Longwood University  |  History

Longwood University, a pioneer first in private and later in public education, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States. The University was founded on March 5, 1839--the date that the Farmville Female Seminary Association was incorporated by the General Assembly of Virginia.

In the succeeding years the increasing prosperity of the Farmville Female Seminary led the stockholders to expand the seminary into a college, and the Farmville Female College was incorporated in 1860. On April 7, 1884, the State of Virginia acquired the property of the Farmville Female College, and in October of the same year the Normal School opened with 110 students enrolled. This was the first state institution of higher learning for women in Virginia.

With the passage of the years, the Normal School expanded its curricula and progressed through a succession of names. It became the State Normal School for Women in 1914, the State Teachers College at Farmville in 1924, and Longwood College in 1949.

The College was first authorized to offer four-year curricula leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education in 1916. It was authorized to offer the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1935, the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1938, curricula in business education the same year, courses leading to a degree in music education in 1949, and the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1976. In 1978, the College was authorized to offer the Bachelor of Fine Arts, and in 1981, the Bachelor of Music. In 1954, graduate programs were authorized. Longwood became fully coeducational in June 1976.

In the summer of 2002, Longwood College officially became Longwood University, and in Fall 2007, Longwood University became a Division I institution.  Go Lancers!