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Introduction
Until the creation of women's colleges and the integration of women in predominantly male schools, women were unable to further their education by attending a university. During a 24 year span, from 1836-1875, 50 women’s colleges were created. Of the total 50 women’s colleges that were created, seven private colleges were called “The Seven Sisters”, which attempted to rival the Ivy League. The Seven Sisters included Mount Holyoke, Smith, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, Radcliffe, and Vassar. -
First College to Allow Coeducation
Oberlin became the first college to allow women to enroll; however, the college remained very segregated by sex. For example, many extracurricular activities and classes were still separate Females were forced to take classes in cooking and cleaning, while men studied courses like Greek and Latin. Image:https://www2.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/womenshist/women.html (Courtesy of Oberlin Archives) -
First Women's College
Georgia Female College, now known as Wesleyan College, became the first all women’s college to open in Macon, Georgia. Image:https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/wesleyan-college -
Catherine Brewer earns a Bachelor's Degree
Catherine Brewer was the first female to earn a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan College. Image: https://she-is-fierce.org/2018/08/22/one-of-the-firsts/ -
First Women's Catholic College
Academy of Sacred Heart in NYC opened as the first women’s only Catholic college. Image: https://www.mville.edu/about-manhattanville/history-manhattanville/manhattanville-college-timeline -
First Woman Graduates Medical School
The first woman to graduate from medical school was Elizabeth Blackwell. She graduated at the top of her class from Genova Medical School in New York. Image :https://time.com/5131961/elizabeth-blackwell-facts/ -
First State University/College to Accept Women
The University of Iowa became the first state university to admit women. -
First African-American Woman Graduates College
Mary Jane Patterson graduated from Oberlin College and became the first black woman to earn a bachelor’s degree. Image: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/patterson-mary-jane-1840-1894/ -
First Female Doctor of Dental Surgery
Lucy Hobbs earned her bachelor’s degree D.D.S from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery and became the first-ever female doctor of dental surgery. Image: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/lucy-hobbs-taylor/15500 -
First Woman to Graduate Law School
Ada Kepley became the first woman to graduate from law school and earn an LL.B from Union College of Law (Chicago) Image: https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2014/07/ada-kepley.html -
First Female to Graduate from Nursing School
Linda Richards, one of five female students to enroll in the nursing school, graduated from New England Hospital for Women and children. Image:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Hospital_for_Women_and_Children -
First Woman to Receive a Ph.D
Helen Magill graduated from Boston University and became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. Magill’s Ph.D. was in Greek.
Image:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Magill_White -
First Female Professor
Maria Sanford became the first female in the United States to teach at the collegiate level. She taught English at the University of Minnesota from 1880-1919.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sanford -
Dean of Women
The position of Dean of Women was created in many colleges to help with the discomfort of having women on what used to be predominantly male campuses. In 1892, Alice Parmer was the first-ever Dean of Women appointed at the University of Chicago.
Image:https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/naming-project/people/palmer/ -
Women are allowed into Graduate Programs
The majority of colleges and universities allowed women to enter their graduate programs. Women made up ten percent of the PhDs awarded. -
National Association of Deans of Women
The National Association of Deans of Women (NADW) was created in 1903.17 Deans came together for the first meeting led by Marion Talbot, who was the dean of women at the University of Chicago. Topics of discussion consisted of women’s etiquette, leadership, self-government, and athletics on college campuses. Image:http://photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu/db.xqy?show=browse9.xml|325 -
Graduate Program for Deans of Women
In 1916, a graduate program was created at the Teacher’s College of Columbia University for Deans of Women who wanted to further their education. By enrolling in this program, women were able to leave with skills in research and administration. -
Two Paths Created for Secondary School Children
In 1918, The Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Schools proposed two possible paths. One for mainly boys to take classes that would prepare them for higher education and one for girls focused on vocational training. Even the girls who had strong grades were encouraged to choose the vocational track and still had to take classes like home economics. -