Women’s Colleges and Universities

Women’s colleges and universities are postsecondary institutions that enroll and offer bachelor’s and postbaccalaureate degrees to female students only. In the United States, some women’s colleges also matriculate transgender students, though this practice is not common elsewhere. Depending on world region, women’s colleges play different roles in the postsecondary ecosystem. They are virtually nonexistent in South America. In North America, Europe, East and Southeast Asia, Australia, and Africa, single-sex institutions, as they are sometimes called, educate a very small minority of all women in higher education. In South Asia and the Pacific Islands, they play a more visible role in providing opportunities for women. In the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, women’s colleges and universities play a central role in educating female students. ...