Colonial colleges

Nine institutions of higher education, sometimes called colonial colleges, were chartered in the American Colonies before the American Revolution (1775–1783). These nine have long been considered together, notably in the survey of their origins in the 1907 Cambridge History of English and American Literature. Although today most of these institutions refer to themselves as "universities", they are called "colonial colleges" partly because, at the time of the revolution, only Pennsylvania called itself a "university". Each had assumed the power to grant degrees, a power in Europe only held by universities; several were offering some graduate instruction. (See college for more on American usage of that word.)

Related Topics:
American Colonies - American Revolution - 1775 - 1783 - 1907 - Cambridge - College

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The nine colonial colleges are listed below in order of antiquity under the name by which they were known for the bulk of the colonial period. Also listed are the religious groups that were instrumental in each college's foundation and early history. In most cases the listed religious links, although often strong, were de facto rather than official. (At any rate, all have long since affirmed their secularity.) In addition to the religious/secular boundary, the line between state and private control was also far blurrier than today: as the distinction crystalized over time, some schools became fully independent and others part of their state's higher-education system.

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Seven of the nine colonial colleges are part of the Ivy League: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Brown, and Dartmouth. The eighth member of the Ivy League, Cornell University, was founded in 1865.

Related Topics:
Ivy League - Harvard - Yale - Princeton - Penn - Columbia - Brown - Dartmouth - Cornell University - 1865

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Conversely, the two colonial colleges not in the Ivy League are both public universities—the College of William and Mary (which retains the historical appellation "College" in its name by virtue of its Royal Charter from England) and Rutgers University (today the state university of New Jersey).

Related Topics:
Ivy League - Public universities - College of William and Mary - Rutgers University

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Notes:

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