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.

Colleges are listed by the date in which they opened their doors to students.

First and oldest

Many of the schools began as either schools for girls, academies (which during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the equivalent of secondary 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:

*1742: Bethlehem Female Seminary, (now Moravian College): established as a seminary for girls, it eventually became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women and later merged with nearby schools to become the coeducational school, Moravian College.
*1772: Salem College, North Carolina: 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.
*1803: Bradford Academy (later renamed Bradford College) – First Academy in Massachusetts to admit women. The first graduating class had 37 women and 14 men.
*1818: Elizabeth Female Academy: first female educational institution in Mississippi; it closed in 1843
*1821: Clinton Female Seminary in Clinton, Georgia; later merged to become Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College in Macon) chartered in 1836; the first college charted from its inception as a full college for women.
*1827: The Linden Wood School for Girls (now Lindenwood University): is the first institution of higher education for women west of the Mississippi River.
*1833: Columbia Female Academy (now Stephens College): 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.
*1836: Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College), 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: St. Mary's Hall (now Doane Academy): Originally established as a female seminary by George Washington Doane 2nd Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Jersey. First academic school founded on church principles in the United States. Now a PK-12 Co-educational day school.
*1837: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College): It is the oldest (and first) of the Seven Sisters. It is also the oldest school which was established from inception (chartered in 1836) as an institution of higher education for women (teaching seminary) that is still a women's college.
*1838: Judson College for Women, Marion, Alabama. It was also intended as an institute of higher learning from inception. When it announced its closure in 2021, it was the fifth oldest women's college.
*1842: Valley Union Seminary (now Hollins University): It is the oldest chartered women's college in Virginia.
*1844: Saint Mary's College (Indiana): Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The first women's college in the Great Lakes region (founded in southern Michigan, and moved to its present site in Notre Dame, Indiana in 1855).
*1845: Baylor Female College, now the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, Texas. Chartered by the Republic of Texas.
*1845: Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina. Limestone was the third private college in South Carolina and the first women's college, which it remained until becoming fully coeducational in the 1960s.
*1848: Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design): It is the first and only art school which is a women's college.
*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: It is the first institute of higher learning exclusively for women the United States west of the Mississippi River. Along with the Cherokee Male Seminary, this was the first college created by a tribe instead of the US federal government.
*1851: Auburndale Female Seminary (now Lasell College): A private institution founded by Edward Lasell, becomes the first "successful and persistent" junior college in the United States, 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): It was the first women's college to grant college degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men; the college closed due to financial hardship in 1896.
*1851: "College of Notre Dame" (now Notre Dame de Namur University): This was the first women's college in California and the first in the state authorized to grant the baccalaureate degree to women. The university is now coed.
*1852: Young Ladies Seminary (now Mills College): It is the first women's college in United States west of the Rocky Mountains
*1853: Mt. Carroll Seminary (now Shimer College): A women's seminary started by Frances Shimer, became coeducational in 1950.
*1854: Columbia Female College (now Columbia College): Located Columbia, South Carolina. The college has survived the march of General Sherman and 3 campus fires. Georgia O'Keeffe taught for a year before she created her own artistic way. The college's day program is still all-female, but its evening program is coed.
*1855: Davenport Female College (later Davenport College): Founded in Lenoir, North Carolina. Merged with Greensboro College in 193
Davenport College history
*1855: Elmira Female College (now Elmira College): It is the oldest college still in existence which (as a women's college) granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men; the college became coeducational in 1969.
*1861: Vassar College: One of the Seven Sisters which was established from inception as a college for women; it became coeducational in 1969
Student Right to Know Information
*1867: Cedar Crest College: Established in 1867 in the basement of a church, it now is 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 coeducational school in 1954 and lost its accreditation in 2004.
*1868: Wells College: Located in Aurora, N.Y. Went coed in 2005.
*1869: Wilson College: Located in Chambersburg, PA. Chartered in March 1869 and began instruction in October 1970. It became coeducational in 2014.
*1869: Chatham University: Located in Pittsburgh, PA. Established as Pennsylvania Female College, renamed Pennsylvania College for Women in 1890 and to Chatham College in 1955. Chatham gained University status in 2007.
*1870: Wellesley College chartered; opened in 1875. One of the Seven Sisters which was established from inception as a college for women and remains such to this day.
*1871: Smith College chartered; opened in 1875. One of the Seven Sisters which was established from inception as a college for women and remains such to this day.
*1871: Ursuline College was established from inception as a college for women in Cleveland, Ohio by the Sisters of Ursuline. The Sisters of Ursuline had come to Cleveland from France and were granted a charter by the state of Ohio. Ursuline College is still a women's focused institution of higher education with less than 10% men in attendance. Known as the 2nd best college for Nursing in the state of Ohio and is nationally recognized for its BSN, MSN & PDN programs.
*1878: Georgia Baptist Female Seminary (now the Brenau University Women's College): Despite its name, the college was never formally associated with any church or religious group. Founded in Gainesville, Georgia, 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 today, educating women to be, as its motto states, "as gold refined by fire."
*
*1881: Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary (now Spelman College): It was the first historically black female institution of higher education to receive its collegiate charter in 1924, making it the oldest historically black women's college.
*1884: Industrial Institute & College, (now Mississippi University for Women): It was the first public women's college; 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 was transferred ownership to the P.E.O. Sisterhood in 1927.
*1885: Bryn Mawr College founded. One of the Seven Sisters which was established from inception as a college for women and remains such to this day. The college's mission was to offer women rigorous intellectual training and the chance to do to 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 that were widely viewed as models of academic excellence in both the humanities and the sciences, programs that elevated standards for higher education nationwide.
*1893: the Woman's College of Frederick (now Hood College): The Potomac Synod purchased the building and equipment from the failing Frederick Female Seminary (in Frederick, MD) 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): First Catholic women's college in the United States to offer the four-year baccalaureate degree.

Timeline

Colonial-era schools

*1742: Bethlehem Female Seminary: Founded in Germantown and later moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It received its collegiate charter in 1863 and in 1913, it became the Moravian Seminary and College for Women. In 1954, it merged with the male institution Moravian College and Theological Seminary and became the coeducational school, Moravian College
*1772: Little Girls' School (now Salem College), Winston-Salem, North Carolina: 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>
*1792: Mrs. Rowson's Academy for Young Ladies, Boston, MA: 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), Bradford, MA: Formed as a coeducational secondary school, it became a college-level women's institution in 1836; it became coeducational again in 1972.
*1814: Louisburg Female Academy (now Louisburg College): Founded in North Carolina; Louisburg Female College, founded in 1857. Later merged with Franklin Male Academy
*1814: Nazareth Academy (now Spalding University): Founded near Bardstown, Kentucky; given degree-granting authority in 1829. Opened its current Louisville campus in 1920; all instruction moved to Louisville in 1971. Became coeducational in 1973.
*1814: Troy Female Seminary, Troy, NY: It became the Emma Willard School in 1895
*1818: Elizabeth Female Academy: First female educational institution in Mississippi; it closed in 1843
*1821: Clinton Female Seminary: Georgia. Forerunner to Wesleyan Collegebr>GeorgiaInfo - Carl Vinson Institute of Government
*1822: Gummere Academy, Burlington, NJ: Founded by Quaker Sammuel Gummere who then sold the school to George Washington Doane who then founded St. Mary's Hall.
*1822: Athens Female Academy (now Athens State University), Athens, Alabama.
*1823: Hartford Female Seminary, Hartford, CT: It closed towards the later half of the 19th century
*1827: The Linden Wood School for Girls (now Lindenwood University), St. Charles, Missouri: became coeducational in 1969.
*1828: Ipswich Female Seminary, Ipswich, MA: 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): Founded in LaGrange, Georgia, it became LaGrange Female College in 1851, and coeducational in 1953
*1833: Columbia Female Academy (now Stephens College): Originally established as an academy (high school), it later became a college. It is the second oldest female educational establishment that is still a women's college
*1834: Green River Female Academy: founded in Todd County, Kentucky was an all-female preparatory school until 1861 when it became co-educational; the building is now restored and run as a museum by th
Green River Academy Preservation Society
*1834: Wheaton Female Seminary (now Wheaton College, Massachusetts): 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); it became coeducational in the 1950s
*1836: Holly Springs Female Institute, Holly Springs, MS: Destroyed by the Union Army in 1864.
*1836: Washington Female Seminary: closed in 1948
*1836: Wesleyan College: Chartered as the Georgia Female College on December 23, 1836, Wesleyan is the world's oldest women's college. Still a women's college
*1837: St. Mary's Hall (now Doane Academy): Originally established as a female seminary by George Washington Doane, the 2nd Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Jersey. First academic school for women in the United States founded on church principles.
*1837: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College): It is the oldest (and first) of the Seven Sisters
*1837: Sharon Female College: closed in 1873.
*1837: Female Collegiate Institute founded in Georgetown, Kentucky; moved to Millersburg in 1848 and in 1862 renamed Millersburg Female College; in 1931 incorporated into Millersburg Military Institute, now defunct
*1838: Judson Female Institute ( Judson College (Alabama)): Founded in Marion, Alabama, it became Judson College in 1903 and later Judson College
*1839: Farmville Female Seminary Association (now Longwood University): Founded in Farmville, Virginia; it became coeducational in 1976.

1840s

*1841: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College: The college was founded as an academy for young women in 1841 by a French nun, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is the nation's oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women. In 1846, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College was granted the first charter for the higher education of women in the state of Indiana. SMWC conferred its first bachelor of arts degree in 1899. The College's campus program remains an all-female institute. However, SMWC became fully co-educational in 2015.
*1841: Academy of the Sacred Heart (now Manhattanville College) founded in New York City
*1842: Fulton Female Academy (now Synodical College): Founded in Fulton, Missouri, it closed in 1928
*1842: Valley Union Seminary (now Hollins University): Established in Roanoke, Virginia as a coeducational school, it became a school for women in 1852, and was renamed Hollins Institute in 1855, Hollins College in 1911, and Hollins University in 1998
*1842: Augusta Female Seminary (now Mary Baldwin University): 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 undergraduate college for traditional students, the Residential College, was not open to men until 2017. The Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership (VWIL) cadet corps at Mary Baldwin, as its name states, remains women-only.
*1843: Memphis Conference Female Institute (later Lambuth University): Became coeducational in 1923. Closed in 2011; the former Lambuth campus now houses a branch campus of the University of Memphis.
*1843: Port Gibson Female College: closed in 1908
*1844: Saint Mary's College (Indiana): Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. In the mid-1950s, it became the first college in the United States to grant advanced degrees in theology to women.
*1845: Baylor Female Department (established alongside Baylor University as the Female Department. Obtained separate charter in 1866, moved to Belton, TX 1886. Later names were Baylor Female College, Baylor College for Women, Mary Hardin-Baylor College, and now known as University of Mary Hardin–Baylor.
*1845: Limestone Springs Female High School (now Limestone University): Founded in Gaffney, South Carolina, it began accepting a few male students in the 1920s (who did not live on campus) and became fully coeducational in the late 1960s.
*1846: Greensboro Female College: Charted in 1838 in Greensboro, North Carolina; it is now the coeducational school Greensboro College
*1846: Illinois Conference Female Academy: It is now the coeducational school, MacMurray College
*1847: Kentucky Female Orphan School (now Midway University): The school's day program at its main campus became fully coeducational in 2016; evening, weekend, and online classes and programs had been coeducational for many years. It planned to open a coeducational pharmacy school at a separate campus in 2011, but withdrew that school's accreditation application for unknown reasons.
*1847: Academy of Mount Saint Vincent (now College of Mount Saint Vincent): Founded by the Sisters of Charity of New York; moved from Manhattan to current Riverdale, Bronx site in the 1850s and began service as degree-granting, four-year liberal arts college in 1911. Became coeducational in 1974.
*1848: Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design): It is the first and only art school which is a women's college
*1848: Chowan Baptist Female Institute; it is now the coeducational school Chowan University

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