Women’s Inclusion into Higher Education in 19th-20th Centuries USA
During the 18th and 19th centuries, education in the United States was dominated by male professors and students, as societal expectations largely confined women to domestic roles or traditional "woman's work." The inclusion of women in higher education became increasingly visible & important as movements for women’s rights and suffrage gained momentum. Colleges and universities founded in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries were centers of this struggle, with debates, disagreements, and gradual change marking the inclusion of women in their degree programs. Below is an exploration of 20 important American colleges and universities from the 17th through 19th centuries and the historical journey of each institution toward allowing women to attend and to graduate with degrees.
Harvard University
Founded: 1636
Women admitted: 1920
First degrees awarded to women: 1963 (ONLY through Radcliffe College)
First degrees awarded to women actually from Harvard: 1999 & Radcliff College was closed
Harvard was the first institution of higher learning in the American colonies. For centuries, Harvard resisted coeducation, maintaining separate female instruction at Radcliffe College (established 1879) instead of admitting women directly. The decision to fully integrate women came even later, when Radcliffe officially merged with Harvard in 1999.
Harvard was the first institution of higher learning in the American colonies. For centuries, Harvard resisted coeducation, maintaining separate female instruction at Radcliffe College (established 1879) instead of admitting women directly. The decision to fully integrate women came even later, when Radcliffe officially merging with Harvard in 1999.
College of William & Mary
Founded: 1693
Women admitted: 1918
First degrees awarded to women: 1920
The College of William & Mary, the second-oldest institution in the United States, began admitting women as a response to increased demand for coeducation after World War I. The decision was met with some resistance, but the college eventually embraced women students in 1918. By 1920 women here were awarded degrees; and by the way, it was the same year that women got the right to vote nationally.
Yale University
Founded: 1701
Women admitted: 1969
First degrees awarded to women: 1971
Yale University followed Harvard’s model of educating only men for centuries. Coeducation came relatively late, in 1969, when the university admitted women for the first time, and they were awarded degrees in 1971.
Princeton University
Founded: 1746
Women admitted: 1969
First degrees awarded to women: 1971
Princeton University began as a male-only institution and didn’t begin admitting women until 1969, following considerable debate and institutional resistance. Two years later, women earned their first degrees from the university.
University of Pennsylvania
Founded: 1740
Women admitted: 1876 (for graduate programs); 1914 (for undergraduate programs)
First degrees awarded to women: 1882 (graduate), 1914 (undergraduate)
The University of Pennsylvania admitted women into graduate programs in 1876, a decision that was considered progressive for its time. By 1914, women were allowed into undergraduate programs, marking a key moment in the university’s history of inclusivity.
Columbia University
Founded: 1754
Women admitted: 1983
First degrees awarded to women: 1983
Columbia University long resisted coeducation, directing women to Barnard College (founded in 1889) as the alternative. Columbia admitted women to its undergraduate programs only in 1983, making it one of the last Ivy League schools to do so.
Brown University
Founded: 1764
Women admitted: 1891 (ONLY through Pembroke College)
First degrees awarded to women: 1894
Brown University founded Pembroke College in 1891 as an allied institution for women, allowing them to attend classes but with a separate administrative structure. Women first received degrees from Brown (Pembroke) in 1894, and full integration came much later in 1971.
Dartmouth College
Founded: 1769
Women admitted: 1972
First degrees awarded to women: 1976
Dartmouth College admitted women relatively late in 1972, after significant internal debate. Before this time, Dartmouth was one of the last holdouts among major universities. Women graduated for the first time in 1976.
University of Georgia
Founded: 1785
Women admitted: 1918
First degrees awarded to women: 1920
The University of Georgia became coeducational in 1918, following regional trends. The initial decision faced little resistance as it coincided with growing acceptance of women’s higher education in the South.
Georgetown University
Founded: 1789
Women admitted: 1969
First degrees awarded to women: 1971
Georgetown University did not admit women to its undergraduate programs until 1969. Though it admitted women to certain graduate programs earlier, full coeducation was achieved in the late 20th century.
University of North Carolina
Founded: 1789
Women admitted: 1897
First degrees awarded to women: 1901
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began admitting women in 1897, initially allowing them to attend on a limited basis. The first degrees were awarded to women in 1901. Most women were directed to the University of North Carolina "Women's College" located in Greensboro, NC. They changed the name of "Women's College" in 1963 to The University of North Carolina at Greensboro .
University of Virginia
Founded: 1819
Women admitted: 1970
First degrees awarded to women: 1972
The University of Virginia was one of the last major public universities to admit women, in 1970. Before this, women were only allowed to attend through graduate programs or via a related institution.
Amherst College
Founded: 1821
Women admitted: 1976
First degrees awarded to women: 1980
Amherst College, one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country, resisted admitting women until 1976, when it became coeducational. Women received degrees for the first time in 1980.
University of Michigan
Founded: 1817
Women admitted: 1870
First degrees awarded to women: 1871
The University of Michigan was among the first major universities to admit women, beginning in 1870. This decision faced opposition from faculty and students.
Oberlin College
Founded: 1833
Women admitted: 1833
First degrees awarded to women: 1841
Oberlin College is often cited as the first college in the United States to admit women and the first to award them degrees. Its commitment to coeducation was rooted in its abolitionist and egalitarian ideals, and the first degrees were awarded to women in 1841.
Wesleyan University
Founded: 1831
Women admitted: 1872
First degrees awarded to women: 1876
Wesleyan University first admitted women in 1872 but became an all-male institution again in 1912. It eventually became permanently coeducational in 1970, with significant internal debate over the role of women.
Cornell University
Founded: 1865
Women admitted: 1870
First degrees awarded to women: 1873
Cornell University was one of the first Ivy League institutions to admit women. Its founder, Ezra Cornell, was a strong advocate for coeducation, and women were admitted as early as 1870, with the first degrees awarded in 1873.
The Long and Arduous Journey
The inclusion of women into degree programs at these institutions was marked by struggles and resistance. Often, women faced opposition from faculty, male students, and alumni who believed that women’s primary role was in the domestic sphere. In some cases, colleges opted for a compromise—establishing separate women's colleges (such as Barnard and Radcliffe), maintaining an institutional divide. Many universities delayed admitting women until the 20th century, despite advocacy from suffragists and women’s rights groups who pushed for more educational opportunities for women.
The American Civil War, World War I, and World War II also influenced women’s admission to higher education as societal needs shifted and women's contributions in these crises demonstrated their capabilities outside the home. Eventually, the social and political movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to the widespread coeducation we see today.
The journey of women into higher education in the United States was a long and arduous one. The 20 institutions discussed in this essay each faced internal debates, cultural resistance, and evolving social norms before they opened their doors to female students. These milestones in women’s education not only reflect changing societal values but also laid the foundation for future generations of women to pursue academic, professional, and personal ambitions on equal footing with men.
Books:
Astin, Alexander W., and Helen S. Astin. Women of Influence, Women of Vision: A Cross-Generational Study of Leaders and Social Change. Jossey-Bass, 2000.
Bordin, Ruth Birgitta Anderson. Women at Michigan: The "Dangerous Experiment," 1870s to the Present. University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Clarke, Edith M. American Women and Higher Education: An Historical Perspective. Garland Publishing, 1987.
Cohen, Sol, and Edward Stevens. American Higher Education: A Documentary History. University of Chicago Press, 1974.
Creighton, Margaret S. Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling, 1830-1870. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women’s Colleges from Their Nineteenth Century Beginnings to the 1930s. University of Massachusetts Press, 1993.
Keller, Morton, and Phyllis Keller. Making Harvard Modern: The Rise of America's University. Oxford University Press, 2001.
Lasser, Carol, and Stacey Robertson. Antebellum Women: Private, Public, Political. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
McCandless, Amy Thompson. The Past in the Present: Women's Higher Education in the Twentieth-Century American South. University of Alabama Press, 1999.
Palmieri, Patricia Ann. In Adamless Eden: The Community of Women Faculty at Wellesley. Yale University Press, 1995.
Rudolph, Frederick. The American College and University: A History. University of Georgia Press, 1990.
Schwartz, Robert, and Louis Filler. American Educators: Images of Men and Women in Teaching. Scribner, 1971.
Solomon, Barbara M. In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America. Yale University Press, 1985.
Thelin, John R. A History of American Higher Education. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.
Tredway, Virginia Lantz. Women at Dartmouth: Pioneering Women's Education in the Ivy League. University Press of New England, 1992.
Weiss, Nancy J. Radcliffe College, 1879-1979: A History of Women in Higher Education. Harvard University Press, 1979.
Articles:
Chafe, William H. "The American Woman: Her Changing Social, Economic, and Political Roles, 1920-1970." The American Historical Review, vol. 79, no. 1, 1974, pp. 419-420.
Conable, Charlotte. "Gendered Spaces: Women's Colleges and Their Influence on Female Identity." History of Education Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 3, 2004, pp. 378-396.
Geiger, Roger L. "The Ten Generations of American Higher Education." The History of Higher Education, vol. 25, no. 2, 1999, pp. 73-88.
Gordon, Lynn D. "The Gibson Girl Goes to College: Popular Culture and Women's Higher Education in the Progressive Era, 1890-1920." American Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 2, 1987, pp. 211-230.
Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. "The 1920s and the Growth of Women's Higher Education." The Journal of American History, vol. 59, no. 1, 1972, pp. 173-189.
Mackinnon, Alice. "Coeducation: The Changing Role of Women in American Universities." History of Higher Education Annual, vol. 22, 2002, pp. 89-105.
McCandless, Amy T. "Preserving the Ideal of Womanhood in Higher Education: A Struggle for Coeducation." History of Education Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 2, 1996, pp. 125-149.
Morantz-Sanchez, Regina Markell. "Feminist Reforms of Medicine in Nineteenth-Century America." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 6, no. 1, 1980, pp. 104-108.
Solomon, Barbara M. "In the Company of Educated Women: A Review of Historical Trends." History of Education Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, 1985, pp. 401-409.
Veysey, Laurence R. "Coeducation in the Nineteenth Century: A Reassessment of Its Role." American Educational Research Journal, vol. 8, no. 4, 1971, pp. 469-479.
