became the coeducational schoolUniversity of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1963
*1891 :"Baptist Female University," (nowMeredith College ): Founded inRaleigh, North Carolina , it became the "Baptist University for Women", in1891 , and "Meredith College" in1909
*Hood College : Became coeducational in 2002
*1896 : "Barber Memorial College": Founded inAnniston, Alabama , it merged with Scotia Women's College (formerly Scotia Seminary) inConcord, North Carolina in 1930 to become Barber-Scotia Junior College (historically black college)
*1897 : "Trinity College":Trinity Washington University since 2004
*1897 :Bay Path College
*1899 :Simmons College (Massachusetts)
*1899 :College of Saint Elizabeth 1900s *
1901 :Sweet Briar College
*1901 : "St. Clara's College": Became coeducational in 1970 andDominican University (Illinois) in 1997
*1903 : "Margaret Morrison Carnegie College ": It was the coordinate women's college ofCarnegie Mellon University between1903 and1973
*1903 : "Young Woman's Industrial Club": It becameSkidmore College in 1922 and coeducational in 1971
*1904 :The College of New Rochelle
*1905 :College of St. Catherine
*1907 : "College of Saint Teresa ": It closed in 1989.
*1908 :Georgian Court University
*1908 "James Madison University ": It became coeducational in 1966
*1908 : "University of Mary Washington ": Developed as a coeducational school, it became the coordinate women's college of TheUniversity of Virginia from1944 to1970 ; It returned to coeducation in 1970.
*1909 : "Lesley College ": It became coeducational in 20051910s *
1911 :Pine Manor College
*1911 : "Connecticut College ": It became coeducational in1969
*1916 :Russell Sage College
*1918 : "New Jersey College for Women": Founded as the coordinate college forRutgers University and became Douglass College in 1955; it closed in 2007 and became a residential college for Rutgers University
*1919 : "Emmanuel College, Boston :" It became coeducational in2001 1920s *
1920 : "Immaculata University ": It became coeducational in 2005
*1921 :Rosemont College
*1923 :College of Saint Mary
*1924 : "Chestnut Hill College ": It became coeducational in 2003
*1925 :Mount St. Mary's College
*1925 : "Albertus Magnus College ": It became coeducational in 1985
*1926 : "Sarah Lawrence College ": It became coeducational in1968
*1926 :Scripps College
*1927 :"Regis College ": It become coeducational in2007 1930s -1980s *
1932 : "Bennington College ": It became coeducational in1969
*1932 :Saint Joseph College (Connecticut)
*1936 : "Marymount Manhattan College ": It is currently coeducational
*1941 : "Annhurst College ": It closed in 1980
*1946 : "Mount Sacred Heart College ": It closed in 1997
*1947 : "Garland Junior College": It was absorbed into Simmons College in 1976.
*1954 :Stern College for Women
*1963 :"Pitzer College ": It became coeducational in 1970
*1982 :Women's College of the University of Denver ee also
*
Seven Sisters (colleges)
*List of current and historical women's universities and colleges in the United States
*Women's colleges in the United States
*Women's colleges in the Southern United States
*Women's College Coalition Further reading
*Creighton, Joanne V. " [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/president/14897.shtml A Tradition of Their Own: Or, If a Woman Can Now Be President of Harvard, Why Do We Still Need Women’s Colleges?] ."
*Guy-Sheftall, Beverly. "Black Women and Higher Education: Spelman and Bennett Colleges Revisited." "The Journal of Negro Education", Vol. 51, No. 3, The Impact of Black Women in Education: An Historical Overview (Summer, 1982), pp. 278-287.
*cite news | first=Elizabeth| last=Kiss| url=http://www.agnesscott.edu/news/newsDetails.aspx?Channel=%2FChannels%2FAdmissions%2FAdmissions+Content&WorkflowItemID=46ad7d9b-8645-4f7a-ba6b-0a67bfa466b2| title=Reaffirming Our Commitment to Women’s Education | publisher=Agnes Scott College | date= | accessdate=2006-10-20
* Harwarth, Irene B. " [http://www.ed.gov/pubs/WomensColleges/index.html A Closer Look at Women's Colleges] ." National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 1999.
*---, Mindi Maline and Elizabeth DeBra. " [http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/PLLI/webreprt.html Women's Colleges in the United States: History, Issues, and Challenges] : Executive Summary."U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning.
*Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research (IUCPR). " [http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/3705.html New study finds women’s colleges are better equipped to help their students] ."
* Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. " [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0870238698&id=Z3qWLyDZ8PsC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&ots=xMmu_yuuHV&dq=alma+mater&sig=N7RcPpZKbQvPM1m5ohSuIcu_KxU#PPP1,M1 Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s] ," Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993 (2nd edition).
*Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth and Nancy Gray. " [http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/wb/xp-82587 Women's colleges must be an option] ." "The Roanoke Times ", September 14, 2006.
* Rosenberg, Rosalind. " [http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/learn/documents/coeducation.htm The Limits of Access: The History Of Coeducation in America] ." In "Women and Higher Education: Essays from theMount Holyoke College Sesquicentennial Symposia." Ed. John Mack Faragher and Florence Howe. New York: Norton, 1988.
*cite news |first=Susan|last=Scrimshaw|url=http://bostonworks.boston.com/news/articles/2006/10/04/yes_to_womens_colleges/ |title=Yes to women's colleges| publisher="The Boston Globe " | date= 2006-10-04| accessdate=2006-10-14
*cite news | first= April| last=Simpson| url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/05/sisters_dont_want_a_future_in_coeducation/| title='Sisters' don't want a future in coeducation: Women's colleges see an obligation| publisher="The Boston Globe " | date=2006-11-05 | accessdate=2006-11-06
*cite news|first=Caroline|last=Whitson|url=http://www.columbiacollegesc.edu/news/2006/news_2006_thecase.asp|title=The case for women’s colleges| publisher=Columbia College | date= 2006-10-17| accessdate=2006-10-20Notes
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