What Colleges Require the COVID-19 Vaccine?
Credit: Image Credit: Phynart Studio / E+ / Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump signed an executive order Feb. 14 to withhold federal funding from schools — including public colleges and universities — requiring COVID-19 vaccines for attendance.
However, as spring 2025 students return to campus, most colleges and universities have ended their COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
Many institutions announced the end of their COVID-19 vaccine requirements last May, days after President Joe Biden signed a bill ending the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies.
Other colleges and universities have either entirely removed COVID-19 resource websites or haven’t updated them since early 2022. However, about a dozen schools still have vaccine requirements, according to advocacy group NoCollegeMandates.
Check your school’s website to learn about its COVID-19 vaccine requirements. You can also review our full list below, which includes colleges requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for on-campus students.
A Full List of Colleges Requiring the COVID-19 Vaccine
Last Updated: February 14, 2025
California
- California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt: Students in residential housing must be immunized according to current COVID-19 vaccine recommendations of the CDC. Medical and religious exemptions may apply.
- California State University, Dominguez Hills: COVID-19 vaccine recommended for general students, required for athletes and on-campus housing students.
- Mount Saint Mary’s University: COVID-19 vaccine series required for all students. Medical and religious exemptions are accepted.
- University of San Francisco: Initial COVID-19 vaccines are required for undergraduate and graduate domestic students, international students, and nursing students.
Georgia
- Clark Atlanta University: All enrolled students must have one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine given on or after 8/31/2022.
- Morehouse College: All enrolled students must have one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine given on or after 8/31/2022.
- Morris Brown College: COVID vaccination card is required for admission. Religious and medical exemptions accepted.
- Oglethorpe University: COVID-19 vaccine required for all students. Medical and religious accommodations are accepted.
- Spelman College: Students are required to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination, including a booster.
New Hampshire
- Franklin Pierce University: Initial COVID-19 immunization series is mandatory for admissions.
Ohio
- Oberlin College: All students, faculty, and staff attending or working at Oberlin are required to receive a full COVID-19 vaccine, unless approved for a medical or religious exemption.
Oregon
- Reed College: Up to date COVID-19 immunization is required for all students prior to the start of the fall academic term.
Pennsylvania
- Bryn Mawr College: All faculty, staff, and students are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Medical and religious exemptions accepted.
- Haverford College: Incoming and transfer students are required to get the most updated FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine, administered after August 2023.
- Swarthmore College: New students are required to have the initial series and one booster of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Note that this list covers COVID-19 vaccine requirements for 2024-2025 on-campus or residential students and does not specify all individual university policies such as vaccine exemptions. Some colleges may require all students, regardless of their residential status, to get vaccinated. Faculty and staff vaccine requirements may be different from the residential student requirements listed above.
Don’t see your school on this list? Reach out to contact@support.bestcolleges.com if your college or university still requires the COVID-19 vaccine. Please include the relevant vaccine page link or email.
Editor’s Note: This article is updated regularly as new information becomes available. Reporting and data collection for this piece has been provided by Jessica Bryant, Anne Dennon, Darlene Earnest, Reece Johnson, Hannah Muniz, Rachel Schneider, Evan Castillo, Chloe Appleby, and Jordan Stewart-Rozema.