There are 16 currently operating colleges and universities based in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. This figure includes one

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

, five master's universities, an

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-second ...

, a law school, and a number of associate's and

baccalaureate college The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adv ...

s. Three institutions chartered in other states offer degree programs at locations in Vermont. The state's flagship public university is the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

. The other four public institutions are organized as the

Vermont State Colleges The Vermont State Colleges System (VSCS) is the system of public colleges in the U.S. state of Vermont. It was created by act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1961. There are presently four colleges in the VSCS consortium, they are: Castleto ...

system. The title of "oldest college in Vermont" is shared by three institutions. Middlebury College was chartered in 1800 and is Vermont's oldest operating college and the first institution to grant an academic degree (1802).

Castleton University Castleton University is a public university in Castleton, Vermont. It has an enrollment of 2000 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate programs, as well as master's degrees in education and accounting. It is accredited by the New England ...

has its roots in successive institutions dating to 1787. The

was chartered in 1791 but did not begin instruction until 1800 or grant a degree until 1804. Vermont's newest college not formed from existing institutions is Landmark College, founded in 1984 to serve students with

learning disabilities Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

; it is also the most expensive college in the United States. The state's colleges range in size from the University of Vermont, with 13,548 students, down to SIT Graduate Institute, with 77 students, a graduate school based on

experiential education Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experientia ...

. All of these schools are

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and other ...

Institutions

Out-of-state institutions

Out-of-state schools offering degree programs in Vermont must be approved by the

Vermont State Board of Education The Vermont State Board of Education supervises, and manages the Department of Education and the public school system. The board makes regulations governing attendance and records of attendance of all pupils; standards for student performance, ad ...

, with input from the Vermont Higher Education Council, whose members include all the colleges and universities in Vermont. Several such programs are in operation: *

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with national accreditation for some hospita ...

's School of Education offers graduate programs at a campus in Colchester. * Springfield College offers a

human services Human services is an interdisciplinary field of study with the objective of meeting human needs through an applied knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall qua ...

degree program in St. Johnsbury.

Unaccredited institutions

Two institutions are authorized by the state to offer degrees, but have not been recognized by an accrediting body: * The

Center for Cartoon Studies The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is a two-year institution focusing on sequential art, specifically comics and graphic novelsWhite River Junction offers a Masters of Fine Arts program. * Northeastern Baptist College in Bennington offers bachelor's degrees.

Defunct institutions

References and notes

;General * ;Specific

External links

Consortium of Vermont CollegesDepartment of Education listing of accredited institutions in Vermont
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