Women were first allowed to attend college primarily in the 19th century. The very first women's college in the world, Wesleyan College in Georgia, opened in 1836, marking an important milestone. Before that, almost no colleges admitted women. In the United States, Oberlin College began admitting women in 1833, making it one of the first coeducational institutions. Throughout the 19th century, many women's colleges were established, including prominent ones like Vassar (1865), Wellesley (1875), Smith (1875), Bryn Mawr (1885), Radcliffe (1879), and Barnard (1889). By the late 1800s, nearly half of colleges and universities allowed women to enroll. Although Ivy League schools were mostly closed to women until the mid-20th century, women’s colleges flourished and provided a key avenue for women's higher education.
In the UK, women were gradually allowed to attend and earn degrees in universities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with Oxford allowing women to become full members and take degrees in 1920.
