Higher education has already been plagued with controversy - the primary issues being who is entitled to get it, and how. In Britain, college degrees remained out of reach of women until 1880, when the first four BAs were issued to women by the University of London. Many colleges allowed women to take exams and receive notice of their placement - but were not granted the degrees that such placement would have earned them had they been men.
In America, women struggled to gain the same level of higher education as men, but these struggles seemed to bear fruit considerably earlier. By the advent of the Civil War, several women's colleges already existed in the US, including medical schools that had already graduated several female doctors. Colleges like Oberlin began accepting women as early as 1833, and degree programs were available to women by the 1840's.
Besides dealing with the question of whether women should or shouldn't be able to get a college degree, Victorians also began to address the question of education and privilege. Evening colleges and night classes made it possible, for the first time, for the working classes to gain additional education; such programs offered classes not only in traditional college subjects but also in trades and business topics. Vocational schools provided new opportunities for the growing number of women seeking employment. Schools and colleges also arose for those with special needs, including a number of schools for the blind.
This section looks at the controversies over women's education, and brings you a host of articles about the colleges, universities and educational programs available to the Victorian adult.
- Educating the Victorian Woman
- Women's Education: Should She or Shouldn't She?
- Women's Colleges, Universities & Degree Programs
- Extensions, Home Study & University Exams
- Educational Institutions
- British Colleges & Universities
- American Colleges & Universities
- International Colleges & Universities
- Women's Colleges, Universities & Degree Programs
- Victorian College Life
- Other Educational Opportunities
- Arts & Music Training
- Vocational Training
- Physical Education
- Education for Special Needs
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