Posted by Nick Selbe
In many ways, America was built upon the foundation of higher education. Long before the United States gained independence, the New College — later renamed Harvard — was established in Cambridge, Mass., laying the groundwork for thousands of universities to follow suit.
The founding of Harvard in 1636 set off the widespread expansion of colleges throughout the East Coast. With a nod of respect to our country’s bastions of education, StartClass has highlighted the 25 oldest universities in America. Only schools that are still in operation were considered for the final list.
All of these schools were founded before the 19th century, and each has its own unique history. Big or small, public or private, each of these 25 colleges has played a pivotal role in making our higher education system what it is today.
#25. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Year founded: 1789
Public or private: Public
UNC Chapel Hill was chartered in 1789 and held its first classes in 1795, making it one of the nation’s oldest state universities. The school’s original building — now known as Old East — is the oldest state university building in the country.
#24. Georgetown University
Year founded: 1789
Public or private: Private
Georgetown was founded by Jesuit John Carroll, the first head of the American Roman Catholic Church. Carroll finalized the purchase of the campus’ property in 1789, and the school’s first students enrolled in 1791. Georgetown is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit college in the country.
#23. Franklin & Marshall College
Year founded: 1787
Public or private: Private
Franklin & Marshall was originally called Franklin College and was named after Benjamin Franklin, who donated money that helped lead to the school’s opening. Franklin College merged with Marshall College — which opened in 1836 and was named after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall — in 1853. F&M was the nation’s first coeducational institution, with 36 women in its first class. However, this coed policy was abandoned after one year, and it wasn’t until 1969 that the school accepted women as students.
#22. University of Pittsburgh
Year founded: 1787
Public or private: Public
Pittsburgh was founded by writer, lawyer and judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge as Pittsburgh Academy. The school was known as the Western University of Pennsylvania from 1819 to 1908, when it was given its current name.
#21. University of Georgia
Year founded: 1785
Public or private: Public
Georgia was founded by Abraham Baldwin, a Yale graduate and one of the signers of the U.S. Constitution. The school was the first state-supported university in the country to be chartered.
#20. Washington & Jefferson College
Year founded: 1781
Public or private: Private
Washington & Jefferson was founded by a group of Presbyterian ministers — John McMillan, Thaddeus Dod and Joseph Smith. Originally known as Washington College, it merged with Jefferson College in 1865.
#19. Transylvania University
Year founded: 1780
Public or private: Private
Transylvania is the oldest university in the state of Kentucky. The school began as a log cabin in Boyle County, Kent., and moved to its current location in 1793.
#18. Hampden-Sydney College
Year founded: 1775
Public or private: Private
Hampden-Sydney College is a men’s liberal arts college located in central Virginia. The school is the last college to be founded before the American Revolution and is the oldest private charter college in the southern United States.
#17. Dickinson College
Year founded: 1773
Public or private: Private
Dickinson is a private liberal arts college located in southern Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School and chartered in 1783, making it the first college established in the new United States.
#16. Salem College
Year founded: 1772
Public or private: Private
Salem is a women’s liberal arts college located in northern North Carolina. It is the oldest women’s college in the nation.
#15. College of Charleston
Year founded: 1770
Public or private: Public
Charleston is the oldest institution of higher education in South Carolina. The school was finally chartered in 1785, with the first courses beginning in 1790. The college graduated its first class in 1794.
#14. Dartmouth College
Year founded: 1769
Public or private: Private
Dartmouth is one of seven Ivy League schools to be ranked among the 25 oldest colleges. The school became coeducational in 1972.
#13. Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Year founded: 1766
Public or private: Public
Rutgers was originally chartered as Queens College and is the second-oldest college in New Jersey. It is one of the nine Colonial Colleges, a group of nine institutions founded in the American Colonies prior to the U.S. becoming a sovereign nation.
#12. Brown University
Year founded: 1764
Public or private: Private
Brown was originally founded as the College of Rhode Island. The school was the first Ivy League school to accept students from all religious affiliations, and women were first admitted to Brown in 1891.
#11. Columbia University in the City of New York
Year founded: 1754
Public or private: Private
Columbia was established by royal charter of King George II as King’s College. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in New York State. The school was renamed Columbia University in 1896.
#10. Washington and Lee University
Year founded: 1749
Public or private: Private
Washington and Lee is a private liberal arts college located in northern Virginia. The school was originally called Augusta Academy and was renamed Washington University after receiving a donation from George Washington. Robert E. Lee served as the university president for five years until his death in 1870, upon which the school was given its current name.
#9. Princeton University
Year founded: 1746
Public or private: Private
Originally founded as the College of New Jersey, Princeton was first located in Elizabeth, N.J. The school moved to Newark, N.J., one year later, and then moved to its current location in 1756.
#8. University of Delaware
Year founded: 1743
Public or private: Public
The University of Delaware is the largest college in the state. The school was founded by Presbyterian minister Francis Alison as the “Free School,” and changed its name and location several times. It changed its name to Delaware College in 1843 and was given its current name in 1921.
#7. Moravian College
Year founded: 1742
Public or private: Private
Moravian College is a private liberal arts college located in eastern Pennsylvania. It was originally founded as a boarding school for young women, the first of its kind in the United States.
#6. University of Pennsylvania
Year founded: 1740
Public or private: Private
Penn was founded by Benjamin Franklin with the goal of having a liberal arts-like curriculum, though this plan was never fully adopted. Instead, the school used a more traditional curriculum when it held its first classes in 1751, more than a decade after its intial founding.
#5. Washington College
Year founded: 1723
Public or private: Private
Washington is a private, independent liberal arts college located in eastern Maryland. It was known as the College at Chester when it received a donation from George Washington, which was used to purchase scientific equipment.
#4. Yale University
Year founded: 1701
Public or private: Private
Yale was originally located in Saybrook, Conn., as the Collegiate School. It moved to its current location in 1716 and was renamed Yale College in 1718.
#3. St. John’s College
Year founded: 1696
Public or private: Private
Not to be confused with St. John’s University, St. John’s College is a private liberal arts college that has two campuses — one in Annapolis, Md., and one in Santa Fe, N.M. The Annapolis campus opened as King William’s School and was renamed St. John’s in 1784. The Santa Fe campus opened in 1964.
#2. College of William & Mary
Year founded: 1693
Public or private: Public
The College of William & Mary, founded by King William II and Queen Mary II, is located in eastern Virginia. The school’s alumni include three U.S. presidents: Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler.
#1. Harvard University
Year founded: 1636
Public or private: Private
The foundation of American higher education, Harvard was founded by the Massachusetts legislature and named after its first benefactor, English minister John Harvard. The school’s first commencement was held in 1642, honoring nine graduates. Eight U.S. presidents have graduated from Harvard, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama.
