Stephens College

Stephens College occupies a campus in Columbia, Missouri, adjacent to downtown and near the University of Missouri. Founded in 1833, it ranks among the oldest women's colleges in the United States and has remained a women's college at the undergraduate level while opening graduate and some professional programs to all students. Enrollment stays small, and the college has built a reputation in performing arts, fashion, and equestrian studies alongside its academic and pre-professional offerings.

Programs span the liberal arts and sciences with a set of applied and health-related fields, delivered on campus and, for some offerings, online. Students in science tracks complete the foundational sequence in biology, chemistry, and anatomy and physiology that supports clinical and graduate study, and the college's location in Columbia places students near a substantial concentration of hospitals, clinics, and health research activity for a city of its size. Class sizes stay small enough for close faculty contact throughout, and the residential character of the campus shapes student life. Compared with Missouri's large public universities, Stephens offers a distinctly smaller setting with an unusual institutional history and mission.