Women's colleges in the Southern United States refers to undergraduate, bachelor's degree–granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations consist exclusively or almost exclusively of women, located in the Southern United States. Many started first as girls' seminaries or academies. Salem College is the oldest female educational institution in the South and Wesleyan College is the first that was established specifically as a college for women, closely followed by Judson College in 1838. Some schools, such as Salem College, offer coeducational courses at the graduate level. Educational institutions for women during the 19th century typically began as schools for girls, academies (which during the late 18th and early 19th centuries were the equivalent of secondary schools), or as female seminaries. (During the early 19th century there were forms of secular higher education.) The Women's College Coalition noted that: "Seminaries educated women for the only socially acceptable occupation: teaching. Only unmarried women could be teachers. Many early women's colleges began as female seminaries and were responsible for producing an important corps of educators." Schools are listed chronologically by the date on which they opened their doors to students. Current women's colleges are listed in bold text. Schools that are closing or transitioning to coeducation and former women's colleges that are now coeducational are listed in italics. Historically black colleges (HBCU) Historically black colleges and universities for women developed in the Southern United States in the 19th century after emancipation. {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Educational Institution !Location !Schooltype !Current enrollment(as female institution) !Opened doorto students !Collegiatecharter |- |align="left"|Scotia Seminary |align="left"|Concord, North Carolina |align="left"|CoeducationalBarber-Scotia Collegesince 1954Lost accreditationin 2004 |align="left"|N.A. |align="left"|1867(female seminary)1870 (chartered)1916(Scotia Women's College)1930(Merged with Barber Memorial College) |align="left"|1870(Women's college granted first degree 1874) |- |align="left"|Bennett College |align="left"|Greensboro, North Carolina |align="left"|Women's college |align="left"|780 |align="left"|1873(coeducational) |align="left"|1889 (Becomes women's college in 1926) |- |align="left"|Mount Hermon Female Seminary |align="left"|Clinton, Mississippi |align="left"|Closed in 1924 |align="left"|N.A. |align="left"|1875 |align="left"|Secured in 1873 |- |align="left"|Atlanta BaptistFemale Seminary(nowSpelman College) |align="left"|Atlanta, Georgia |align="left|Women's college |align="left"|2,290 |align="left"|1881 |align="left"|1924(First college degrees awarded in 1901) |- |align="left"|Tillotson College |align="left"|Austin, Texas |align="left"|1881-1926(Coeducational)1926–1935(Women's college) 1935–present(Coeducational)Huston–Tillotson University |align="left"|N.A. |align="left"|1881(coeducational) |align="left"|1926(Women's college) |- |align="left"|Hartshorn Memorial College |align="left"|Richmond, Virginia |align="left"|Merged withVirginia Union University in 1932. |align="left"|N.A. |align="left"|1883 |align="left"|March 13, 1884(First college degrees awarded in 1885.) |- |align="left"|Mary Allen Seminary |align="left"|Crockett, Houston County, Texas |align="left"|Coeducational in 1933 |align="left"|N.A. |align="left"|1886 |align="left"|N.A. |- |align="left"|Barber Memorial College |align="left"|Anniston, Alabama |align="left"|CoeducationalBarber-Scotia Collegesince 1954Lost accreditationin 2004 |align="left"|N.A. |align="left"|18961930(Merged with Scotia Women's College) |align="left"|1946(Women's college) |} Additional