In the early
colonial history of the United States
The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
, higher education was designed for men only.
Since the 1800s, women's positions and opportunities in the educational sphere have increased. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, women have surpassed men in number of bachelor's degrees and master's degrees conferred annually in the United States and women have continuously been the growing majority ever since, with men comprising a continuously lower minority in earning either degree.
[National Center for Education Statistics]
Digest of Education Statistics
Retrieved 2015-02-21[Molly O'Connor]
"Mitch McConnell says more women graduate from college than men do"
''Politifact,'' July 18, 2014. Retrieved 2015-02-21 The same asymmetry has occurred with Doctorate degrees since 2005 with women being the continuously growing majority and men a continuously lower minority.
Statistics
Since the early 1970s, women have surpassed men in terms of college enrollment and graduation rates.
According to Ellen DuBois and Lynn Dumenil, they estimate that the number of bachelor and doctorate degrees from 1950–1980 for women are:
The statistics for enrollment of women in higher education in the 1930s varies depending upon the type of census performed in that year.
According to the U.S. Office of Education, the total number of enrollment for women in higher education the U.S. in 1930 was 480,802. This information was gathered by the U.S. Office of Education on a biannual basis, and reflects an estimate for the academic year (Fall 1929 - Spring 1930).
The U.S. Department of Commerce and Bureau of the Census performed a preliminary estimate for the same year (1930) of women in higher education in the U.S. The total number was 481,000 enrolled. This estimate was based on a calendar year census, in contrast to the academic year estimate performed by the U.S. Office of Education in the same year.
Surpassing equality and overrepresentation
Total undergraduate degree figures show that females outnumbered their male counterparts for the first time in the late 1970s. However, since 1981, women have steadily been outpacing men in bachelor's degrees earned, from only a 1% lead in 1980 to 33% advantage in 2015. Which means for every 100 males that graduate, 134 women do, however women have an additional privilege, "5,864 verified private scholarships, showed that there are 4 times as many scholarships specifically designated for women as opposed to those for men.".
Graph of Degree Attainment over time
History
Colonial
In
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
elementary education was widespread in New England, but limited elsewhere.
New England Puritans believed it was necessary to study the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, so boys and girls were taught to read at an early age. It was also required that each town pay for a primary school. About 10 percent enjoyed secondary schooling. Few girls attended formal schools, but most were able to get some education at home or at so-called "Dame schools" where women taught basic reading and writing skills in their own houses. By 1750, nearly 90% of New England's women and almost all of its men could read and write. There was no higher education for women.
Tax-supported schooling for girls began as early as 1767 in New England. It was optional and some towns proved reluctant. Northampton, Massachusetts, for example, was a late adopter because it had many rich families who dominated the political and social structures and they did not want to pay taxes to aid poor families. Northampton assessed taxes on all households, rather than only on those with children, and used the funds to support a grammar school to prepare boys for college. Not until after 1800 did Northampton educate girls with public money. In contrast, the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, was diverse in terms of social leadership and religion at an early point in its history. Sutton paid for its schools by means of taxes on households with children only, thereby creating an active constituency in favor of universal education for both boys and girls.
![hollischoolhouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Hollischoolhouse.jpg)
Historians point out that reading and writing were different skills in the colonial era. School taught both, but in places without schools reading was mainly taught to boys and also a few privileged girls. Men handled worldly affairs and needed to read and write. Girls only needed to read (especially religious materials). This educational disparity between reading and writing explains why the colonial women often could read, but could not write and could not sign their names—they used an "X".
Across the South, there was very little public schooling. Most parents either home schooled their children using peripatetic tutors or sent them to small local private schools. A study of women's signatures in Georgia indicates a high degree of literacy in areas with schools. In South Carolina, scores of school projects were advertised in the ''South Carolina Gazette'' beginning in 1732.
Early colonial ideology
Ideologies held by the majority of early colonial society regarding women's access to education contributed greatly to the lack of opportunity for education among these women. Seventeenth-century attitudes did not stress significant importance on women's education, as evidenced by early opinions in the New England colonies. This majority also considered their access to education as unnecessary or dangerous,
as their commonly held roles as mothers prevented society from seeing other possible abilities that would demand a need for education. The primary source of respect among these colonial New England women derived from their completion of domestic tasks, not a desire for or fulfillment of intellectual practices.
Structurally, men undoubtedly held a much greater position of power and control than women, as proves true historically. As a result of this imbalance, an inferior perspective to which women became viewed under carried over into intellectual opportunities.
Overall, their abilities were not considered level with those of their male counterparts, so no pressing need to further develop their intellect was acknowledged.
However, as samplers and penbooks show,, female children developed basic literacy. Most mothers were able to teach young children at home, and women like Anne Bradstreet and Philis Wheatley wrote published poetry. Samuel Sewall's diary references describe his children, boys and girls alike, taking turns reading Scriptures at night, and being praised equally for doing well. The 1770 diarist Anne Winslow Green wrote to tell her mother that her Aunt Deeming was quite literate, correcting her letters home; this same woman later recounted her own appeals for aid when, as a Tory during the American Revolutionary War, she tried to escape with a carriage of furniture and other belongings after the Siege of Boston was lifted. But resistance to the admission of upper levels of education persisted.
These public attitudes that did not recognize a need for women's education eventually changed. The number of advocates for women's improved access to educational institutions grew gradually. New England's town school in Farmington, Connecticut saw a push for the school to include young girls as well as boys by a minority of people in 1687, a battle which would then extend into the next few centuries.
19th century
In the first half of the 19th century, only a minority of American children, both girls and boys, spent any meaningful time in a classroom. An even smaller minority received any secondary education. For girls in particular the emphasis was on a "ladylike atmosphere" and "cultivation." In 1821,
Emma Willard
Emma Hart Willard (February 23, 1787 – April 15, 1870) was an American woman's education activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women's higher education, the Troy Female S ...
established her Female Seminary, and in a model much copied, focused young women on fitting into their "place in society." She thought the notion of female college graduates "absurd."
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...
, a graduate of Willard's Seminary, was resentful of this attitude, a formative experience that contributed to her feminist activism in later life. At the college level, a few private schools followed
Oberlin's 1833 example of enrolling women, but notably the state schools restricted admission to men.
The second half of the 19th century, on the other hand, produced relatively rapid gains for women's education in the United States. The founding of
Vassar in 1865 was followed by
Wellesley in 1875,
Smith
Smith may refer to:
People
* Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals
* Smith (given name)
* Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland
** List of people wi ...
in the same year,
Bryn Mawr in 1885,
Radcliffe
Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to:
Places
* Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan
United Kingdom
* Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town
** Radcliffe tram stop
* ...
in 1879, and
Barnard Barnard is a version of the surname Bernard, which is a French and West Germanic masculine given name and surname. The surname means as tough as a bear, Bar(Bear)+nard/hard(hardy/tough)
__NOTOC__
People
Some of the people bearing the surname Ba ...
in 1889. Such institutions were fed by a steady stream of female high school graduates, who throughout this period comprised a majority of graduates. High school enrollment trebled in the 1890s, with girls continuing to represent the lion's share. The expansion of both secondary and tertiary public education that began in 1867 and lasted until the early 20th century created greater opportunities for women. Between 1867 and 1915, 304 new colleges and universities were established, bringing the American total to 563 such institutions. On the liberal arts faculties of state colleges such as
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, women outnumbered men; indeed, the president of the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
was urging quota restrictions.
20th century
Coinciding with the beginnings of the
first wave of
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
in the 20th century came the attempt by women to gain equal rights to education in the United States. After long battles against gender oppression women finally obtained the right to be educated through several government acts/conventions, the opening of facilities willing to educate them, and the opportunity to continue into higher education.
[Wood, J T. (2009). Gendered Lives. Boston: Lyn Uhl.]
Before the education reform that occurred during the Progressive Era, boys and girls often had different course programs of study. It was not uncommon for girls to be educated towards the jobs society deemed appropriate, such as secretary, journalist, or social-service worker. The idea of a "differentiated curriculum"
between boys and girls was common throughout schools in the United States. This caused the high school education system to become a more "efficient site for the construction of gender".
During this time, there was a push to make women a better "domesticated citizen" rather than a scholar.
The voices of many women were just beginning to be heard in society as well as the education system, but there was still opposition from some as to the credibility of their words. Girls of different races and ethnicities were also entering the public school system at this time. Often, the course of scholarly study was impacted by the race of the individual.
1930s
Education was a controversial topic in the 1930s, " and sex-segregated school systems protected “the virtue of female high school students.” ." Home economics and industrial education were new elements of the high school curriculum unmistakably designed for women's occupations. These classes taught women practical skills such as sewing, cooking, and using the new domestic inventions of the era; unfortunately, this “formal training offered women little advantage in the struggle for stable work at a liveable wage.”
The 1930s also saw tremendous changes in women's education at the college level. In 1900, there were 85,338 female college students in the United States and 5,237 earned their bachelor's degrees; by 1940, there were 600,953 female college students and 77,000 earned bachelor's degrees. This increase was partially explained by the “contemporary discourse that reinforced the need for higher education for women in their positions as wives, mothers, citizens, and professionals.”
Because the proper role for a white, middle-class woman in 1930s American society was that of wife and mother, arguments in favor of women's education emphasized concepts of eugenics and citizenship. Education showed women how to exercise their civic responsibilities, and it showed them the importance of the vote. Participation in student government trained women “early to become leaders later.” One study showed that in 1935, 62 percent of women college graduates voted compared to only 50 percent of women who did not attend college.
The basic assumption in the 1930s was that women should marry. There was also the perception that college educated women were less likely to marry, either because they “waited too long” or because the college experience which broadened their minds deluded them into believing “marriage should be between equals.” Others argued college made women better wives and mothers because it “imparted practical skills.”
In addition, the 1930s marked great economic hardship in the United States with the start of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. At this point in history, a college major was expected to be a practical one. As difficult financial times neared, needing to justify college expenses became very real for women and their families. A study in 1924 that surveyed nearly sixteen-hundred woman PhD recipients concluded that seventy percent required grants, scholarships, and fellowships in order to cover the expense associated with earning a higher degree. Despite the financial support, the majority of these women were required to save money for years before pursuing their degrees because the aid was never enough. Despite these disadvantages, the 1930s marked the peak of woman PhD earners. These degrees varied in fields and began to legitimize fields for women that were once off-limits.
The "self-support" that these women engaged in to help finance their education became a widely accepted necessity. Both men and women were forced to find ways of supporting their education at this period of time. To help lessen the financial burden faced by families trying to educate their children, the
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
was created by the
United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
. Between 1935 and 1943, the NYA spent nearly 93 million dollars providing financial assistance. Despite the growing increasing opportunities for women in education, there was a constant need to justify the expense. As the number of college graduates increased, those who were displaced during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
had to compete with a younger and more-educated group of people.
The 1930s also marked the 10th anniversary of
Women's suffrage in the United States
In the 1700's to early 1800's New Jersey did allow Women the right to vote before the passing of the 19th Amendment, but in 1807 the state restricted the right to vote to "...tax-paying, white male citizens..."
Women's legal right to vote w ...
. Despite earning the right to vote, women were still largely refused any role in positions of political power that allow them to make political change for their gender. Despite growing numbers of women graduates, many were denied positions that they were qualified for in favor of men. This struggle sparked new examples of
political activism
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
and increased support for an
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
.
Areas of study
![Shimer College Home Economics cooking 1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Shimer_College_Home_Economics_cooking_1942.jpg)
Teaching and nursing were the top two fields for women throughout the 1930s, but
home economics
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
also experienced a great surge in popularity during the Depression. Home economics brought a scientific language to the traditional women's sphere of the home and raised “homemaking to the status of a respectable--though definitely female--occupation.” Social work, child development, and nursery school educational programs were also popular.
In addition to this strong vocational orientation in American education during the opening decades of the twentieth century, women began to make slow inroads into traditionally male dominated areas of education such as business, science, medicine, architecture, engineering, and law. Women were also able to gain positions of responsibility within the federal government because of the watershed events of the New Deal.
Women's colleges
Prior to the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
few colleges admitted women. Founded in 1772 as a primary school,
Salem College
Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establ ...
is the oldest female educational establishment. However, it did not award college degrees until 1890.
Some were founded as co-educational institutions; Oberlin Collegiate Institute, after 1850
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, founded in 1833, was the first college to accept both women and
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
s as students.
Other early coeducational schools included
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists.
Its missio ...
, founded as Michigan Central College in
Spring Arbor, Michigan
Spring Arbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 2,881 at the 2010 census, up from 2,188 at the 2000 census. The CDP is located withi ...
in 1844, the short-lived
New-York Central College
New York Central College, commonly called New York Central College, McGrawville, and simply Central College, was the first college in the United States founded on the principle that all qualified students were welcome. It was thus an abolitionist ...
in
McGraw, New York
McGraw is a village in Cortland County, New York, United States. The population was 972 as of the 2020 census. The village is named after Samuel McGraw and is in the eastern part of the town of Cortlandville, east of the city of Cortland.
Hi ...
(1849–1860), and
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...
, founded by noted educator
Horace Mann
Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education. In 1848, after public service as Secretary of the Massachusetts Sta ...
in 1852 in
Yellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Antioch College.
History
The area of the village had long b ...
.
Hollins University
Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...
, founded as the co-educational Valley Union Seminary in
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
, in 1842; it became all female in 1852;
A number of colleges were founded before the Civil War with all-female student bodies, including (among others, in addition to Salem):
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
of
South Hadley, Massachusetts
South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...
, founded in 1837 by
Mary Lyon
Mary Mason Lyon (; February 28, 1797 – March 5, 1849) was an American pioneer in women's education. She established the Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts, (now Wheaton College) in 1834. She then established Mount Holyoke Femal ...
as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary;
Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
History
The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...
of
Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
, founded in 1836 as Georgia Female College, and is the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women; Queens College (now Queens University) of Charlotte, North Carolina, founded in 1857 as Charlotte Female Institute; Averett College (now Averett University) of Danville, Virginia, founded in 1859 as Union women's College; and Vassar College, founded in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1861.
With the start of the war many males were in uniform so more opportunities arose for women to fill the empty space in schools and the universities became more willing to admit the women. Slowly more educational institutions opened their doors to women; today, there are 60 women's colleges in the United States offering educational programs that parallel co-educational universities both in subject matter and in quality.
Government action
In 1848 the
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman".Wellman, 2004, p. 189 Held in the Wesleyan Methodist Church ...
was held in New York to gain support for education and suffrage but it had little immediate impact. This convention is significant because it created a foundation for efforts toward equal education for women, even though it was not actually achieved until much later.
The
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or se ...
of 1862 founded universities to educate both men and women in practical fields of study, though women's courses were still centered around home economics. By 1870 30% of colleges were co-educational, later in the 1930s women-only colleges were established that expanded opportunities for courses of study to include more intellectual development as opposed to domestic instruction.
In July 1975 “
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
regulations became effective as law” (Margaret Fund of NWLC, 2012). The law provided one year for compliance to elementary schools and three years for compliance to high schools and post secondary institutions. Through the 1970s the law's enactment, opposition towards the legislation, and initial compliance for the law were the focus. According to the Margaret Fund (2012), in 1982 a court case was won upholding the nondiscriminatory acts in employment, the case title is as follows, 1982 North Haven Bd. of Ed. v. Bell, 456 U.S. 512 (1982). In 1984, the case Grove City v. Bell, 465 U.S. 555 (1984) a, “U.S. Supreme Court decision held that federal spending clause statutes only apply to those programs or activities that receive direct federal financial assistance, effectively ending Title IX applicability to athletics” (Margaret Fund of NWLC). This decision is later remedied in the late 1980s by the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. In 1988, this act was passed by Congress and reversed the damage from the Grove City v. Bell decision. The Margaret Fund (2012) states, “It over-rode the Grove City v. Bell decision by expanding the definition of program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance” (Margaret Fund of NWLC, para.5). During the 1990s three significant changes or continuations to the law were made in the course of the decade. First, a Supreme Court decision allowed an individual to sue for monetary retributions by citing the Title IX Act. Second, the disclosure act in 1994 stated that all institutions under Title IX were to report publicly on their operations, with an effective implementation date set for 1996. Third, the ORC distributed requirements to institutions and schools which are explained and outlined more clearly the regulations for Title IX. The significant events in the 2000s allow schools to use e-mail surveys, and due to a Supreme Court case in 2009, lawsuits on the basis of sexual discrimination under Title IX can be brought by parents.
Timeline
![Anandibai Joshee, Kei Okami, and Tabat M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Anandibai_Joshee%2C_Kei_Okami%2C_and_Tabat_M._Islambooly.jpg)
1727: Founded in 1727 by
the Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula,
Ursuline Academy, New Orleans, enjoys the distinction of being both the oldest continuously operating school for girls and the oldest Catholic school in the United States.
1742: Moravians in Pennsylvania established the first all-girls boarding school in America, the
Bethlehem Female Seminary to serve the Moravian community in and near Bethlehem. In 1863 it became a college. In 1913 it became
Moravian Seminary and College for Women
Moravian is the adjective form of the Czech Republic region of Moravia, and refers to people of ancestry from Moravia.
Moravian may also refer to:
* a member or adherent of the Moravian Church, one of the oldest Protestant denominations
* Moravia ...
. Historians accept Moravian as the oldest—though not continuously operational because of its current co-ed status—specifically female institute of higher learning in the United States.
1772:''
Salem Academy and Collegebegan as a school for young girls in 1772 in the Moravian town of Salem, North Carolina which had been established just six years earlier by Moravian missionaries. It is the oldest educational institution for both girls and women in the United States.
1783:
Washington College
Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...
in
Chestertown, Maryland, appointed the first women instructors at any American college. Elizabeth Callister Peale and Sarah Callister taught painting and drawing.
1803: Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts was the first higher educational institution to admit women in Massachusetts. It was founded as a co-educational institution, but became exclusively for women in 1837.
1826: The first American public high schools for girls were opened in New York and Boston.
1828: The
South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute was founded in Columbia, South Carolina.
1829: The first public examination of an American girl in geometry was held.
1831: As a private institution in 1831,
Mississippi College
Mississippi College (MC) is a private Baptist university in Clinton, Mississippi. Founded in 1826, MC is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated college or university in the United States and the oldest college or university in Mississippi.
Histor ...
became the first coeducational college in the United States to grant a degree to a woman. In December 1831 it granted degrees to two women, Alice Robinson and Catherine Hall.
Ingham University in Le Roy, New York, was the first women's college in New York State and the first chartered women's university in the United States. It was founded in 1835 as the Attica (NY) Female Seminary by Mariette and Emily E. Ingham, who moved the school to Le Roy in 1837. The school was chartered on April 6, 1852 as the Ingham Collegiate Institute, and a full university charter was granted in April 1857. After financial difficulties, the college closed in 1892 and its property was sold at auction in 1895.
Over several years, the college's former buildings were demolished; the stone from the Arts Conservatory, the last campus building to be dismantled, was used to build the Woodward Memorial Library at the same location in Le Roy.
Ingham University was the alma mater of Sarah Frances Whiting, who later founded the physics department and establish the astronomical observatory at Wellesley College.
*1836: Georgia Female College (now
Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
History
The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...
), Macon, Georgia: It is the oldest (and the first) school which was established from inception as a full college for women offering the same education as men. Awarded the first known baccalaureate degree to a woman.
1837: Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts, due to declining enrollment, became a single-sexed institution for the education of women exclusively.
1837: Mount Holyoke College, first called Mount Holyoke Seminary, was founded by Mary Lyon in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
1844:
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...
is the first woman permitted to use the
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
library
1849:
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...
, born in England, became the first woman to earn a medical degree from an American college, Geneva Medical College in New York.
1850:
Lucy Sessions earned a literary degree from Oberlin College, becoming the first African American woman in the United States to receive a college degree.
1851: The Adelphean Society, now called
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women.
Alpha Delta Pi is a mem ...
Women's Fraternity, was founded at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia and became the first secret society for women.
1855: The
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
becomes the first coeducational
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
or state university in the United States.
1858:
Mary Fellows
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
became the first woman west of the Mississippi River to receive a baccalaureate degree (from
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...
).
1862:
Mary Jane Patterson became the first African-American woman to earn a BA in 1862. She earned her degree from Oberlin College.
1863:
Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi
Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi (August 31, 1842 – June 10, 1906) was an esteemed American medical physician, teacher, scientist, writer, and suffragist. She was the first woman to study medicine at the University of Paris, and had a long career pr ...
graduated from the New York College of Pharmacy in 1863, which made her the first woman to graduate from a United States school of pharmacy.
1864:
Rebecca Crumpler became the first African-American woman to graduate from a U.S. college with a medical degree and the first and only African-American woman to obtain the Doctress of Medicine degree from New England Female Medical College in Boston, MA.
1866:
Lucy Hobbs Taylor
Lucy Hobbs Taylor (March 14, 1833 – October 3, 1910) was an American school teacher and a dentist, known for being the first woman to graduate from dental school ( Ohio College of Dental Surgery in 1866).
She was originally denied admittance ...
became the first American woman to earn a dental degree, which she earned from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery.
1866:
Sarah Jane Woodson Early
Sarah Jane Woodson Early, born Sarah Jane Woodson (November 15, 1825 – August 1907), was an American educator, black nationalist, temperance activist and author. A graduate of Oberlin College, where she majored in classics, she was hired at W ...
became the first African-American woman to serve as a professor. Xenia, Ohio's Wilberforce University hired her to teach Latin and English in 1866.
1869:
Fanny Jackson Coppin
Fanny Jackson Coppin (October 15, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an American educator, missionary and lifelong advocate for female higher education. One of the first Black alumnae of Oberlin College, she served as principal of the Institute for C ...
was named principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, becoming the first African-American woman to head an institution for higher learning in the United States.
1870:
Ada Kepley
Ada Harriet Miser Kepley (February 11, 1847 – June 13, 1925) was the first American woman to graduate from law school. She graduated in 1870 with a law degree, from what is today Northwestern University School of Law. At that time, she was pro ...
became the first American woman to earn a law degree, from Northwestern School of Law.
1870:
Ellen Swallow Richards
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (December 3, 1842 – March 30, 1911) was an American industrial and safety engineer, environmental chemist, and university faculty member in the United States during the 19th century. Her pioneering work in ...
became the first American woman to earn a degree in chemistry, which she earned from
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
in 1870.
1871:
Frances Elizabeth Willard
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an Americans, American educator, Temperance movement, temperance reformer, and women's suffrage, women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Wom ...
became the first female college president in the United States, as president of Evanston College for Ladies in Illinois.
1871:
Harriette Cooke became the first woman college professor in the United States appointed full professor with a salary equal to her male peers.
1871: Japanese women are allowed to study in the USA (though not yet in Japan itself).
1873:
Linda Richards
Linda Richards (July 27, 1841 – April 16, 1930) was the first professionally trained American nurse. She established nursing training programs in the United States and Japan, and created the first system for keeping individual medical recor ...
became the first American woman to earn a degree in nursing.
1877:
Helen Magill White
Helen Magill White (November 28, 1853 – October 28, 1944) was an American academic and instructor. She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States.
Early life and education
Helen Magill was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Edwa ...
became the first American woman to earn a Ph.D., which she earned at Boston University in the subject of Greek.
1878:
Mary L. Page became the first American woman to earn a degree in architecture, which she earned from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
1879:
Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first African-American in the U.S. to earn a diploma in nursing, which she earned from the School of Nursing, New England Hospital for Woman and Children in Boston.
1881: American Association of University Women founded.
1883:
Susan Hayhurst
Susan Hayhurst (December 25, 1820 – August 7, 1909) was an American physician, pharmacist, and educator, and the first woman to receive a pharmacy degree in the United States.
Biography
Susan Hayhurst was born in Middletown Township, Bucks Coun ...
became the first woman to receive a pharmacy degree in the United States, which she received from the
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...
.
1886:
Winifred Edgerton Merrill
Winifred Edgerton (September 24, 1862 – September 6, 1951) was born in Ripon, Wisconsin. She was the first woman to receive a degree from Columbia University and the first United States, American woman to receive a PhD in mathematics.Kell ...
became the first American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics, which she earned from Columbia University.
1889:
Maria Louise Baldwin became the first African-American female principal in Massachusetts and the Northeast, supervising white faculty and a predominantly white student body at the Agassiz Grammar School in Cambridge.
1889:
Susan La Flesche Picotte became the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree, which she earned from
Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) was founded in 1850, and was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. The New England Female Medical College had been established ...
.
1890:
Ida Gray
Ida Gray (also known as Ida Gray Nelson and Ida Rollins; March 4, 1867 – May 3, 1953) was the first African-American woman to become a dentist in the United States.
At a very young age she became an orphan when her parents died. Later in her ...
became the first African-American woman to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree, which she earned from the University of Michigan.
1892:
Laura Eisenhuth became the first woman elected to state office as Superintendent of Public Instruction.
1894:
Margaret Floy Washburn
Margaret Floy Washburn (July 25, 1871 – October 29, 1939), leading American psychologist in the early 20th century, was best known for her experimental work in animal behavior and motor theory development. She was the first woman to be grante ...
became the first woman to be officially awarded the PhD degree in psychology, which she earned at Cornell University under
E. B. Titchener.
Late 1800s, exact date unknown:
Anandibai Joshi
Dr. Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine. She was the first woman from the erstwhile Bombay presidency of India to study and graduate with a two-year degree in west ...
from India,
Keiko Okami from Japan, and
Sabat Islambouli from Syria became the first women from their respective countries (and in Joshi's case the first Hindu woman) to get a degree in western medicine, which they each got from the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), where they were all students in 1885.
1900:
Otelia Cromwell became the first African-American woman to graduate from
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
in Northampton, Massachusetts.
1903:
Mignon Nicholson
''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Goethe's 1795-96 novel ''Wilhelm ...
became the first woman in North America to earn a veterinary degree, which she earned from
McKillip Veterinary College in Chicago, Illinois.
1904:
Helen Keller graduated from Radcliffe, becoming the first
deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
1905:
Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, born in England, became the first woman to earn a degree in any type of engineering in the United States, which she earned from Cornell University. It was a degree in civil engineering.
1908:
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...
sorority, the first African-American Greek letter organization for woman, was founded at Howard University.
1909:
Ella Flagg Young
Ella Flagg Young (January 15, 1845 – October 26, 1918) was an American educator who served as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. She was the first female head of a large United States city school system. She also served as the first fem ...
became the first female superintendent of a large city school system.
1915:
Lillian Gilbreth earned a PhD in
industrial psychology
Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...
from Brown University, which was the first degree ever granted in industrial psychology. Her dissertation was titled "Some Aspects of Eliminating Waste in Teaching".
1917:
Sigma Delta Tau
Sigma Delta Tau () is an American sorority and member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Sigma Delta Tau was founded on March 25, 1917 at Cornell University by Jewish women. However, there is no religious requirement for membership to the ...
sorority, a Jewish women's Greek letter organization was founded at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in response to antisemitism.
1918:
The College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
admitted 24 women to the entering undergraduate class.
1921:
Sadie Tanner Mossell became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the U.S. when she earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
1922:
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875–1 ...
sorority was founded. It was the fourth African-American Greek letter organization for women, and the first African-American sorority established on a predominantly white campus, Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1922:
Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, which she earned in education.
1923:
Virginia Proctor Powell Florence
Virginia Proctor Powell Florence (October 1, 1897 – April 3, 1991) was a trailblazer in both African-American history and the history of librarianship. In 1923 she became the first black woman in the United States to earn a degree in library sci ...
became the first African-American woman to earn a degree in library science. She earned the degree in 1923 from the Carnegie Library School, which later became part of the University of Pittsburgh.
1925:
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...
became the first African-American woman to be admitted to Barnard college.
1926: Dr.
May Edward Chinn
May Edward Chinn (April 15, 1896 - December 1, 1980) was an African-American woman physician. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, now NYU School of Medicine, and the first African-American ...
became the first African-American woman to graduate from the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College.
1929:
Jenny Rosenthal Bramley
Jenny Rosenthal Bramley (July 31, 1909 – May 26, 1997) was a Russian-born American physicist. She holds numerous patents on Electroluminescence and Electro-optics and is cited by the IEEE as being "well known for her innovative work in lasers. ...
, born in Moscow, became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics in the United States, which she earned from New York University.
1931:
Jane Matilda Bolin
Jane Matilda Bolin (April 11, 1908 – January 8, 2007) was an American attorney and judge. She was the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, the first to join the New York City Bar Association and the first to join the New York Ci ...
was the first African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School.
1932:
Dorothy B. Porter became the first African-American woman to earn an advanced degree in library science (MLS) from Columbia University.
1933:
Inez Beverly Prosser
Inez Beverly Prosser (c. 1895 - September 5, 1934) was a psychologist, teacher and school administrator. She is often regarded as the first African-American female to receive a Ph.D in psychology. Her work was very influential in the hallmark '' ...
became the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in psychology, which she earned from the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
.
1934:
Ruth Winifred Howard became the second African-American woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in psychology, which she earned from the University of Minnesota.
1935:
Jesse Jarue Mark
Jesse Jarue Mark (1906-1971) was one of the first African-Americans to gain a PhD in botany, and likely to be the first at Iowa State University, where he joined the faculty. He was also a Rockefeller Agriculture Fellow.
Early life
Jesse Jarue ...
became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in botany, which she earned at Iowa State University.
1936:
Flemmie Kittrell became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition, which she earned at Cornell University.
1937:
Anna Johnson Julian became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.
1940:
Roger Arliner Young
Roger Arliner Young (1899 – November 9, 1964) was an American scientist of zoology, biology, and marine biology. She was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate degree in zoology.
Early years
Born in Clifton Forge, Virgi ...
became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in zoology, which she earned from the University of Pennsylvania.
Marion Thompson Wright became the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in History, which she earned at Columbia University.
1941:
Ruth Lloyd became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in anatomy, which she earned from Western Reserve University.
1941:
Merze Tate became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in government and international relations from Harvard University.
1942:
Margurite Thomas became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in geology, which she earned from Catholic University.
1943:
Euphemia Haynes became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics, which she earned from Catholic University.
1945:
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
admitted women for the first time.
1947:
Marie Maynard Daly
Marie Maynard Daly (April 16, 1921October 28, 2003) was an American biochemist. She was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University and the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. ...
became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry, which she earned from Columbia University.
1949:
Joanne Simpson
Joanne Simpson (formerly Joanne Malkus, born Joanne Gerould; March 23, 1923 – March 4, 2010) was the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, which she received in 1949 from the University of Chicago.Atlas D and Lemone ...
(formerly Joanne Malkus, born Joanne Gerould) was the first woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
, which she received in 1949 from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
.
[Atlas D and Lemone MA (2011) ''Joanne Simpson'', Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, 15, 368-375.]
1951:
Maryly Van Leer Peck
Maryly Van Leer Peck (June 29, 1930 – November 3, 2011) was an American academic and college administrator. She founded the Community Career College at the University of Guam (which merged into Guam Community College in November 1977). She ...
, became
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
's first chemical engineer graduate. Peck also became the first woman to receive an M.S. and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
.
1952:
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
's president
Blake R. Van Leer
Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (August 16, 1893 – January 23, 1956) was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956.
Early life and education
Van Leer was ...
admitted the first women to the school and his wife
Ella Wall Van Leer
Ella Lillian Wall Van Leer (''née'' Ella Lillian Wall; November 11, 1892 – August 8, 1986) was an American artist and architect, women's rights activist, and the first woman to serve in an office of the American Legion in California. She wa ...
setup support groups for future female engineers.
[
1962: Martha Bernal, who was born in Texas, became the first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology, which she earned in clinical psychology from Indiana University Bloomington.
1963: ]Grace Alele-Williams
Grace Alele-Williams (16 December 1932 – 25 March 2022) was a Nigerian professor of mathematics education, who made history as the first Nigerian woman to receive a doctorate, and the first Nigerian female vice-chancellor at the University ...
became the first Nigerian woman to earn any doctorate when she earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Chicago.
1965: Sister Mary Kenneth Keller (1914? – 1985) became the first American woman to earn a PhD in Computer Science, which she earned at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her thesis was titled "Inductive Inference on Computer Generated Patterns."
1972: Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
was passed, making discrimination against any person based on their sex in any federally funded educational program(s) in America illegal.
1972: Willie Hobbs Moore became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Physics, which she earned from the University of Michigan.
1975: In 1975, Lorene Rogers
Lorene Lane Rogers (April 3, 1914 – January 11, 2009) was an American biochemist and educator who served as the 21st President of the University of Texas at Austin. She has been described as the first woman in the United States to lead a m ...
became the first woman named president of a major research university, The University of Texas.
1975: On July 1, 1975, Jeanne Sinkford
Jeanne Craig Sinkford (born 1933) is an American dentist and academic administrator. She was the first female dean of an American dental school. She is a senior scholar in residence at the American Dental Education Association and a professor and d ...
became the first female dean of a dental school when she was appointed the dean of Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, School of Dentistry.
1976: U.S. service academies (US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, US Air Force Academy and the US Coast Guard Academy) first admitted women in 1976.
1977: The American Association of Dental Schools (founded in 1923 and renamed the American Dental Education Association
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is a non-profit organization that works to further the education of dental professionals and the advancement of academic dental programs in Canada and the United States. Founded in 1923 as the Amer ...
in 2000) had Nancy Goorey as its first female president in 1977.
1977–1978: For the first time, more associate degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States. More associate degrees have been conferred on women every year since.
1979: Christine Economides became the first American woman to earn a PhD in petroleum engineering, which she earned from Stanford University.
1979: Jenny Patrick
Jane Hamilton Patrick, born Jenny Hamilton Patrick (1884–1971), was a Scottish anarchist of some standing, and played a crucial role in a number of radical organisations.
Patrick was a printer and typesetter by trade. She became active in ...
became the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, which she earned from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
1980: Women and men were enrolled in American colleges in equal numbers for the first time.
1981–1982: For the first time, more bachelor's degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States. More bachelor's degrees have been conferred on women every year since.
1982: ''Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan
''Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan'', 458 U.S. 718 (1982), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, decided 5–4, which ruled that the single-sex admissions policy of the Mississippi University for Women viol ...
'', 458 U.S. 718 (1982) was a case decided 5–4 by the Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. The court held that the single-sex admissions policy of the Mississippi University for Women
Mississippi University for Women (MUW or "The W") is a coeducational public university in Columbus, Mississippi. It was formerly named the Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls and later the Mississippi State College ...
violated the Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and ...
.
1982: Judith Hauptman
Judith Rebecca Hauptman (born 1943) is an American feminist Talmudic scholar.
Biography
She grew up in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, United States.
Hauptman received a degree in Talmud from the Seminary College of Jewish S ...
earned her PhD in Talmudic studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York, thus making her the first woman to earn a PhD in Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
.
1983: Christine Darden
Christine Darden (born September 10, 1942, as Christine Mann) is an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted much of her 40-year career in aerodynamics at NASA to researching supersonic flight and sonic booms. S ...
became the first African-American woman in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering, which she earned from George Washington University.
1984: The U.S. Supreme Court's 1984 ruling ''Grove City College v. Bell
''Grove City College v. Bell'', 465 U.S. 555 (1984), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that Title IX, which applies only to colleges and universities that receive federal funds, could be applied to a private school that refu ...
''["The Oyez Project, Grove City College v. Bell"](_blank)
465 U.S. 555 (1984) held that Title IX applied only to those programs receiving direct federal aid.["Title IX."](_blank)
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 19 Nov. 2009 The case reached the Supreme Court when Grove City College
Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-professional ...
disagreed with the Department of Education's assertion that it was required to comply with Title IX. Grove City College was not a federally funded institution; however, they did accept students who were receiving Basic Educational Opportunity Grants through a Department of Education program. The Department of Education's stance was that, because some of its students were receiving federal grants, the school was receiving federal assistance and Title IX applied to it. The Court decided that since Grove City College was only receiving federal funding through the grant program, only that program had to be in compliance. The ruling was a major victory for those opposed to Title IX, as it made many institutions' sports programs outside of the rule of Title IX and, thus, reduced the scope of Title IX.[Suggs, Welsh. ''A Place on the Team.'' Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press, 2005.]
1986–1987: For the first time, more master's degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States. More master's degrees have been conferred on women every year since.
1987: Johnnetta Cole
Johnnetta Betsch Cole (born October 19, 1936) is an American anthropologist, educator, museum director, and college president. Cole was the first female African-American president of Spelman College, a historically black college, serving from 198 ...
became the first African-American president of Spelman College
Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...
.
1988: The Civil Rights Restoration Act was passed in 1988 which extended Title IX coverage to all programs of any educational institution that receives any federal assistance, both direct and indirect.["Legislative History of Title IX"](_blank)
National Organization for Women. June 27, 2007.
1994: Judith Rodin
Judith Rodin (born Judith Seitz, September 9, 1944) is a philanthropist with a long history in U.S. higher education. She was the president of the Rockefeller Foundation from 2005 until 2017. From 1994 to 2004, Rodin served as the 7th permanent p ...
became the first permanent female president of an Ivy League University (specifically, the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
.)
1994: In 1994, the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, sponsored by congresswoman Cardiss Collins
Cardiss Hortense Collins (; September 24, 1931 – February 3, 2013) was an American politician from Illinois who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the fourth Afric ...
, required federally assisted higher education institutions to disclose information on roster sizes for men's and women's teams, as well as budgets for recruiting, scholarships, coaches' salaries, and other expenses, annually.["Landmark Title IX Cases in History"](_blank)
Gender Equity in Sport. February 23, 2006.
1996: ''United States v. Virginia
''United States v. Virginia'', 518 U.S. 515 (1996), is a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the long-standing male-only admission policy of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in a 7–1 decision. Justice ...
'', , was a landmark case
Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...
in which the Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
struck down the Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
(VMI)'s long-standing male-only admission policy in a 7–1 decision. (Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...
, whose son was enrolled at VMI at the time, recused
Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applica ...
himself.)
2001: Ruth Simmons
Ruth Simmons (born Ruth Jean Stubblefield, July 3, 1945) is an American professor and academic administrator. She is president of Prairie View A&M University, a historically black university.
Simmons previously served as the 18th president of Br ...
became the eighteenth president of Brown University, which made her the first African-American woman to lead an Ivy League institution.
2004–2005: For the first time, more doctoral degrees are conferred on women than men in the United States. More doctoral degrees have been conferred on women every year since. As of 2011, among adults 25 and older, 10.6 million U.S. women have master's degrees or higher, compared to 10.5 million men. Measured by shares, about 10.2 percent of women have advanced degrees compared to 10.9 percent of men—a gap steadily narrowing in recent years. Women still trail men in professional subcategories such as business, science and engineering, but when it comes to finishing college, roughly 20.1 million women have bachelor's degrees, compared to nearly 18.7 million men—a gap of more than 1.4 million that has remained steady in recent years.
2006: On November 24, 2006, the Title IX regulations were amended to provide greater flexibility in the operation of single-sex classes or extracurricular activities at the primary or secondary school level.
See also
* Women's colleges in the United States
Women's colleges in the United States are private single-sex U.S. institutions of higher education that only admit female students. They are often liberal arts colleges. There were approximately 28 active women's colleges in the United States i ...
** 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 of higher education in the United States whose student population comprises exclusively, or almost exclusively, women. They are often liberal arts col ...
* List of girls' schools in the United States
Here are lists of Single-sex education, schools which only admit girls, or which only admit girls in certain grade levels, or which separate students by gender, in the United States
Arizona
* Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona
* Spring Ridge Acad ...
* Educational Inequality
Educational inequality is the unequal distribution of academic resources, including but not limited to; school funding, qualified and experienced teachers, books, and technologies, to socially excluded communities. These communities tend to be his ...
* Education in the United States
Education in the United States is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and sup ...
* Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
* History of education in the United States
The history of education in the United States covers the trends in educational formal and informal learning in America from the 17th century to the early 21st century.
Colonial era
New England
The first American schools in the thirteen origi ...
* Female seminary
A female seminary is a private educational institution for women, popular especially in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when opportunities in educational institutions for women were scarce. The movement was a sign ...
References
Further reading
* Eisenmann, Linda. ''Historical Dictionary of Women's Education in the United States'' (1998
online
* Gordon, Lynn D. ''Gender and Higher Education in the Progressive Era'' (1990).
* Hine, Darlene Clark, ed. ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'' (2 vols. 1993).
* Hobbs, Catherine, ed. ''Nineteenth-Century Women Learn to Write'' (1995).
* Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. ''Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s'' (1984).
* Kornbluh, Joyce, and Mary Frederickson, eds. ''Sisterhood and Solidarity: Workers' Education for Women, 1914–1984'' (1984).
* Lasser, Carol, ed. ''Educating Men and Women Together: Coeducation in a Changing World'' (1987).
* Murphy, Marjorie. ''Blackboard Unions: The AFT and the NEA, 1900–1980'' (1990).
* Oates, Mary J., ed. ''Higher Education for Catholic Women: An Historical Anthology'' (Garland, 1987).
* Rury, John L. ''Education and Women's Work: Female Schooling and the Division of Labor in Urban America, 1870–1930'' (1991).
* Sicherman, Barbara, and Carol Hurd Green, eds. ''Notable American Women: The Modern Period'' (4 vol. Belknap Press, 1980).
* Solomon, Barbara Miller. ''In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America'' (1985).
* Walch, Timothy. ''Parish School: American Catholic Parochial Education from Colonial Times to the Present'' (1996).
* Woody, Thomas. ''A History of Women's Education in the United States'' (2 vols. 1929)(.
* Wyman, Andrea. ''Rural Women Teachers in the United States: A Sourcebook'' (Scarecrow Press, 1996).
Historiography
* Eisenmann, Linda. “Reconsidering a Classic: Assessing the History of Women's Higher Education a Dozen Years after Barbara Solomon.” ''Harvard Educational Review,'' 67 (Winter 1997): 689–717.
* Nash, Margaret A. "The historiography of education for girls and women in the United States." in William J Reese, William J. and John J. Rury, eds.''Rethinking the History of American Education'' (2008) pp 143–159.
excerpt
* McClelland, Averil Evans. ''The education of women in the United States: A guide to theory, teaching, and research'' (Routledge, 2014).
* Seller, Maxine Schwartz, ed. ''Women Educators in the United States, 1820–1993: A BioBibliographic Sourcebook'' (Greenwood Press, 1994).
External links
''Los Angeles Herald,'' March 16, 1900—editorial arguing against employment of married teachers in Los Angeles, California
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Women In Education
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
History of women in the United States