Columbia University Bulletins, 1863-2023

Series XVI: Collegiate Course for Women Bulletins, 1883-1889

The Collegiate Course for Women was Columbia's first attempt to offer women limited access to the undergraduate program. The women students needed to pass the same entrance examinations for Columbia College as the male students and they could enroll in the same courses as the male students. However, the women were not allowed to attend the lectures with the male students. The women would meet with the professors at the beginning of the semester, receive a copy of the syllabus and the required readings, and they could then study on their own for the rest of the semester to prepare for the course examinations. Under these challenging circumstances, Mary Parsons Hankey became the first woman to receive her undergraduate degree from Columbia College in 1887. From 1883 to 1889, the Collegiate Course for Women enrolled 99 students but awarded only 8 degrees. The Collegiate Course for Women was ended once Barnard College opened its doors in 1889. The information about the program is included in the Handbook for Information. The course descriptions appear in the section for the School of Arts, the men's undegraduate program.