Men's Colleges in the United States: A Unique Educational Path
For college-bound students, the decision of where to pursue higher education involves numerous considerations. Questions such as "Public or private?", "Urban or suburban?", and "Large student body or small student body?" often come to mind. However, one question that is not asked as frequently today as it was in the past is: coeducational or single-sex? This article aims to provide an overview of men's colleges in the United States, exploring their history, benefits, and the institutions that remain.
A Historical Perspective on Single-Sex Education
In the United States, college was long the domain of men. Exactly 200 years passed between the founding of Harvard University in 1636 and the founding of the Georgia Female College (now called Wesleyan), the first school chartered from its inception as a full college for women. It was at this time that the doors to higher education began to open to women, with the founding of more women’s-only colleges, and more colleges becoming coeducational. In 1837, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) was founded-the first of the Seven Sisters, a group of seven historically all-women’s colleges.
As time passed, more and more schools embraced the idea of coeducation. By 1981, 92% of US colleges and universities were coed, with just 3% of schools all-men and 5% all-women. However, some schools were slow to adapt, notably many of the nation’s most prestigious schools. Ivy League schools like Princeton, Dartmouth, and Brown didn’t become coeducational until the late 1960s/early 1970s, while it took Harvard’s 1977 merger with Radcliffe College to go coeducational. Even later to become coeducational was the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), which didn’t admit its first female cadet until the US Supreme Court intervened in 1997. The decision of pursuing a single-sex education or coeducation has even proven difficult for colleges and universities to answer. For example, Connecticut’s Wesleyan University has shifted its position on this three times: admitting women beginning in 1872, closing its doors to them in 1912, and going coeducational again in 1972. Even Wabash, one of the few remaining all-male schools in the US, has struggled with the issue.
The shift towards coeducation was influenced by several factors, including economics and changing cultural values. Today, women compose a larger percentage of undergraduate students; since the 1981-82 academic year, women have received more bachelor’s degrees than men. Currently, women receive 57% of the bachelor degrees awarded by US colleges and universities. In addition to the financial benefits of coeducation, the other reason for the disappearance of all-male schools was cultural. Many colleges and universities began valuing their campuses as places where people from different ethnicities, religions, financial means, etc. The country’s more progressive values also played a role in the diminishing number of all-male schools; as Andrea Hamilton notes in her book A Vision for Girls: Gender, Education, and the Bryn Mawr School, “From the perspective of reformers, the remaining male-only institutions were bastions of male privilege and power.
The Rationale for Men's Colleges
In spite of shifting values and ideals, many believe that not only is there a place for men’s-only colleges, but that there is an increasing need for them as men fall behind women academically. A 2011 report on the gender gap in education by NBC news noted that women dominate high school honor rolls and make up more than 70% of class valedictorians. All-male colleges offer some men the opportunity to attend an institution that may be personally and intellectually right for them. More importantly, they can help bridge some of the challenges facing today’s male students. For example, the all-male Hampden-Sydney College has a 9% higher graduation rate than the national average for men. The plaque on the front gate of Hampden-Sydney College reads, “Come here as youths so that you may leave as men,” and that’s just what it has been doing for over 200 years. Founded in 1775-Patrick Henry and James Madison among its early Trustees-Hampden-Sydney is the tenth oldest college in the United States.
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Defining Men's Colleges
Men's colleges in the United States are primarily, though not exclusively, those categorized as being undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting single-sex institutions that admit only men. As of 2024, there are three private, non-religious, four-year, all-male college institutions in the United States.
Current Landscape of Men's Colleges
As of 2020, there are just four four-year, all-male colleges in the United States. All schools are private, meaning that they are not funded by their states. It should also be noted that most of these schools define male by sex and not gender identity. So if you are transgender or were not assigned male at birth, you'll most likely be unable to enroll.
Here's a closer look at the existing men's colleges:
Hampden-Sydney College: Located in Hampden Sydney, Virginia, it's one of the oldest private colleges in the country and is focused on liberal arts. The historic 1340-acre campus lies five miles south of historic Farmville, the county seat of Prince Edward County and home to Longwood University. Founded in 1775, Hampden-Sydney is the tenth oldest college in the United States. The college seeks to develop well-rounded young men who excel in leadership and are prepared for diverse career paths. Since before the American Revolution, Hampden-Sydney College leadership has carried out its purpose to transform young men into the best possible versions of themselves, with the moral strength and intellectual capacity to be leaders in the workplace and in their communities. The plaque on the front gate of Hampden-Sydney College reads, “Come here as youths so that you may leave as men,” and that’s just what it has been doing for over 200 years. Niche.com and Forbes name H-SC one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Morehouse College: A historically black college, Morehouse is in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1867, Morehouse College is the only historically black men’s college in the US. It is a highly respected institution that mainly focuses on liberal arts, offering undergraduate programs across various fields, including humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Some of its renowned alumni include Martin Luther King Jr. and Spike Lee. Morehouse is a member of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, a partnership between Morehouse, Clark Atlanta University, and Spelman College.
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Saint John's University: Found in Collegeville, Minnesota, Saint John's University has a strong liberal arts curriculum and engages with its sister school, College of Saint Benedict, which is an all-women's institution. The two are located on rural campuses about an hour from Minneapolis/St. Nearly all SJU students live on campus throughout their four years of college. The two schools have a unique partnership, sharing academic programs as well as extracurricular activities, offering a somewhat coeducational experience. Enrolled students have access to facilities and can take classes at both campuses. However, they live on their respective campuses. This bold model that we call 'strong integration' allows both men and women to preserve pieces of their historically beloved traditions, rituals and spaces but experience other parts of campus life in contemporary, coed, forward-thinking ways," Kolomitz says.
Wabash College: Located in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Wabash College is also known for its strong liberal arts curriculum. Located an hour outside Indianapolis, Wabash College is the highest ranked all-boys college, with an A grade on Niche and a #53 ranking on the US News list of the best liberal arts colleges. It strives to foster intellectual development and engaged citizenship. Notable for its rigorous academics and a unique campus culture, Wabash offers a solid foundation for various career paths. Wabash is known for its high-quality academics and thriving Greek life. The college offers a total of 39 majors and minors and requires all students to complete a course called Freshman Tutorial and Enduring Questions. Sports play a big role on the campus of Wabash College: nearly 40% of the student body participates in varsity sports for the school’s “Little Giants,” while 80% plays intramural or club sports. Additionally, Wabash is part of one of college football’s best rivalries-every year they compete against DePauw University for possession of the Monon Bell, a 300-pound locomotive bell.
Unique Partnerships and Arrangements
A few men's colleges exist as components of a larger co-educational institution or partnership. Some universities separate their undergraduate students into individual, gender-conscious colleges. Yeshiva University oversees the all-male Yeshiva College as well as the Stern College for Women. There is also the type of men's colleges that are formally independent but have close academic relationships with women's colleges on adjacent campuses, as is the case of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, respectively. Unlike the single-sex colleges at Yeshiva and Richmond, they are not considered to be two colleges within one larger university, but instead two independent colleges joined in a partnership arrangement.
Morehouse, an Atlanta-based historically Black college, is part of a consortium. Students can cross-register for courses at any member institutions of the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, including the neighboring all-women Spelman College and coed Clark Atlanta University.
Benefits of Attending a Men's College
Compared to coed institutions, all-male institutions tend to put more of an emphasis on brotherhood, leadership and character development, experts say.
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Here are some potential advantages:
Emphasis on Brotherhood, Leadership, and Character Development: Men's colleges often prioritize these aspects, fostering a close-knit community. "Having taught for many, many years at a coed environment, I was used to seeing in group work - it's the young women in the group who would organize the group," Stimpert says. "It was the young women who were giving the assignments to people. And the guys get to kind of free ride on all that leadership that the women in the coed environment provide. Here, our guys have to take on that responsibility. … I think honor code, code of conduct and this assumption of responsibility is a really big part of the character development." Men's colleges "tend to be schools that run on honor codes, where students are given great responsibility and they're held to very high standards," says Wabash president Scott Feller. "We are very concerned here with what students are learning, but we're also very concerned with their development of virtues that will serve them for the rest of their life." Wabash's honor code, which it calls "the gentleman's rule," is: “The student is expected to conduct himself at all times, both on and off campus, as a gentleman and a responsible citizen.”"We expect that for four years, but we expect it for the rest of their life," Feller says. "It's not just a diploma, it's not just an academic achievement, it's a high expectation."
Lifelong Friendships and Close Connections: Attending a men's college is "the road less traveled," Feller says. "It is for students who are willing to look outside the median of higher education. Oftentimes they are students who really are looking for brotherhood. They're looking for lifelong friendships. They're looking to make really close connections with other students."
Small Class Sizes and Close Faculty Interaction: Small, private men's colleges allow for smaller class sizes and opportunities to work closely with faculty members. "I don't think you can get that at these large universities - where the professor invites you to his house once a week to share a meal," says Owen Williams, a rising senior and student body president at Hampden-Sydney. "It's really a special thing.
Deeper Sense of Community: Single-sex environments also foster a deeper sense of community, experts say. "And one thing that I think is so important at single-sex education schools is the bond you build with your peers. Everyone's closer, everyone's more vulnerable and everyone can share what they want to share without having to put on a show. Not that I'm saying that that's a normal thing, but at the end of the day, it's all guys - it's you and your buddies."
Higher Graduation Rates: For example, the all-male Hampden-Sydney College has a 9% higher graduation rate than the national average for men. Morehouse College is notable for its six-year graduation rate, which is often 20% higher than the national average for black men.
Is a Men's College Right for You?
A single-sex college is not for every student, Feller notes, but "part of the strength of American higher education is the diversity of institution types and that there should be colleges for women to attend that have as their mission to educate young women, and similarly for young men."
If you’re interested in attending an all-boys college, it’s important that you make sure this type of environment will be a good fit for you, academically and socially. Think about what draws you to the men’s college you’re thinking of applying to (other than the fact that it's men-only). What kind of environment are you looking for? Do you like the campus and the area around it? The four remaining all-male colleges are located in wildly different regions, from rural Minnesota to bustling Atlanta. Do you plan to participate in any extracurriculars? Some all-male colleges offer more clubs and activities for students than others. Would you prefer having a women-only sister school nearby? Two all-male colleges-Morehouse and Saint John’s-share academic resources and do activities together with a nearby women's college. Do you want to be surrounded by other African Americans? The remaining all-boys colleges are liberal arts colleges, meaning they focus on giving students a traditional, broad education in the liberal arts. For instance, maybe you want to form close male friendships because you didn’t really get to do so in high school. Or maybe you’re drawn to the idea of becoming part of a school-wide brotherhood.
While coed and single-sex campuses may physically look the same, the environment often differs, so experts encourage potential students to visit a men's college to better understand day-to-day campus life. "Very few high school students are attending single-sex high schools," Feller says. "There are single-sex high schools, but it's a small piece of the pie. So I think students need to come to visit so that they can understand what it is about the community, what it is about the ways that the students are learning. They need to come and experience a classroom." Visiting students "might walk through the library or the campus center and see guys helping each other, working together in a spirit that combines both competition and support for each other," he says.
Financial Considerations
Here’s an overview of the net cost of each men’s college. The net cost is the average of how much students pay in total after receiving any scholarships/grants and loans; it also includes room and board and other fees. As you can see, the actual cost to attend a men’s college ranges from around $22,000 a year to close to $39,000-that’s a huge $17,000 difference!
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