Mount Holyoke College is a distinguished private institution in South Hadley, Massachusetts, known for its strong liberal arts and sciences curriculum. Initially founded in 1837 by educator Mary Lyon as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, it was one of the first colleges in the U.S. dedicated to the higher education of women. The institution officially became Mount Holyoke College in 1893, moving away from its seminary roots and evolving into a prominent college.
One of the Seven Sisters, a group of prestigious women’s colleges, Mount Holyoke has long been recognized for its rigorous academic offerings. These include humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences, with the addition of a Master of Arts degree in teaching, teacher leadership, and teaching mathematics. The college is particularly known for its forward-thinking approach; in 2014, it began admitting transgender and nonbinary students. Today, Mount Holyoke has an enrollment of approximately 2,200 undergraduates, including women, transgender, and nonbinary students.
Campus life is enriched by a variety of resources and facilities, including the Ciruti Language Center, the Gorse Children’s Center, the Fimbel Maker & Innovation Lab, and the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum, which is part of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. The college also provides opportunities for students returning to education through the Frances Perkins Scholars program, named for the first woman to serve in a U.S. Cabinet post, who was a Mount Holyoke alumna.
Mount Holyoke is an integral part of the Five Colleges consortium, which also includes Amherst, Hampshire, and Smith colleges, as well as the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It is also a participant in the Twelve College Exchange Program, an academic exchange initiative involving twelve New England colleges and universities.
Throughout its history, Mount Holyoke has produced many notable alumni, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, poet Emily Dickinson, astronomer Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg-Priestly, playwrights Suzan-Lori Parks and Wendy Wasserstein, and filmmaker Chloé Zhao. The college’s art museum, founded in 1876, stands as one of the oldest collegiate art museums in the U.S., contributing to the school’s rich legacy of intellectual and cultural achievement.