All-Women Colleges in North Carolina

In the nineteenth century, most women who attended college went to schools only for women. During the 1960s, there was a push toward largely coeducational institutions. While there are only about 60 all female colleges in the United States today, there are four women’s colleges in North Carolina.

Bennett College

Bennett College is a small women’s college located in Greensboro, NC. In 2010, there were fewer than 800 students enrolled. Bennett is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It offers both BA and BS degrees in a wide variety of majors, including English, biology and computer science. The current site of Bennett College was established by a group of former slaves in the late 1800s and became an all women’s college in 1926.

Meredith College

Meredith College is a liberal arts school in Raleigh, NC. It is one of the largest private women’s colleges in the United States. Meredith enrolls more than 2,200 students each year, and nearly one third of those participate in a study abroad program. Meredith also offers coed graduate degree programs. Meredith’s mascot is the Avenging Angels. They compete in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Peace College

Peace College is an all women’s college founded in 1857. It is currently independent, but was formerly affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Peace offers 16 majors for its bachelor’s degree programs to it approximately 700 students. Peace is a member of the USA South Athletic Conference and participates in six sports.

Salem College

The oldest college for women in the United States is Salem College, which was founded prior to 1800. It is a private liberal arts college and is located in Winston-Salem, NC. Salem is a 4-year college, also offering two graduate degrees. Men are accepted into the graduate programs. Salem enrolls about 1,100 students each year. Student athletes participate in six sports in the Great South Athletic Conference as the Salem Spirits.

UNC Greensboro

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro was founded in 1891 as a college just for women within the UNC system. It’s name changed from The Women’s College of North Carolina to UNC Greensboro in 1963. Even though it has been coeducation since that time, the college still enrolls slightly more than twice as many women as men each year. UNC Greensboro offers more than 100 undergraduate programs and nearly as many advanced degrees.