There are 12 colleges and universities in the U.S. state of Vermont that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.[1] These include one research university, four master's universities, four primarily baccalaureate colleges, a law school, a community college and an art school that operates exclusively online.


There are three public institutions in Vermont, including the state's flagship public university is the University of Vermont (UVM).[2] The other two public institutions are organized as the Vermont State Colleges system, comprising Vermont State University and the Community College of Vermont. Colleges in Vermont range in size from UVM, with 14,476 students as of 2024, to Vermont College of Fine Arts, a private online-only art school with 190 students. All 12 institutions are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.[3]
Three schools claim to be the oldest college in Vermont. UVM was chartered in 1791 but did not begin instruction until 1800 or grant a degree until 1804. Middlebury College was chartered in 1800 and was Vermont's first college to grant an academic degree in 1802. Castleton University, which today is a campus of Vermont State University, was considered to be the oldest institution of higher learning in Vermont, having been originally chartered as a grammar school in 1787.[4][5][6] Vermont's newest college not formed from existing institutions is Landmark College, founded in 1984 to serve students with learning disabilities.
Institutions
edit| School | Location(s) | Control | Type[7] | Enrollment (Fall 2024)[8] |
Founded[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennington College | Bennington | Private | Baccalaureate college | 927 | 1932 |
| Champlain College | Burlington | Private | Master's university | 3,259 | 1878 |
| Community College of Vermont | 12 locations | Public | Associate's college | 5,028 | 1970[10] |
| Landmark College | Putney | Private | Baccalaureate/associate's college | 672 | 1984[11] |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury | Private | Baccalaureate college | 2,803 | 1800 |
| Norwich University | Northfield | Private | Master's university | 3,149 | 1819 |
| Saint Michael's College | Colchester | Private (Catholic) |
Baccalaureate college | 1,323 | 1904 |
| School for International Training | Brattleboro | Private | Master's university | 644 | 1965[12] |
| University of Vermont | Burlington | Public | Research university | 14,476 | 1791 |
| Vermont College of Fine Arts | Montpelier (online only) |
Private | Art school | 190 | 1831[13] |
| Vermont Law and Graduate School | South Royalton | Private | Law school | 722 | 1972[14] |
| Vermont State University | 5 locations | Public | Master's university | 4,775 | 2023 |
Out-of-state institutions
editOut-of-state colleges may offer degree programs in Vermont with approval of the Vermont State Board of Education, with input from the Vermont Higher Education Council, whose members include all the colleges and universities in Vermont.[15][16]
As of 2024, the only out-of-state institution offering degrees in Vermont is Southern New Hampshire University, which offers graduate degrees in education at the former Trinity College campus in Colchester.[17]
Unaccredited institutions
editTwo institutions are authorized by the state to offer degrees, but have not been recognized by a regional or national accrediting body:
- The Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction offers a Masters of Fine Arts program and was founded in 2004.[18][19]
- Northeastern Baptist College in Bennington offers bachelor's degrees and was founded in 2013.[20]
Defunct institutions
editSee also
editReferences and notes
edit- General
- National Center for Education Statistics. "Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System". Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- Specific
- ↑ "Institutions Search - CARNEGIE CLASSIFICATION OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION". carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
- ↑ Campus tensions in Connecticut: Searching for Solutions in the Nineties. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. 1994. p. 1.
- ↑ "Vermont Institutions". NECHE. New England Commission of Higher Education. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ↑ "Castleton State College | Liberal Arts, Education, Vermont | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ↑ "'Vermont's First College' Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ↑ "information-history-index". Vermont State University Castleton. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
- ↑ School types are based on the Carnegie Classification:
"Institution Lookup". The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Retrieved April 6, 2021. - ↑ Enrollment is the total enrollment as reported by IPEDS for Fall 2024.
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report. "America's Best Colleges 2008". Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ↑ Community College of Vermont. "Facts at a Glance". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ↑ Landmark College. "The Landmark College Story". Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ↑ School for International Training. "Virtual Campus Tour". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ↑ Vermont College of Fine Arts. "Vermont College of Fine Arts Progress Report January 2007—January 2008". Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
- ↑ Vermont Law School. "VLS Press Kit". Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ↑ Vermont Higher Education Council. "Certification". Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ↑ Vermont Agency of Education. "Postsecondary Programs". Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ↑ "SNHU Vermont". Southern New Hampshire University. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ↑ "Programs". Center for Cartoon Studies. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ↑ "The Accreditation Question" (PDF). Center for Cartoon Studies. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ↑ Art Toalston (September 17, 2014). "Baptist college gains Vermont accreditation". Baptist Press. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Pharmacy college will close Vermont campus in June 2021 | Vermont Business Magazine". vermontbiz.com. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
- ↑ Holm, Coralee (May 16, 2016). "Burlington College Closes Academic Programs". Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ↑ Castleton Historical Society. "Castleton Medical College Chapel". Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- 1 2 Noyes, Amy Kolb (September 22, 2017). "How Rival State Colleges Are Merging To Become Northern Vermont University". www.vpr.org.
- ↑ Ohles, John F. (1982). Private colleges and universities, Volume 1. Greenwood Press. p. 736. ISBN 0-313-23323-3.
- ↑ "Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies, Emerson College". www.emerson.edu. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
- ↑ The College Blue Book: Narrative descriptions. Macmillan. 1987. p. 709. ISBN 0-02-695880-5.
- ↑ Drysdale, M.D. (October 17, 2013). "Law School Founder Doria Is Dead". The Herald. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ↑ Duffort, Lola (November 13, 2025). "Sterling College announces it will close this spring". Vermont Public. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
- ↑ Trinity College of Vermont Association of Alumni and Friends. "History of Trinity College of Vermont". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ↑ Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association (1918). Medical Colleges of the United States and of Foreign Countries. American Medical Association. p. 16.
- ↑ Putney Historical Society. "History Timeline 1500s-2004". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2007.