Mississippi University for Women

Located in historic downtown Columbus, Mississippi and established in 1884, Mississippi University for Women was the first public college for women in America. Originally known as the Industrial Institute and College, the name was changed to Mississippi State College for Women in 1920 and was changed again in 1974 to Mississippi University for Women and is affectionately referred to as "The W".

Admitting men since 1982, MUW still provides a high quality liberal arts education with a distinct emphasis on professional development and leadership opportunities for women.

Mississippi University for Women has a proud heritage of achievement and a campus of major historical and architectural significance -- there are 24 buildings on the campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Accolades: U.S. News & World Report's 2011 guide, "America's Best Colleges," placed MUW in the top tier of Best Regional Universities and as the highest ranked public school from Mississippi in the Southern category.

MUW’s highly regarded Culinary Arts Institute is one of the few programs of its kind in the nation offering a baccalaureate degree.

Graduates in MUW’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program have a 99.6 percent pass rate on the National Licensure Exam since inception of the program. For the ASN Program the overall pass rate since program inception is 99.2 percent.

MUW is home to the Mississippi Governor’s School and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, the fourth public, residential high school for gifted students in the nation.