Coeducation

Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women. Coed is an informal term for a female student at a coeducational college or university. Before coeducation became predominant, most important institutions of higher education restricted their enrollment to men. Women were educated in all-female schools, if at all.

Coeducation in the United States

The first coeducational institution of higher education in the United States was Franklin College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, established in 1787. Its first enrollment class in 1787 consisted of 78 male and 36 female students. Among the latter was Rebecca Gratz, the first Jewish female college student in the United States. However, the college began having financial problems and it was reopened as an all-male institution. It became coed again in 1969 under its current name, Franklin and Marshall College.

Related Topics:
Franklin College - Lancaster, Pennsylvania - 1787 - Rebecca Gratz - Jewish - 1969

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The longest continuously operating coeducational school in the United States is Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, which was established in 1833.

Related Topics:
United States - Oberlin College - Oberlin, Ohio - 1833

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The University of Iowa became the first public or state university in the United States to admit women, and for much of the next century, public universities, and land grant universities in particular, would lead the way in higher education coeducation.

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The agitation for coeducation by early feminists grew through the American Civil War era, and by 1872 there were 97 American universities admitting women. Some institutions refused to integrate fully, but were willing to educate women in closely associated schools—a variation on the later "separate but equal" standard of racially segregated schools followed in some parts of the US. Examples of this parallelism include(d) Radcliffe College at Harvard University in Massachusetts and Barnard College at Columbia University in New York. A variety of sex-segregated women's institutions were founded, most notably the prestigious Seven Sisters. Of the seven, one is now fully coeducational (Vassar College), while five others are not (e.g. Wellesley College, Smith College, Mt. Holyoke College, Bryn Mawr College, and Barnard College). In 1999, Radcliffe College was dissolved and nominal sex separation of undergraduates at Harvard ceased. All women undergraduates at Harvard University now receive diplomas from Harvard College. Other notable women's colleges that have become coeducational include Ohio Wesleyan Female College, Skidmore College and Sarah Lawrence College in New York state, Goucher College in Maryland, Connecticut College, and Stephens College in Missouri.

Related Topics:
Feminist - American Civil War - Radcliffe College - Harvard University - Massachusetts - Barnard College - Columbia University - New York - Seven Sisters - Vassar College - Wellesley College - Smith College - Mt. Holyoke College - Bryn Mawr College - Ohio Wesleyan Female College - Skidmore College - Sarah Lawrence College - Goucher College - Connecticut College - Stephens College

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It should be noted that many or most "common schools"—the neighborhood, village and county schools that educated most Americans through the end of the 19th century—were coeducational from the beginning, in part because small school districts could not fund separate educational facilities for girls and boys.

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Remarkably, after a little more than a century in the mainstream higher education system of the United States, American women now earn the majority of bachelor's degrees and account for 60% of the enrolled undergraduate population. However, men still earn a majority of undergraduate degrees that lead to higher paying jobs (e.g. engineering) and a majority of graduate and professional degrees (e.g. PhDs and MDs).

Related Topics:
United States - Bachelor's degree - Undergraduate

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U.S. institutions of higher education coeducational from establishment

• Franklin College (1787) (later changed to become all-male)
• Oberlin College (1833)
• Alfred University (1836)
• Hillsdale College (1844)
• Olivet College (1844)
• Lawrence University (1847)
• Antioch College (1853)
• University of Iowa (1856)
• Cornell University (1865) (first woman enrolled in 1870, first woman graduated in 1873)
• Boston University (1869)
• Swarthmore College (1870)
• Stanford University (1891)
• University of Chicago (1892)
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1893)
• Brandeis University (1948)

Years U.S. educational institutions became coeducational

: Schools that were previously all-female are listed in italics.

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1860University of Wisconsin

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1860 - University of Wisconsin

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1867DePauw UniversityIndiana University

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1867 - DePauw University - Indiana University

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1868University of Iowa Law School

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1868 - University of Iowa

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1869Northwestern University

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1869 - Northwestern University

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1870University of Michigan

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1870 - University of Michigan

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1871Pennsylvania State University

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1871 - Pennsylvania State University

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1877Ohio Wesleyan University

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1877 - Ohio Wesleyan University

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1882Florida State University

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1882 - Florida State University

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1883Bucknell University

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1883 - Bucknell University

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1885University of Mississippi

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1885 - University of Mississippi

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1888George Washington UniversityTulane University Pharamaceutical School

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1888 - George Washington University - Tulane University

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University of Kentucky

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1892Auburn University

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1892 - Auburn University

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1893Macalester CollegeUniversity of Connecticut

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1893 - Macalester College - University of Connecticut

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1894Boalt Hall

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1894 - Boalt Hall

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1895University of Pittsburgh

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1895 - University of Pittsburgh

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1897University of Buffalo Law SchoolUniversity of North Carolina (graduate students)

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1897 - University of Buffalo - University of North Carolina

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1900University of Virginia (nursing only)

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1900 - University of Virginia

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1902Miami University

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1902 - Miami University

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1909Tulane University School of Dentistry

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1909 - Tulane University

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1914Tulane University Medical SchoolUniversity of Pennsylvania Medical School

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1914 - Tulane University - University of Pennsylvania

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1918College of William and Mary

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1918 - College of William and Mary

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1920University of Virginia (graduate students)

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1920 - University of Virginia

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1922Northeastern University, Boston School of Law

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1922 - Northeastern University, Boston

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1931Seattle University

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1931 - Seattle University

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1942Wake Forest University

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1942 - Wake Forest University

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1946James Madison University (de facto)

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1946 - James Madison University

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1952Lincoln University

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1952 - Lincoln University

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1953Georgia Tech

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1953 - Georgia Tech

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1953Harvard Law School

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1953 - Harvard Law School

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1963University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (all programs)

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1963 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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University of North Carolina at Greensboro

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1964Texas A&M University

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1964 - Texas A&M University

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1966James Madison University (official)

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1966 - James Madison University

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1968Virginia Tech

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1968 - Virginia Tech

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1969Connecticut CollegeFranklin and Marshall CollegeGeorgetown UniversityKenyon CollegePrinceton UniversityTrinity College (Connecticut)Vassar CollegeYale University

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1969 - Connecticut College - Franklin and Marshall College - Georgetown University - Kenyon College - Princeton University - Trinity College (Connecticut) - Vassar College - Yale University

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1970Johns Hopkins UniversityUniversity of Mary WashingtonUniversity of Virginia (all programs)

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1970 - Johns Hopkins University - University of Mary Washington - University of Virginia

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1972Davidson CollegeRadford UniversityTexas Woman's UniversityUniversity of Notre DameWashington and Lee University Law School

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1972 - Davidson College - Radford University - Texas Woman's University - University of Notre Dame - Washington and Lee University

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1974United States Merchant Marine Academy

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1974 - United States Merchant Marine Academy

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1976Claremont McKenna CollegeUnited States Air Force AcademyUnited States Coast Guard AcademyUnited States Military AcademyUnited States Naval Academy

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1976 - Claremont McKenna College - United States Air Force Academy - United States Coast Guard Academy - United States Military Academy - United States Naval Academy

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1982Mississippi University for Women

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1982 - Mississippi University for Women

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1983Columbia College - Columbia University

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1983 - Columbia College - Columbia University

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1985Washington and Lee University

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1985 - Washington and Lee University

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1991Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

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1991 - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

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1993The Citadel

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1993 - The Citadel

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1997Virginia Military Institute

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1997 - Virginia Military Institute

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2001Notre Dame College

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2001 - Notre Dame College

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2002Hood College

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2002 - Hood College

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2004Immaculata College

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2004 - Immaculata College

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2005Lesley College of Lesley UniversityWells College

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2005 - Lesley University - Wells College

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