LIST OF CURRENT AND HISTORICAL WOMEN'S UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES

The following is a series of lists of 'women's colleges in the United States'. These are institutions of of higher education in the United States whose student populations are comprised exclusively or almost exclusively of women. They are often liberal arts colleges. There are approximately sixty active women's colleges in the U.S.
Colleges are listed both alphabetically (in templates) as well as by region. Current women's colleges are listed in 'bold' text. Colleges that are closing or transitioning to coeducation are listed in ''italics''. Former women's colleges which are now coeducational are listed in plain text.

Background

Education for girls and women was initially provided for in the 18th Century by Moravian settlements in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Moravian College, founded in 1742 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was originally called the ''Bethlehem Female Seminary''. It began to grant undergraduate degrees in 1863 and became the ''Moravian Seminary and College for Women'' in 1913. In 1954, it combined with the boys school, ''Moravian College and Theological Seminary'' and became coeducational.[1] The Moravians of Winston-Salem, North Carolina (then Salem, North Carolina) began what is now Salem College in 1772.
Institutions of higher education for women, however, were primarily founded during the early 19th century, many as teaching seminaries. As noted by the Women's College Coalition:
:The formal education of girls and women began in the middle of the nineteenth century and was intimately tied to the conception that society had of the appropriate role for women to assume in life. Republican education prepared girls for their future role as wives and mothers and taught religion, singing, dancing and literature. Academic education prepared girls for their role as community leaders and social benefactors and had some elements of the education offered boys. 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. ^[1]
Irene Harwarth, Mindi Maline, and Elizabeth DeBra further note that, "women's colleges were founded during the mid- and late-19th century in response to a need for advanced education for women at a time when they were not admitted to most institutions of higher education."^[2] Early proponents of education for women were Sarah Pierce (Litchfield Female Academy, 1792); Catharine Beecher (Hartford Female Seminary, 1823); Zilpah P. Grant Banister (Ipswich Female Seminary, 1828); and Mary Lyon. Lyon was involved in the development of both Hartford Female Seminary and Ipswich Female Seminary. She was also involved in the creation of ''Wheaton Female Seminary'' (now Wheaton College, Massachusetts) in 1834. In 1837, Lyon founded ''Mount Holyoke Female Seminary'' (Mount Holyoke College), the "first of the Seven Sisters."^[3] Harwarth, Maline, and DeBra note that, "Mount Holyoke’s significance is that it became a model for a multitude of other women’s colleges throughout the country."^[4]. Both Vassar College and Wellesley College were patterned after Mount Holyoke. ^[5] Wesleyan College was the first college chartered for women, receiving its charter in 1836. Vassar was the first of the Seven Sisters to be chartered as a college in 1861.
While there were a few coeducational colleges (such as Oberlin College founded in 1833, Antioch College in 1853, and Bates College in 1855), most colleges and universities of high standing at that time were exclusively for men. The first coordinate college, H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, (with Tulane University), was founded in 1896. It was followed a year later by Evelyn College for Women, the coordinate college for Princeton University. Other notable coordinate colleges included Douglass (with Rutgers University), Pembroke (with Brown University) and Radcliffe College (with Harvard University).

Current Discussion

Although by design they market only to half the population, women's colleges often fare well in their category rankings in ''U.S. News and World Report's yearly rankings.
A 1999 Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame alumna, Mary Beth Ellis, offered a candid and lampooning assessment of life at a modern womens' college in her 2006 college memoir, ''Drink to the Lasses''.

Alphabetical lists by type

Alphabetical lists by state

Alabama

★ 'Judson College', Marion

★ University of West Alabama - founded in 1835 as Livingston Female Academy and State Normal College,

California

★ 'Mills College', Oakland

★ 'Mount St. Mary's College', Los Angeles

★ San Diego College for Women, San Diego (closed 1972)

★ 'Scripps College', Claremont

Colorado

★ 'Women's College of the University of Denver' - founded in 1982 when ''Colorado Women's College'' was acquired by the University of Denver. [2]

Connecticut

★ Albertus Magnus College, New Haven (co-ed since 1985)

★ Annhurst College, South Woodstock (closed in 1980)

★ Connecticut College, New London (co-ed since 1969)

★ Diocesan Sisters College, Bloomfield (closed in 1969)

★ Hartford Female Seminary - founded in 1823, it closed towards the later half of the 19th Century.

★ Hartford College for Women, Hartford (a college of the University of Hartford; closed in 2003)

★ Litchfield Female Academy - founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce. It closed in 1833.

★ Mount Sacred Heart College, Hamden (closed in 1997)

★ 'Saint Joseph College', West Hartford

District of Columbia

★ Mount Vernon College for Women, Georgetown (closed in 1999; campus now part of George Washington University)

★ 'Trinity Washington University', Washington (undergraduate college remains women-only)

★ Washington College of Law at American University, Tenleytown (although female-serving and originally women-only, first admitted males in 1897)

Florida

★ Florida State University, Tallahassee (continuously co-ed since 1947)

Georgia

★ 'Agnes Scott College', Decatur

★ Americus Female College, Americus (closed in 1879)

★ Andrew College, Cuthbert (co-ed since 1956)

★ Bethel Female College, Cuthbert (closed in 1875)

★ 'Brenau University', Gainesville

★ Cox College, LaGrange (closed in 1934)

★ Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville (co-ed since 1967)

★ Houston Female College, Perry (closed in 1896)

★ LaGrange College, LaGrange (co-ed since 1953)

★ Madison Collegiate Institute and Methodist Female College, Madison (closed in 1880)

★ Shorter College, Rome (co-ed since 1950s)

★ 'Spelman College', Atlanta

★ Tift College, Forsyth (merged with Mercer University in 1986)

★ Valdosta State University, Valdosta (co-ed since 1950)

★ 'Wesleyan College', Macon

Illinois

★ Dominican University (Illinois) - founded in 1901 as St. Clara's College by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. It relocated to what is now River Forest, IL and became Rosary College in 1922. It became coeducational in 1970 and in 1997 became Dominican University

★ 'Lexington College', Chicago

★ MacMurray College, Jacksonville (fully co-ed institution since 1969; a separate men's college had been formed in 1955)

★ Mundelein College, Chicago (closed in 1991; now a part of Loyola University Chicago)

Indiana

★ 'Saint Mary's College', Notre Dame

★ 'Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College'

Iowa

★ Ottumwa Heights College, Ottumwa (closed in 1980)

Kansas

★ University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth (co-ed since 1988)

Massachusetts

★ Aquinas College, Milton and Newton (closed in 1999)

★ 'Bay Path College', Longmeadow

★ Boston Female Medical School, Boston (closed 1874)

★ Cardinal Cushing College, Brookline (closed in 1972)

★ Emmanuel College, Boston (co-ed since 2001)

★ Ipswich Female Seminary - founded in 1828, it closed in 1878.

★ Jackson College for Women, Medford (coordinate college of Tufts University; merged with School of Arts & Sciences in 1980)

★ Lesley College, Cambridge (a college of Lesley University; co-ed since 2005)

★ 'Mount Holyoke College', South Hadley (one of the Seven Sisters)

★ New England School of Law, Boston (co-ed since 1938)

★ Newton College of the Sacred Heart, Newton Centre (merged with Boston College in 1974)

★ Oread Institute, Worcester (closed in 1934)

★ 'Pine Manor College', Chestnut Hill

★ Radcliffe College, Cambridge (one of the Seven Sisters; closed in 1999 and now an institute within Harvard University)

★ Regis College, Weston (coed since 2007)

★ 'Simmons College', Boston

★ 'Smith College', Northampton (one of the Seven Sisters)

★ 'Wellesley College', Wellesley (one of the Seven Sisters)

★ Wheaton College (co-ed since 1987)

Minnesota

★ 'College of Saint Benedict', Collegeville

★ 'College of St. Catherine', Saint Paul

★ College of Saint Teresa, Winona (closed in 1989)

Mississippi

★ 'Blue Mountain College', Blue Mountain

★ Mississippi University for Women, Columbus (co-ed since 1982)

★ Mount Hermon Female Seminary - founded in 1875, it closed in 1924

Missouri

★ 'Cottey College', Nevada

★ Hardin College and Conservatory of Music, Mexico (closed in 1931)

★ Marillac College, St. Louis (closed in 1974)

★ 'Stephens College', Columbia

★ Synodical College, Fulton (closed in 1928)

Nebraska

★ 'College of Saint Mary', Omaha

New Hampshire

★ Mount Saint Mary's College, Hooksett (closed in 1978)

★ Pierce College for Women, Concord (closed in 1972)

New Jersey

★ 'Assumption College for Sisters', Mendham

★ 'College of Saint Elizabeth', Morristown

★ Douglass Residential College (Rutgers University), Newark, New Jersey

★ Englewood Cliffs College, Englewood Cliffs (closed in 1974)

★ Evelyn College for Women, Princeton University, Princeton (closed in 1897)

★ 'Georgian Court University', Lakewood

New York

★ Barleywood Female University, Rochester (closed in 1953)

★ 'Barnard College', Manhattan (one of the Seven Sisters)

★ Briarcliff College, Briarcliff Manor (closed in 1977)

★ Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, New York (co-ed since 1982)

★ 'The College of New Rochelle', New Rochelle

★ Elmira College, Elmira (co-ed since 1969)

★ Finch College, Manhattan (closed in 1975)

★ Keuka College. Keuka Park (co-ed since 1985)

★ Kirkland College, Clinton (closed in 1978)

★ Hunter College, Manhattan (fully co-ed since 1964)

★ Ingham University, LeRoy (closed in 1892)

★ Marymount Manhattan College, Manhattan, is currently coed.

★ ''Marymount College'', Tarrytown (a college of Fordham University)(closing)

★ New York Medical College for Women, Manhattan (closed in 1918)

★ Notre Dame College, Staten Island (merged with St. John's University in 1971)

★ 'Russell Sage College', Troy

★ Sarah Lawrence College, Yonkers (co-ed since 1969)

★ Skidmore College - founded in 1903 as Young Woman's Industrial Club, in 1911 became Skidmore School of the Arts, in 1922 established as Skidmore College; it became coeducational in 1971

★ 'Stern College for Women', Manhattan (a college of Yeshiva University)

★ Trocaire College, Buffalo (co-ed since 1972)

★ Vassar College, Poughkeepsie (one of the Seven Sisters; co-ed since 1969)

★ Wells College, Aurora (co-ed since 2005)

★ 'William Smith College', Geneva (a college of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges)

North Carolina

★ 'Bennett College', Greensboro

★ Chowan College, Murfreesboro (co-ed since 1931)

★ Greensboro College - Greensboro, North Carolina, founded as ''Greensboro Female College''. It was chartered in 1838 and opened its doors in 1846.

★ Louisburg College - Louisburg Female Academy, North Carolina, founded in 1814; Louisburg Female College, found in 1857. Later merged with Franklin Male Academy.

★ 'Meredith College', Raleigh

★ 'Peace College', Raleigh

★ 'Salem College', Winston-Salem

★ University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro (co-ed since 1963)

Ohio

★ Edgecliff College (Our Lady of Cincinnati), Cincinnati, Ohio (now part of Xavier University (Cincinnati) in 1980)

★ Lake Erie College, Painesville (co-ed since 1986)

★ Notre Dame College, South Euclid (co-ed since 2001)

★ Ohio Dominican University, Columbus (co-ed since 1964)

★ Ohio Wesleyan Female College, Delaware (closed in 1877; now part of Ohio Wesleyan University)

★ 'Ursuline College', Pepper Pike

★ Western College for Women, Oxford (closed in 1974; now part of Miami University)

★ Cincinnati Wesleyan Female Seminary

Pennsylvania

★ Beaver College, Glenside (now Arcadia University and co-ed)

★ 'Bryn Mawr College', Bryn Mawr (one of the Seven Sisters)

★ Carlow University, Pittsburgh (co-ed since 1945, though still women-serving)

★ 'Cedar Crest College', Allentown

★ 'Chatham College', Pittsburgh (graduate school is co-ed)

★ Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia (co-ed since 2003)

★ Immaculata University, Malvern (co-ed since 2005)

★ Moravian College, founded in 1742 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Originally called the ''Bethlehem Female Seminary'', the college began to grant undergraduate degrees in 1863 and became ''Moravian Seminary and College for Women'' in 1913. In 1954, it combined with the boys school, ''Moravian College and Theological Seminary'' and became coeducational.

★ 'Salem College' founded in 1772 in Winston Salem, North Carolina as a girls academy. In 1802, it became a boarding school for girls and young women; in 1866, it was renamed Salem Female Academy.

★ 'Moore College of Art and Design', Philadelphia

★ 'Rosemont College', Rosemont

★ Seton Hill University, Greensburg (co-ed since 2002)

★ Susquehanna Female College, Susquehanna (closed in 1872)

★ 'Wilson College', Chambersburg

★ Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (co-ed since 1970, now the Drexel University's College of Medicine)

Rhode Island

★ Pembroke College, Brown University, Providence (closed in 1971)

South Carolina

★ 'Columbia College', Columbia

★ 'Converse College', Spartanburg

Tennessee

★ Newman College for Women, Jefferson City (merged into Carson-Newman College in 1888)

★ Soule College for Women, Murfreesboro (closed in 1855)

★ Tennessee College for Women, Murfreesboro (merged with Cumberland University in 1946)

★ Ward-Belmont College, Nashville (closed in 1950)

Texas

★ Carr-Burdette College, Sherman (closed in 1929)

★ Texas Woman's University, Denton, Dallas and Houston (co-ed since 1972)

Utah

★ College of Saint Mary-of-the-Wasatch, Salt Lake City (closed in 1969)

Vermont

★ Bennington College, Bennington (co-ed since 1969)

★ Trinity College of Vermont, Burlington (closed in 2000; campus purchased by the University of Vermont)

Virginia

★ Elizabeth College, Salem (closed in 1922)

★ 'Hollins University', Roanoke

★ James Madison University, Harrisonburg (co-ed since 1966)

★ Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia (co-ed since 1976)

★ Marion College, Marion, Virginia (closed in 1967; alumnae adopted by Roanoke College, a sister Lutheran college)

★ 'Mary Baldwin College', Staunton, which includes the 'Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership'

★ Radford University, Radford (co-ed since 1972)

★ Randolph College, Lynchburg (co-ed since 2007)

★ Stratford College, Danville (closed in 1974)

★ 'Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar

★ University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg (co-ed since 1970)

★ 'Westhampton College', Richmond (a college of the University of Richmond)

Wisconsin

★ 'Alverno College', Milwaukee

★ Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee (closed in 1964)

★ 'Mount Mary College', Milwaukee

★ Silver Lake College, Manitowoc (co-ed since 1969)

★ Viterbo University, La Crosse (co-ed since 1970)

References

★ Creighton, Joanne V. ''A Tradition of Their Own: Or, If a Woman Can Now Be President of Harvard, Why Do We Still Need Women’s Colleges?.''

★ Harwarth, Irene B. "A Closer Look at Women's Colleges." National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 1999.

★ ---, Mindi Maline and Elizabeth DeBra. "Women's Colleges in the United States: History, Issues, and Challenges: Executive Summary." U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning.

★ Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research (IUCPR). "New study finds women’s colleges are better equipped to help their students."

★ Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. ''Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s,'' Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993 (2nd edition).

★ Rosenberg, Rosalind. "The Limits of Access: The History Of Coeducation in America." In ''Women and Higher Education: Essays from the Mount Holyoke College Sesquicentennial Symposia.'' Ed. John Mack Faragher and Florence Howe. New York: Norton, 1988.

External links

★ Lists of Women's Colleges in the United States and Canada - Women's College Coalition

★ ''In Virginia, three elite women's colleges reinvent themselves and find a new mission in a coed world'' - 06 November 2006 ''Newsweek'' article on Sweet Briar College, Hollins University, and Mary Baldwin College

★ ''New study finds women’s colleges are better equipped to help their students'' - Indiana University

★ ''Drink to the Lasses'', women's college memoir

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