Timeline of women's colleges in the United States

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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 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 girl's 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 to become Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College in Macon Georgia) which was chartered in 1836, the first college charted from its inception as a full college for women. It awarded the first known baccalaureate degree to a woman. 1827: The Linden Wood School for Girls (now Lindenwood University) is 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 PK 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 a women's college. 1838: Judson College for Women was in Marion, Alabama. It was intended as an institute of higher learning from 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 the 1960s. 1848: Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design) is the first and only art school that 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 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 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) was the first women's college west of the Rocky Mountains. 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. 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. It removes women's college
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.

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 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.

1787: Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphia 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, 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.

1890: Mount Saint Agnes College was a Catholic women's college in Baltimore, Maryland. It closed in 1972. 1891: Pembroke College was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It merged with Brown in 1971. 1891: Randolph Macon Woman's College (now Randolph College) in Lynchburg, Virginia became coeducational and changed its name to Randolph College in 2007. 1891: State Normal and Industrial School (now University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in Greensboro, North Carolina became a college in 1896. It became the North Carolina College for Women in 1919 and the Women's College of the University of North Carolina in 1932. It became the coeducational University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1963. 1891:Baptist Female University (now Meredith College) was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina. It became the Baptist University for Women in 1891 and Meredith College in 1909. 1893: The Woman's College of Frederick (now Hood College) was founded in Frederick, Maryland. It became coeducational in 2002. 1893: Chicora College was a Presbyterian women's college in Greenville, South Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina. In 1930 it merged with Queens College, Charlotte. 1896: Barber Memorial College (now Barber Scotia Junior College) was an historically black college that was founded in Anniston, Alabama. It merged with Scotia Women's College (formerly Scotia Seminary) in Concord, North Carolina in 1930 to become Barber Scotia Junior College. 1897: Trinity College (now Trinity Washington University) was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as the nation's first Catholic liberal arts college for women. It became Trinity Washington University in 2004. 1897: Bay Path Institute (now Bay Path University) started as a coeducational institute in Springfield, Massachusetts. It became a women's college in 1945 when it moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts and was renamed Bay Path Secretarial School. 1899: Simmons College (now Simmons University) was a private women's college in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, its undergraduate program is women focused while its graduate programs are co educational. 1899: College of Saint Elizabeth (now Saint Elizabeth University) is a Catholic college that became coeducational in 2020. It achieved university status in 2021.

1901: Sweet Briar College is a private women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia. 1901: Girls Industrial College (now Texas Woman's University) was founded in Denton, Texas and has been known as Texas Woman's University since 1957. Technically coeducational since 1994, it still has a primarily female student body. 1901: St. Clara's College (now Dominican University) was renamed Rosary College in 1922. It became coeducational in 1970 and changed its name to Dominican University in 1997. 1903: Margaret Morrison Carnegie College was the coordinate women's college of Carnegie Mellon University between 1903 and 1973. 1903: Young Woman's Industrial Club (now Skidmore College) became Skidmore College in 1922. It went coeducational in 1971. 1904: College of St. Angela (now College of New Rochelle) was founded by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline Order as the first Catholic women's college in New York. The name was changed to the College of New Rochelle in 1910. 1905: Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University) originated from the coeducational West Florida Seminary that was formed in 1851. After multiple name changes, it was converted into a women's college in 1905. The school returned to coeducation in 1947 and changed its name to the current Florida State University. 1905: College of St. Catherine (now St. Catherine University) is a private Catholic university in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It became a university in 2009. 1907: College of Saint Teresa was a Catholic women's college in Winona, Minnesota. Started a women's seminary, it became a college in 1907 that was operated by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota. It closed in 1989. 1908: Marymount College, Tarrytown became part of Fordham University in 2000. It closed in 2007. 1908: All Saints' College was an Episcopal women's college in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It began accepting male boarding students as All Saints' Episcopal School in 1971. It ceased operating as a traditional school in 2006. Currently, it provides training to AmeriCorps students. 1908: Georgian Court University was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It admitted its first male day students in 2012. It became fully coeducation in the fall of 2013. 1908: William Smith College (now Hobart and William Smith) is a private liberal arts college in Geneva, New York. It eventually became a coordinate college known as Hobart and William Smith
1908: The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg: Founded as a junior college, it began awarding bachelor's degrees in 1916, and changed its name three times in its first 30 years. In 1946, when it was known as Madison College, it admitted its first male day students, becoming de facto coeducational, although it would not officially be recognized as a coeducational institution until 1966. In 1976, it adopted its current name James Madison University. 1908: State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Fredericksburg (now University of Mary Washington) developed as a normal and manual arts school and was later renamed Mary Washington College. It became the coordinate women's college of the University of Virginia (UVA) in 1944. In 1970, UVA and Mary Washington became fully coeducational. The two schools were separated due to changes in mission and geographic distance in 1972. 1908: Oklahoma Industrial Institute and College for Girls (now University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma) became Oklahoma College for Women in 1912. It became coeducational in 1965 and was simultaneously renamed Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts. 1909: Lesley College is private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It became coeducational in 2005

1911: Pine Manor College became coeducational in 2014. Boston College took over it in 2020 and it became the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success. 1911: Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. Originally chartered as Thames College, it was founded as the state's only women's college in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to female students in 1909. The college became coeducational in 1969 and adopted its current name. 1912: Saint Joseph's College of Maine is a private Catholic college founded by the Sisters of Mercy in Standish, Maine. It became coeducational in 1970. 1913: College of Saint Benedict has been partnered with the all male Saint John's University since 1955. The two schools have operated a common academic program with fully coeducational classes since 1961. CSB and SJU remain legally and administratively separate, with separate residential facilities and athletic programs. 1914: Westhampton College (now University of Richmond) was founded as the coordinate college for Richmond College and a component of its growth into the University of Richmond in 1920. Today, the academic operations of the two colleges are merged, but Westhampton College remains the co curricular program for undergraduate women and curricular women's studies. 1914: Johnson & Wales School of Business (now Johnson & Wales University) started as a business school for women. 1916: Russell Sage College in Troy, New York was formerly a part of The Sage Colleges, which consolidated as one institution. It became coeducational in 2020 after the merger with Sage College of Albany. 1916: St. Joseph's College for Women (now St. Joseph's University, New York) was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood in response to the need for a day college for young women. It is the only historical women's college in Brooklyn, New York. It was renamed, became coeducational in 1970 and a university in 2022. 1918: New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass Residential College) was founded as the coordinate college for Rutgers University and became Douglass College in 1955. In 2007, it was merged with the other undergraduate liberal arts colleges at the main Rutgers campus, becoming a non degree granting unit of Rutgers called Douglass Residential College. 1919: Emmanuel College in Boston was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as the first women's Catholic college in New England. It became coeducational in 2001.

1920: College of Saint Rose was founded in Albany, New York by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and became coeducational in 1969. 1920: College of Mount St. Joseph (now Mount St. Joseph University) in Delhi, Ohio was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Although chartered as a college in 1920, its predecessor institutions had offered two years of college education for females for several decades. It became coeducational in 1986 and adopted its current name Mount St. Joseph University in 2014. 1920: Villa Maria College (now Immaculata University) in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania was founded by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Its name changed to Immaculata College in 1929 and Immaculata University in 2002. It became coeducational in 2005. 1921: Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pennsylvania was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus. Its undergraduate program became coeducational in the fall of 2009. 1921: Villa Madonna College (now Thomas More University) was affiliated with the all male St. Thomas More College. In 1945, it absorbed St. Thomas More College and became coeducational. The school moved to a new campus in 1968, becoming Thomas More College at that time. It became Thomas More University in 2018. 1922: Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio was established by the Sisters of Notre Dame. It has been coeducational since January 2001. 1923: College of Saint Mary is a private Catholic college in Omaha, Nebraska. 1923: Marymount Junior College (now Loyola Marymount University) became Marymount College of Los Angeles in 1948 when it began offering bachelor's degrees. It merged with Loyola University of Los Angeles in 1973 to create the coeducational Loyola Marymount University. 1923: Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas, was a liberal arts college formed by the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. It merged with the all male St. Benedict's College in 1971 to form the coeducational Benedictine College. 1924: Mount Saint Joseph College (now Chestnut Hill College) was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It started a coeducational graduate program in 1980 and became fully coeducational in 2003. 1925: Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs (now Dominican Sisters of Peace). It became coeducational in 1985. 1925: Mount Saint Joseph College for Women (now Brescia University) was originally located in the Daviess County, Kentucky community of Maple Mount. It opened a coeducational extension branch in nearby Owensboro. The extension branch eventually grew into its main campus, and the school became coeducational when the two campuses were merged in 1950. It became Brescia College in 1951. 1925: Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. 1926: Mercyhurst College (now Mercyhurst University) in Erie, Pennsylvania became coeducational in 1969. It adopted its current name in 2012. 1926: Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. It became coeducational in 1968. 1926: Scripps College was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California. 1927: Regis College was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston in Weston, Massachusetts. It became coeducational in 2007
1928: College of Our Lady of the Elms (now Elms College) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Diocese of Springfield as the Academy of Our Lady of the Elms in 1897. It became a college in 1899 and was chartered as a women's liberal arts college in 1927. It became coeducational in 1998.

1930: Mundelein College in Chicago, Illinois became coeducational in 1968 but remained primarily women serving. In 1991, it became an affiliated college of Loyola University Chicago. 1932: Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont became fully coeducational in 1969. 1932: Saint Joseph College (now University of Saint Joseph) was founded by Sisters of Mercy in West Hartford, Connecticut. It became coeducational in 1969. 1936: Marymount Manhattan College was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary as a two year women's college as a New York City extension of Marymount College, Tarrytown. It is currently coeducational. 1938: Ursuline College (now Bellarmine University) in Louisville, Kentucky, merged into the previously all male Bellarmine College in 1968.

1941: Annhurst College in South Woodstock, Connecticut was founded and administered by the Daughters of the Holy Spirit. It became coeducational in 1972 and closed in 1980
1941: Mercy College of Detroit (now University of Detroit Mercy) opened as a women's college and later became coeducational. It merged with the University of Detroit in 1990, creating the University of Detroit Mercy. 1946: Mount Sacred Heart College was originally a junior college in Hamden, Connecticut that was operated by the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It closed in 1997
1947: Garland Junior College in n Boston, Massachusetts was absorbed into Simmons College in 1976.

1954: Stern College for Women is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located in Manhattan. 1963: Pitzer College in Claremont, California is one of the Claremont Colleges. It became coeducational in 1970. 1968: Kirkland College in Clinton, New York was a female counterpart to Hamilton College. It merged with Hamilton College in 1979
1982: Women's College of the University of Denver reclaimed its historical name Colorado Women's College in 2013. It closed in 2020