Vassar College

A pioneer for women’s education and liberal arts education in the United States, Matthew Vassar founded Vassar College in 1861. Opening its doors to its first class of 353 students paying $350 for tuition and “residence” on September 26, 1865, the college offered young women a liberal arts education equal to that of the best men’s colleges of the day.

Today, the curriculum is broader, richer, and more varied than ever, with an increasing emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach to intellectual inquiry. Students choose among 30 departments, 5 interdepartmental programs, 13 multidisciplinary programs, the interdisciplinary Independent Program, 51 majors, 2 Accelerated and Dual Degree programs, and over 1,000 courses.

Students interested in doing original research have many options. Students work as research assistants for faculty members in virtually every department, either for academic credit or as paid assistants. A student who is interested in studying a particular topic can ask a faculty member to supervise them in an independent study project. 

During the summer, there are three research programs on campus—one in the sciences, one in the humanities, and one in the arts. Students who qualify for these programs immerse themselves in a research project for 10 weeks, working one-on-one with a faculty mentor—and earning a generous stipend.

First, join VassarNet, Vassar’s online community of alumnae/i, students, parents, faculty, and friends of Vassar, to build your network and find Vassar-connected opportunities. On this platform, you can:

• Search for people by industry, location, major, and more.
• Send messages to contacts of interest, and set up informational interviews.
• Join groups to affiliate over shared interests and identities.
• Search for (or post) job and internship opportunities for the Vassar community.
• Ask career-related questions and get answers from the community.