Buzz
As late summer approaches, signaling the beginning of the back-to-school season, college students will soon be rushing to complete their assignments and gulping down multiple shots of espresso during all-night study marathons.
For centuries, scholars have walked the revered corridors of universities across the globe. The oldest functioning university was founded as early as 859 CE in Fez, Morocco, long before the first American university—or even the United States itself—came into existence. Europe is also home to many universities that have been operating for over 500 years.
Unsurprisingly, higher education institutions in the U.S. are considerably younger than those in the Old World. However, several American universities have now been around for at least a couple of centuries.
The education search platform Erudera has curated a list of the oldest universities or colleges in every state, including Washington, D.C. Below, we present their findings.
The Oldest College in Every State
University | State | Year Founded |
|---|---|---|
The University of Alabama | Alabama | 1831 |
The University of Alaska Fairbanks | Alaska | 1917 |
The University of Arizona | Arizona | 1885 |
The University of the Ozarks | Arkansas | 1834 |
Santa Clara University | California | 1851 |
University of Denver | Colorado | 1864 |
Yale University | Connecticut | 1701 |
University of Delaware | Delaware | 1743 |
Florida State University | Florida | 1851 |
The University of Georgia | Georgia | 1785 |
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa | Hawaii | 1907 |
Brigham Young University-Idaho | Idaho | 1888 |
McKendree University | Illinois | 1828 |
Vincennes University | Indiana | 1801 |
Loras College | Iowa | 1839 |
Baker University | Kansas | 1858 |
Transylvania University | Kentucky | 1780 |
Centenary College of Louisiana | Louisiana | 1825 |
Bowdoin College | Maine | 1794 |
St. John's College | Maryland | 1696 |
Harvard University | Massachusetts | 1636 |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Michigan | 1817 |
University of Minnesota Twin Cities | Minnesota | 1851 |
Mississippi College in Clinton | Mississippi | 1826 |
Saint Louis University | Missouri | 1818 |
Rocky Mountain College | Montana | 1878 |
Peru State College | Nebraska | 1867 |
University of Nevada in Reno | Nevada | 1874 |
Dartmouth College | New Hampshire | 1769 |
Princeton University | New Jersey | 1746 |
New Mexico State University | New Mexico | 1888 |
Columbia University | New York | 1754 |
Salem College | North Carolina | 1772 |
The University of North Dakota | North Dakota | 1883 |
Ohio University | Ohio | 1804 |
Bacone College | Oklahoma | 1880 |
Willamette University | Oregon | 1842 |
University of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | 1740 |
Brown University | Rhode Island | 1764 |
The College of Charleston | South Carolina | 1770 |
Augustana University | South Dakota | 1860 |
Tusculum University | Tennessee | 1794 |
Southwestern University | Texas | 1840 |
University of Utah | Utah | 1850 |
Castleton State College | Vermont | 1787 |
College of William & Mary | Virginia | 1693 |
The University of Washington | Washington | 1861 |
West Liberty University | West Virginia | 1837 |
Carroll University | Wisconsin | 1846 |
The University of Wyoming | Wyoming | 1886 |
Georgetown University | Washington, D.C. | 1789 |
Seven out of the eight Ivy League institutions (excluding Cornell) are featured on this list. Harvard University in Massachusetts, the nation’s oldest higher education establishment, was established in 1636—over a century before the Declaration of Independence was even drafted.
Virginia boasts the second oldest institution, the College of William & Mary. This college is notable for being the first in the U.S. to receive a royal charter. King William II and Queen Mary II of England signed the charter in 1693 to create a “perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences” in the then-colony of Virginia.
While many of the schools on this list are private, several public institutions are also included. The University of Georgia, founded in 1785, holds the title of the oldest public university in the United States.
Alaska is home to the youngest institution on this list of oldest universities. The University of Alaska Fairbanks, established in 1917, was the first university in the 49th state. It was initially established as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines.
