There are 14 colleges and universities in the U.S. state of Vermont. These include one research university, five master's universities, an art school, a law school, and a number of associate's and baccalaureate colleges. One institution chartered in another state also offers degree programs at a location in Vermont.
The state's flagship public university is the University of Vermont.[1] The other two public institutions are organized as the Vermont State Colleges system, of which Vermont State University and the Community College of Vermont are the two constituent parts.
The title of oldest post-secondary institution in Vermont is shared by two institutions. The University of Vermont was chartered in 1791 but did not begin instruction until 1800 or grant a degree until 1804. Middlebury College was chartered in 1800 and is Vermont's oldest operating college and the first to grant an academic degree in 1802. Vermont's newest college not formed from existing institutions is Landmark College, founded in 1984 to serve students with learning disabilities.
The state's colleges range in size from the University of Vermont, with 13,348 students, to Sterling College is a private work college with 112 students as of Fall 2022.
All fourteen institutions are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.[2]
Out-of-state colleges have the ability to offer degree programs in Vermont, provided they are approved by the Vermont State Board of Education, with input from the Vermont Higher Education Council, whose members include all the colleges and universities in Vermont.[14][15]
As of 2024, the only out of state institution offering degrees in Vermont is Southern New Hampshire University's, which through their School of Education offers graduate programs at a campus in Colchester.[16] These programs had previously existed as part of Trinity College Vermont's offerings until that institution's closure in 2001, at which point its graduation education programs became affiliated with SNHU.[17]
Previously, Springfield College offered a human services degree program in St. Johnsbury[18] from 1991 to 2020.[19] In addition, the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences had a campus in Colchester, Vermont that shut down in June 2021 due to declining enrollment.[20][21] The Vermont Campus offered the professional pharmacy program and a two-year master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Two institutions are authorized by the state to offer degrees, but have not been recognized by a regional or national accrediting body: