Best Women’s Colleges in 2023
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With over 10 million women enrolled at higher education institutions — accounting for nearly 60% of all students enrolled — women’s colleges offer academic opportunities such as small class sizes and inclusive communities.
Women’s colleges prioritize the enrollment of women to provide a unique educational experience for women pursuing higher education nationwide. These schools offer academic opportunities such as small class sizes and inclusive communities.
Women’s colleges emerged when most colleges and universities barred women from enrolling.
The Women’s College Coalition reports that today, about 5% of women college students attend women’s colleges. Women’s colleges in the U.S. account for a small section of expanding higher education options.
Dr. Gretchen Edwalds-Gilberts, acting vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Scripps College, said, “Women’s colleges afford students a supportive, academically rigorous environment that allows them to develop as leaders in curricular and co-curricular areas.”
What Is a Women’s College?
Many women’s colleges are liberal arts institutions focusing on educational pursuits such as creative arts, sociology, and literature.
The first women’s college, Georgia’s Wesleyan College, opened its doors in 1836. By 1960, 230 women’s colleges offered higher education opportunities to women across the country. Since then, many women’s colleges have closed their doors — leaving fewer than 50 women’s colleges open today.
Over time, decreasing demand for single-gender institutions forced some women’s colleges to change their educational focus. Others have changed their admissions policy by welcoming men and nonbinary students. Many institutions, including all on this list, have clarified their admission policies to include transgender women.
While some women’s colleges experienced steady or increasing enrollment in recent decades, most encountered financial loss due to low enrollment. The Me Too movement and other political actions have helped increase applications to women’s colleges, providing a much-needed boost for many institutions.
Elizabeth Dion, a senior theater and international studies double major at Hollins University, said, “I personally wasn’t looking explicitly for a women’s college during my college search. I just happened to stumble upon Hollins and felt immediately drawn to it, but I am so glad I did find my historically women’s college because I don’t know who I’d be without it.”
Women’s colleges offer a unique experience that many women find academically, socially, and financially beneficial. This guide lists some of the top women’s colleges in the United States using various ranking criteria. It can help you decide which college might be the best for you.
2023 Best Women’s Colleges
Rankings compiled by the BestColleges Ranking Team
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Frequently Asked Questions About Women’s Colleges
What is the most prestigious women’s college?
The most prestigious women’s colleges are highly ranked schools based on criteria like graduation and retention rates. Wellesley College, Barnard College, and Scripps College rank as some of the top women’s colleges in the country. Wellesley has the highest graduation and retention rates of all women’s colleges.
Barnard College, in partnership with Columbia University, offers students an expanse of academic courses and high graduation rates. Scripps College also boasts a high graduation rate.
Why do women’s colleges exist?
Women’s colleges were founded to provide women with higher education opportunities during a time when women were barred from institutions nationwide.
During the 19th century, hundreds of women’s colleges opened, creating a variety of educational opportunities for women. Today, women’s colleges continue to offer a unique educational experience, often with a focus on liberal arts.
What was the first college to admit women?
Oberlin College, located in Ohio, was the first higher education institution to admit women. The school was a coed institution from its founding in 1833. Oberlin was also the first college to admit Black students into its programs. Wesleyan College, founded in 1836, was the first women’s college to open — dedicated specifically to educating women.
Are all women’s colleges private?
Women’s colleges — schools that entirely or almost entirely enroll women — are typically private higher education schools. These undergraduate institutions often focus on liberal arts studies.
Many private women’s colleges collaborate with coed institutions to expand their student offerings.
Featuring:
Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert is Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Scripps College, a women’s college in Claremont California.
She is a molecular biologist who completed her PhD at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and did postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope in Duarte, California. Edwalds-Gilbert is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and serves as a CUR Councilor for the Biology Division. In her own molecular biology lab, she has supervised more than 65 undergraduates and is a champion of increasing the number of underrepresented students in science. She is a National Science Foundation grantee, focusing on the regulation of gene expression under stress response, and she has received funding from the Keck Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, among others. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Warsaw Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology throughout the 2018–2019 academic year.
Elizabeth Dion (she/they) is a senior theatre and international studies double major at Hollins University. They are heavily involved in student leadership positions and extracurriculars on campus such as serving as the president of the Hollins Student Theatre Association, Lead Admissions Ambassador, Student Success Leader, stage manager, and Orientation Team Leader.
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