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 colleges. There are approximately 35 active women's colleges in the U.S. as of 2021.

The colleges are listed by the date when they opened to students.

First and oldest

Many of the schools began as either school for girls, academies (which during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the equivalent of secondary schools), or as a teaching seminary (which during the early 19th century were forms of secular higher education), rather than as a chartered college. During the 19th century in the United 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."

The following is a list of "oldest" and "first" schools, by the date that they opened for students:
*1727: Ursuline Academy is the oldest Catholic school and the oldest school for women in the United States. It now provides primary and secondary education for girls.
*1742: Bethlehem Female Seminary, (now Moravian University) was the second girls' school, after Ursuline Academy. It became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women in 1807 and later merged with nearby schools to become the coeducational Moravian College in 1952.
*1772: Salem College, North Carolina was formed as the Little Girls' School by the Moravian Single Sisters and then renamed as the Salem Female Academy. It is the oldest women's educational institution to be in continuous operation.
*1787: Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphia was the first government-recognized institution established for women's higher education in the United States.
*1803: Bradford Academy (later renamed Bradford College) was the first academy in Massachusetts to admit women. The first graduating class had 37 women and 14 men. It closed in 2000.
*1818: Elizabeth Female Academy was the first female educational institution in Mississippi. It closed in 1843.
*1821: Clinton Female Seminary was established in Clinton, Georgia. It merged into Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia) which was granted a charter by the Georgia General Assembly in 1836 that specifically designated the college's purpose as a degree-granting institution of higher learning for the exclusive benefit of female students. It opened in 1839 and awarded the first-known baccalaureate degree to a woman in 1840.
*1832: The Linden Wood School for Girls (now Lindenwood University) was the first institution of higher education for women west of the Mississippi River. It became coeducational in 1970.
*1833: Columbia Female Academy (now Stephens College) was originally established as an academy for both high school and college-aged women. It later became a four-year college. It is the second-oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college.
*1837: St. Mary's Hall (now Doane Academy) was originally established as a female seminary by George Washington Doane, Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Jersey. It was the first academic school founded on church principles in the United States. It is now a pre-kindergarten through grade 12 coeducational day school.
*1837: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) is the first and oldest of the Seven Sisters. It was chartered in 1836 and is the oldest school established from inception as an institution of higher education for women (teaching seminary) that is still in operation as a women's college.
*1838: Judson College for Women was in Marion, Alabama. It was intended as an institute of higher learning from its inception. It was the fifth-oldest women's college in the U.S. when it announced its closure in 2021.
*1842: Valley Union Seminary (now Hollins University) is the oldest chartered women's college in Virginia.
*1844: Saint Mary's College (Indiana) was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. It was the first women's college in the Great Lakes region. It was founded in southern Michigan and moved to its current location in Notre Dame, Indiana in 1855.
*1845: Baylor Female College was chartered by the Republic of Texas. It is now the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas.
*1845: Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina was the third private college and first women's college in South Carolina. It became fully coeducational in 1970. The college closed due to financial uncertainty and low student enrollment in 2025.
*1848: Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design) is the first and only women's college established for the study of visual arts and design in the United States.
*1850: Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now part of Drexel University) trained and graduated the first female physicians in the country and the first black female physicians.
*1851: Cherokee Female Seminary was the first institute of higher learning exclusively for women west of the Mississippi River. Along with the Cherokee Male Seminary, it was the first college created by a tribe instead of the U.S. federal government.
*1851: Auburndale Female Seminary (now Lasell College) was a private institution founded by Edward Lasell. It became the first "successful and persistent" junior college in the U.S. and the first junior college for women. It began offering four-year bachelor's degrees in 1989 and became coeducational in 1997.
*1851: Tennessee and Alabama Female Institute (later Mary Sharp College) 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.
*1851: College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame de Namur University) was the first women's college in California and the first in the state authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees to women. The university is now coeducational. It became a graduate school in 2021.
*1852: Young Ladies Seminary (now Mills College at Northeastern University).
*1853: Beaver Female Seminary (now Arcadia University) started in Beaver, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. It admitted boys for a short time at the turn of the 20th century before returning to an all-women's school. By 1907, its name had changed to Beaver College. It moved to its current location in Glenside, Pennsylvania in 1962. In the fall of 1972, the college became coeducational. It changed its name in July 2001, becoming Arcadia University.
*1853: Mt. Carroll Seminary (now Shimer College) was a women's seminary started by Frances Shimer. It became coeducational in 1950.
*1854: Columbia Female College (now Columbia College) is located in Columbia, South Carolina. It survived the march of General Sherman and three campus fires. Its day program is still all-female, but its evening program is coeducational.
*1855: Davenport Female College (later Davenport College) was founded in Lenoir, North Carolina. It merged with Greensboro College in 1938.
*1855: Elmira Female College (now Elmira College) 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 is one of the Seven Sisters and was established from its inception as a college for women. It became coeducational in 1969.
*1867: Cedar Crest College was established in 1867 in the basement of a church. It is now one of the top modern female colleges.
*1867: Scotia Seminary (now Barber-Scotia College): It was the first historically black female institution of higher education established after the American Civil War and became a women's college in 1946. It became a coeducational school in 1954 and lost its accreditation in 2004.
*1868: Wells College is located in Aurora, New York. It went coed in 2005, and closed in 2024.
*1869: Chatham University is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was established as Pennsylvania Female College and was renamed Pennsylvania College for Women in 1890, and Chatham College in 1955. Chatham gained University status in 2007.
*1870: Wilson College is located in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It was chartered in March 1869 and began instruction in October 1970. It became coeducational in 2014.
*1871: Ursuline College was established by the Sisters of Ursuline as a college for women in Cleveland, Ohio. Ursuline College is still a women-focused institution with less than 10% men in attendance.
*1875: Wellesley College was chartered in 1870 and opened in 1875 as a college for women. It is one of the Seven Sisters and remains a college for women.
*1875: Smith College was chartered in 1871 and opened in 1875 as a college for women. It is one of the Seven Sisters and remains a college for women.
*1878: Georgia Baptist Female Seminary (now the Brenau University Women's College) was founded in Gainesville, Georgia. Despite its name, the college was never formally associated with any church or religious group. It became Brenau College in 1900 and Brenau University in 1992. The university still boasts its robust Women's College on its historic Gainesville campus.
*1881: Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary (now Spelman College) 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 (now Mississippi University for Women) was the first public women's college. It became coeducational in 1982 as a result of the Supreme Court's Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan case, but maintained its original name.
*1884: Vernon Seminary (now Cottey College) was founded by Virginia Alice Cottey in Nevada, Missouri. The college's ownership was transferred to the P.E.O. Sisterhood in 1927.
*1885: Bryn Mawr College is one of the Seven Sisters and was established as a college for women. The college's mission was to offer women rigorous intellectual training and the chance to do original research, a European-style program that was then available only at a few elite institutions for men. The college established undergraduate and graduate programs widely viewed as models of academic excellence in the humanities and the sciences, elevating standards for higher education nationwide.
*1893: the Woman's College of Frederick (now Hood College) was established when the Potomac Synod purchased the building and equipment from the failing Frederick Female Seminary in Frederick, Maryland to move the women's department from Mercersburg College in Pennsylvania to a spot below the Mason-Dixon Line.
*1895: College of Notre Dame of Maryland (now Notre Dame of Maryland University) was the first Catholic women's college in the U.S. to offer a four-year baccalaureate degree.

Timeline

Colonial-era schools

*1727: Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, Louisiana is the oldest Catholic school and the oldest school for women in the United States. It now provides primary and secondary education for girls.
*1742: Bethlehem Female Seminary was founded in Germantown and later moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It received its collegiate charter in 1863. It became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women in 1913. In 1954, it merged with the male institution Moravian College and Theological Seminary and became the coeducational school, Moravian College
*1772: Little Girls' School (now Salem College) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was 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 the Southern United States.

1780s–1820s

*1787: Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphiabr>
was the first government-recognized institution established for women's higher education in the United States.
*1792: Mrs. Rowson's Academy for Young Ladies was in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. Prolific writer and actress Susanna Rowson founded this progressive school for middle-class young women.
*1792: Litchfield Female Academy, Litchfield, CT: Sarah Pierce founded the school and developed its curriculum. It closed in 1833.
*1803: Bradford Academy (now Bradford College) in Bradford, Massachusetts was formed as a coeducational secondary school. It became a college-level women's institution in 1836 and became coeducational again in 1972.
*1814: Louisburg Female Academy (now Louisburg College) was founded in Louisburg, North Carolina. It became the Louisburg Female College in 1857. It merged with Franklin Male Academy to form Louisburg College.
*1814: Nazareth Academy (now Spalding University) was founded near Bardstown, Kentucky. It was given degree-granting authority in 1829. It opened its current Louisville campus in 1920; all instruction moved to Louisville in 1971. It became coeducational in 1973.
*1814: Middlebury Female Seminary (now Troy Female Seminary) was founded by Emma Willard in Middlebury, Vermont. It moved to Troy, New York, and was renamed Troy Female Seminary. It became the Emma Willard School in 1895. It is now a primary and secondary school.
*1818: Elizabeth Female Academy was the first female educational institution in Mississippi. It closed in 1843.
*1821: Clinton Female Seminary was a public institution in Clinton, Georgia. It was the forerunner to Georgia Female College in Macon, Georgia, now Wesleyan College.
*1822: Gummere Academy in Burlington, New Jersey was founded by Quaker Samuel Gummere. He sold the school to George Washington Doane, founder of St. Mary's Hall.
*1822: Athens Female Academy (now Athens State University) was established in Athens, Alabama.
*1823: Hartford Female Seminary was located in Hartford, Connecticut. It closed towards the later half of the 19th century
*1827: The Linden Wood School for Girls (now Lindenwood University) was formed in St. Charles, Missouri. It became coeducational in 1969.
*1828: Ipswich Female Seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts was founded by two female educators, Zilpah Grant and Mary Lyon. It was the first women's seminary in the nation to be endowed and to offer its graduates diplomas. It closed in 1876.

1830s

*1831: LaGrange Female Academy (now LaGrange College) was founded in LaGrange, Georgia. It became LaGrange Female College in 1851 and coeducational in 1953
*1833: Columbia Female Academy (now Stephens College) was 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: Green River Female Academy was founded in Todd County, Kentucky as an all-female preparatory school. It became coeducational in 1861. It is located in the late 19th century.
*1834: Wheaton Female Seminary (now Wheaton College, Massachusetts) was founded with the help of Mary Lyon. Wheaton became a college in 1912 and coeducational in 1987
*1835: Livingston Female Academy and State Normal College (now University of West Alabama) was established in Livingston, Alabama. It became coeducational in the 1950s
*1836: Holly Springs Female Institute was in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It was destroyed by the Union Army in 1864.
*1836: Washington Female Seminary was in Washington, Pennsylvania. It closed in 1948
*1836: Wesleyan College was chartered as the Georgia Female College on December 23, 1836. It's the world's oldest operating women's college.
*1837: St. Mary's Hall (now Doane Academy) was originally established as a female seminary by George Washington Doane, the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Jersey. It was the first academic school for women in the United States founded on church principles.
*1837: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is the oldest (and first) of the Seven Sisters
*1837: Sharon Female College was a church college in Sharon, Mississippi. It closed in 1873.
*1837: Female Collegiate Institute was founded in Georgetown, Kentucky. It moved to Millersburg, Kentucky in 1848 and was renamed Millersburg Female College in 1862. In 1931, it incorporated into Millersburg Military Institute, now defunct
*1838: Judson Female Institute (Judson College (Alabama)) was founded in Marion, Alabama. It became Judson College in 1903.
*1839: Farmville Female Seminary Association (now Longwood University) was founded in Farmville, Virginia. It became coeducational in 1976.

1840s

*1841: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College was founded as an academy for young women in 1841 by a French nun, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. It is the nation's oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women. In 1846, it was granted the first charter for the higher education of women in the state of Indiana. It conferred its first Bachelor of Arts degree in 1899. It became fully coeducational in 2015.
*1841: Academy of the Sacred Heart (now Manhattanville University) was founded in New York City. It became coeducational in August 1971.
*1842: Fulton Female Academy (later Fulton Female Synodical College) was founded in Fulton, Missouri. It closed in 1928
*1842: Valley Union Seminary (now Hollins University) was established in Roanoke, Virginia as a coeducational school; it became a school for women in 1852. It was renamed Hollins Institute in 1855, Hollins College in 1911, and Hollins University in 1998.
*1842: Augusta Female Seminary (now Mary Baldwin University) was founded in Staunton, Virginia. It became the Mary Baldwin Seminary in 1895, Mary Baldwin College in 1923, and Mary Baldwin University in 2016. While the school has had a coeducational adult degree program since 1977 and later added coeducational graduate degree programs, its traditional Residential College, was not open to men until 2017. Its Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership cadet corps remains women-only.
*1843: Memphis Conference Female Institute (later Lambuth University) became coeducational in 1923. It closed in 2011; the former Lambuth campus now houses a branch campus of the University of Memphis.
*1843: Port Gibson Female College in Port Gibson, Mississippi closed in 1908
*1844: Saint Mary's College (Indiana) was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. In the mid-1950s, it became the first college in the U.S. to grant advanced degrees in theology to women.
*1845: Baylor Female Department (now University of Mary Hardin–Baylor) was established alongside Baylor University and obtained separate charter in 1866. It moved to Belton, Texas in 1886. Later names were Baylor Female College, Baylor College for Women, Mary Hardin-Baylor College, and finally the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor.
*1845: Limestone Springs Female High School (now Limestone University) was founded in Gaffney, South Carolina. It began accepting non-residential male students in the 1920s and became fully coeducational in the late 1960s.
*1846: Greensboro Female College (now Greensboro College) was charted in 1838 in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is now a coeducational school.
*1846: Illinois Conference Female Academy was founded in Jacksonville, Illinois. In 1969, it merged with the MacMurray College for Men, forming the coeducational school MacMurray College. It closed in May 2020.
*1847: Kentucky Female Orphan School (now Midway University) was the only women's college in Kentucky until 2016 when it began admitting male undergraduate students.
*1847: Academy of Mount Saint Vincent (now University of Mount Saint Vincent) was founded by the Sisters of Charity of New York. It moved from Manhattan to its current Riverdale, Bronx site in 1850. It became a degree-granting, four-year liberal arts college in 1911. It became coeducational in 1974.
*1848: Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design) is the first and only art school which is a women's college.
*1848: Chowan Baptist Female Institute (now Chowan University

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