Beyond Books and Buildings:
North Carolina's History of Higher Education Digital Project

Chronological List of Colleges & Universities

Date of opening* -- School Name -- Date of closing (if closed)

1766 David Caldwell’s Log College (1822)
1767 Queens College (1780)
1772 Salem College
1787 Louisburg College
1789 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1834 Wake Forest University
1837 Davidson College
1837 Guilford College
1838 Duke University
1838 Greensboro College
1841 Floral College (1878)
1842 St. Mary’s Junior College (closed)
1848 Chowan College
1850 Carolina Female College (1868)
1851 Asheville Female College (1901)
1851 Catawba College
1851 Oxford Female College (1925)
1852 Oak Ridge Military Institute (1965)
1853 Wesleyan Female College (1893)
1854 Goldsboro Female College (1871)
1856 Mars Hill College
1856 Mitchell Community College
1856 Yadkin College (1924)
1856 Warrenton Female College (1873)
1857 Davenport College (1933)
1857 Peace College
1857 Queens University
1859 North Carolina College (1901)
1865 Shaw University
1867 Barber-Scotia College
1867 Johnson C. Smith University
1867 St. Augustine’s College
1867 Thomasville Female College (1889)
1870 Rutherford College (1932)
1873 Bennett College
1873 Weaver College (1933)
1875 Southwood College (closed)
1876 Belmont Abbey College
1877 Fayetteville State University
1879 Livingstone College
1880 Claremont College (1915)
1881 Concordia College (1935)
1882 Judson College(1892)
1882 Kinston College (1891)
1882 Littleton College (1919)
1885 Pfeiffer College
1886 Kittrell College (closed)
1887 Campbell University
1887 Gaston College (1905)
1887 North Carolina State University
1887 University of North Carolina at Pembroke
1889 Elon University
1889 High Point Female College (1893)
1889 Western Carolina University
1891 Elizabeth City State University
1891 Lenoir Rhyne College
1891 University of North Carolina at Greensboro
1891 North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University
1891 Meredith College
1892 Sacred Heart College (1984)
1892 Winston-Salem State University
1894 Warren Wilson College
1895 Brevard College
1896 Flora Macdonald College (1961)
1897 Wingate College
1897 Elizabeth College (1915)
1899 Appalachian State University
1900 Lees-McRae College
1902 Atlantic Christian College (closed)
1902 Barton College
1905 Gardner-Webb University
1909 East Carolina University
1910 North Carolina Central University
1912 Carolina College (1926)
1916 Montreat College
1924 High Point University
1933 University of North Carolina at Asheville
1929 Presbyterian Junior College (1961)
1933 Black Mountain College (1956)
1946 University of North Carolina at Charlotte
1947 University of North Carolina at Wilmington
1948 Roanoke Bible College
1951 Southeastern Free Will Baptist College
1952 Mount Olive College
1956 North Carolina Wesleyan College
1957 Wayne Community College
1957 Catawba Valley Community College
1958 Alamance Community College
1958 Lenoir Community College
1958 Guildford Technical Community College
1958 Wilson Technical Community College
1959 Asheville-Buncombe Community College
1959 Cape Fear Community College
1960 Methodist College
1960 Forsyth Technical Community College
1961 Durham Technical Community College
1961 College of the Albermarle
1961 St. Andrews Presbyterian College
1961 Fayetteville Technical Community College
1961 Pitt Community College
1963 Central Piedmont Community College
1963 Gaston College
1963 Cataret Community College
1963 Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
1963 Pamlico Community College
1964 Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
1964 James Sprunt Community College
1964 McDowell Technical Community College
1964 Southwestern Community College
1964 Tri-County Community College
1965 Western Piedmont Community College
1965 Sandhills Community College
1965 Southeastern Community College
1965 Wilkes Community College
1965 Haywood Community College
1965 Sampson Community College
1965 Cleveland Community College
1965 Coastal Carolina Community College
1965 Robeson Community College
1965 Clinton Community College
1966 Davidson County Community College
1966 Isothermal Community College
1966 Rockingham Community College
1966 Surry Community College
1966 Randolph Community College
1966 Central Carolina Community College
1967 Martin Community College
1967 Roanoke-Chowan Community College
1967 Bladen Community College
1967, 1971 Edgecombe Community College
1967 Halifax Community College
1967 Nash Community College
1967 Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
1969 Johnston Community College
1969 Blue Ridge Community College
1969 Craven Community College
1969 Vance-Granville Community College
1970 Piedmont Community College
1971 Mayland Community College
1971 Stanly Community College
1973 Art Institute of Charlotte
1979 Beaufort County Community College
1980 Brunswick Community College
1983 Carolina Bible College
1990 Southeastern Free Will Baptist College
1999 Carolinas College of Health Sciences
1999 South Piedmont Community College

*The founding dates of colleges can vary from the date of first classes. Also some institutions operated as academies before offering college level classes.

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