A Look at the Oldest Universities in America

Today, going to college after high school is considered the norm—so much so, that it's hard to believe there was ever a time when higher education didn't actually exist. Back in the 1600s, college began as a source of education for those going into the ministry. Years later, the schools grew to focus on a broader range of studies, including medicine and law, and eventually agriculture and engineering. In the beginning, college was only an option for men, and for a long time, there weren't many schools throughout the country. Higher education has come a long way since then. Here's a look at some of the oldest universities in the U.S.—their campuses and classrooms contain a whole lot of history.

Established in 1802

Location: Orange County, New York

The oldest continuously occupied military post in America, West Point dates back to the Revolutionary War, when both sides realized they needed a commanding spot on the west bank of the Hudson River. General George Washington once thought of West Point as the most important strategic position in America. Thaddeus Kosciuszko was picked to design the fortifications in 1778, and soldiers built forts, batteries, and more.

Established in 1801

Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Once called South Carolina College, this school was established as a way to unite South Carolinians after the American Revolution. The founding was a part of the Southern public college movement spurred by Thomas Jefferson. After surviving an earthquake and a fire, the school didn't make it through the Civil War and Reconstruction. It closed in 1861 but was revived in 1866.

Establishes in 1801

Location: Vincennes, Indiana

Vincennes University is Indiana's first college. It was founded by the ninth U.S. president, William Henry Harrison, while he was serving as governor of the Indiana Territory. They have campuses in Vincennes and Jasper, and additional sites. They also offer instruction at military states throughout the country.

Established in 1800

Location: Middlebury, Vermont

One of the most highly regarded liberal arts schools in the country, Middlebury has been committed to creating an environment on campus that encourages learning and engaged discourse since they were founded in 1800.

Established in 1798

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

The University of Louisville started out as Jefferson Seminary, which had a difficult time surviving: it didn't officially open until the fall of 1813, then closed in 1829. The Louisville Collegiate Institute was eventually changed to University of Louisville, which inherited the estate of Jefferson Seminary.

Established in 1797

Location: Oneonta, New York

Hartwick College is really small, with only about 1,200 students. Back in 1797, it began as Hartwick Seminary and was founded through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, a Lutheran minister who arrived from Germany in 1746 to lead several mission congregations of early settlers near the area. He had a dream of establishing a college that eventually became a reality.

Established in 1797

Location: Bluffton

Surrounded by palm trees with locations on South Carolina's coast in Bluffton, Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island, the University of South Carolina-Beaufort is a small college with just over 2,000 students. The student to faculty ratio offers excellent personalized learning advantages.

Established in 1795

Location: Schenectady, NY

Union College was the first college charted by the Board of Regents of the State of New York. The name was chosen to represent the fact that the founders wanted the college to be open to different religious and national groups throughout the area. Union is still one of the oldest non-denominational colleges in the country.

Established in 1794

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

The University of Tennessee was founded two years before Tennessee even became an official U.S. state. It was originally chartered as Blount College, and was an all-male school that struggled with a small student body. Since then, it has undergone a few significant transformations.

Established in 1794

Location: Brunswick, Maine

Although Bowdoin was established in 1794, it didn't begin to really develop until the 1820s. Notable writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow were two early graduates of the school, which is now a private liberal arts college.

Established in 1793

Location: Williamstown, Massachusetts

Today, Williams College is known as one of the best liberal arts colleges in America. Since it was established in 1793, many prominent alumni have come out of the school; Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Prize winners, members of Congress and the Supreme Court, and even one of the Presidents of the United States: James Abram Garfield.

Established in 1793

Location: Clinton, New York

Hamilton was first called Hamilton-Oneida Academy when it was established in 1793, and became Hamilton College in 1812 when it was named in honor of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The school didn't allow female students until 1978, when it merged with the all-women's Kirkland College.

Established in 1791

Location: Burlington, Vermont

The University of Vermont is the fifth oldest university in New England and was the first institution of higher education to declare public support for freedom of religion. It was also the first university to allow women and African-Americans into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Established in 1789

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill didn't begin enrolling students until 1795, but it is still one of the oldest public universities in the U.S. Many future members of government attended the University, including a U.S. president and Vice President.

Established in 1789

Location: Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit college in the country. U.S. presidents, Supreme Court Justices, and other high-ranking government officials are among the alumni of this prestigious institution.

Established in 1787

Location: Castleton, Vermont

Castleton is a small university in Vermont that emphasizes undergraduate liberal arts and professional studies, and also offers graduate programs. They are known for small classes with a growing international population for a lot of diversity.

Established in 1787

Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania

In 1787, Franklin & Marshall College was founded with a generous financial donation from Benjamin Franklin. It was the first bilingual college in the U.S., as classes were taught in both English and German, and it was also the first coeducational institution, allowing both men and women to attend (this was eventually abandoned for 182 years).

Established in 1787

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Back in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh was known as Pittsburgh Academy and was an actual log cabin that acted as a prep school. It obviously expanded as the years went on, and is now a state-related research university.

Established in 1785

Location: Athens, Georgia

In 1785, Georgia became the first state to charter a state-supported university, making the University of Georgia one of the oldest public universities in the U.S. Many notable alumni have graced the halls, from government officials to Emmy and Grammy winners, writers, scholars, poets, and more.

Established in 1781

Location: Washington, Pennsylvania

W&J College began in 1781, not long after the American Revolution. Three log cabin schools merged together to become W&J, and in 1865, it merged with Jefferson College to become Washington & Jefferson. Old Main, pictured here, is one of the most prominent buildings on campus.

Established in 1780

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Affectionately known as Transy, this was the first university in Kentucky, although it actually began in an area that was once known as Virginia. Two U.S. Presidents have graduated from the school.

Established in 1775

Location: Hampden Sydney, Virginia

Hampden-Sydney, a men's liberal arts college, was the last American college founded in British Colonial America and the last college founded before the American Declaration of Independence was signed. It is now one of only three men's-only liberal arts colleges in the U.S.

Established in 1773

Location: Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Dickinson College was originally known as the Carlisle Grammar School and was founded in 1773 and charted in 1783, six days after the Revolutionary War ended. Because of this, Dickinson became the first college chartered in the new United States.

Established in 1772

Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Salem College is the oldest educational institution for girls and women in the U.S. It was founded in 1772 by Sister Elisabeth Oesterlein as a boarding school. In 1866, it was renamed Salem Female Academy, and in 1890, it began offering college degrees.

Established in 1770

Location: Charleston, South Carolina

The College of Charleston is known as the oldest educational institution south of Virginia, and was founded in a time when only wealthy families sent their sons to college. It's also the oldest college in South Carolina.

Established in 1769

Location: Hanover, New Hampshire

Today, Dartmouth is a private Ivy League university, but when it was established in 1769, it was meant to be a school that educated Native Americans in Christian theology and the English way of life. It eventually evolved to become one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

Established in 1766

Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey

In 1766, Rutgers was charted as an all-male school and was known as Queen's College. It was renamed Rutgers in 1825 in honor of Colonel Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War veteran.

Established in 1764

Location: Providence, Rhode Island

In 1764, Brown became the first college in the U.S. to admit students regardless of their religious background. In 1891, they started allowing women into the school. It was also one of the doctoral-granting colleges in the country.

Established in 1754

Location: New York City, New York

Back in 1754, Columbia University was called King's College. It was renamed Columbia in 1784 after the American Revolution, and is the oldest college in New York. The school has many notable alumni, including Alexander Hamilton, Robert R. Livingston, and John Jay.

Established in 1749

Location: Lexington, Virginia

Washington and Lee was named after two important men in American history: George Washington (who gave a donation of $20,000 in 1796) and Robert E. Lee. It was originally called Augusta Academy.

Established in 1746

Location: Princeton, New Jersey

In 1746, Princeton was founded as the College of New Jersey. In 1756, the college was moved to Princeton, New Jersey, which is when the name was changed. Like many other Colonial Colleges, it was first opened to train ministers, but today, it's one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

Established in 1743

Location: Newark, Delaware

In 1743, a petition created by the Presbytery of Lewes to create an educated clergy caught the attention of Rev. Dr. Francis Alison, who opened a school in New London, Pennsylvania. In 1765, it was relocated to Newark, Delaware.

Established in 1742

Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

In 1742, Moravian became the first boarding school for young women in the American colonies when it was founded by a 16-year-old named Countess Benigna von Zinzendorf. A men's version of the school was founded in the same year. In 1954, both the men's and women's schools combined to form Moravian.

Established in 1740

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 1740, Penn was founded with a slightly different idea in mind: Evangelist George Whitefield wanted to build a Philadelphia charity school that was also a house of worship for his followers. The original project went unfinished for a decade due to lack of funds, but in 1749, Benjamin Franklin helped get the school going again, and in 1751, the doors were opened again as the Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania.

Established in 1701

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Although it was founded in 1701, Yale can be traced back to the 1640s, when colonial clergymen wanted to found a college to preserve the tradition of European liberal education in what would later become America. The charter wasn't granted until 1701, and it became Yale College in 1718.

Established in 1696

Location: Annapolis, Maryland

In 1696, St. John's College was founded as King William's School and was a grammar/prep school. It took a century before it was chartered as St. John's College.

Established in 1693

Location: Williamsburg, Virginia

The second oldest college in America, the original plans for W&M can be traced all the way back to 1618—they never went through because of an "Indian uprising." In 1693, King William III and Queen Mary II of England signed the charter for the school, which went on to become William & Mary.

Established in 1636

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

There are many reasons why Harvard is widely considered to be the most prestigious school in the country, but for starters, it was the first official college in the United States. It was named after John Harvard, who donated a large sum of money and a massive library of books to the school.