Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is 30 miles (48 km) south of Pittsburgh. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to the American frontier in the 1780s: John McMillan, Thaddeus Dod, and Joseph Smith. These early schools eventually grew into two competing academies and colleges, with Canonsburg Academy, later Jefferson College, located in Canonsburg and Washington Academy, later Washington College, in Washington. These two colleges merged in 1865 to form Washington & Jefferson College. The 60-acre (24 ha) campus, located in Washington, Pennsylvania, has more than 40 buildings, with the oldest dating to 1793. While the college has historically had a difficult relationship with the city of Washington, including clashes over college expansion and finances, recent efforts have been made to improve those relations.
Jefferson College is the name of the following institutions of higher learning:
Jefferson College, in Washington, Mississippi, was founded as an all-male college but operated primarily as a college preparatory school and later military boarding school during most of its history. Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the college was chartered in 1802, but did not begin operation until 1811.
Due to declining enrollment and financial difficulties, the facility closed in 1964. The historic campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1985. The site is operated as an historic museum and park.
Chartered on May 13, 1802, by the General Assembly of the Mississippi Territory, Jefferson College was the first institution of higher learning in Mississippi. It opened in 1811 with 15 students, as a preparatory school, under the name Washington Academy—a one-room, wood-frame structure, built on the college property. By 1817, the institution had become a fully developed college. The first permanent buildings, constructed of brick, were completed in 1820. By 1840, Jefferson College offered the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts.
Jefferson College is a Community College located in Jefferson County, Missouri, in the city of Hillsboro. As of Fall 2013, Jefferson College enrollment includes 5,523 full and part-time college credit students. 4,313 students are enrolled in continuing education classes as of 2011.
The history of Jefferson College began in the Spring of 1961 with the passage of Senate Bill Number Seven, presented by Senator Earl Blackwell of Hillsboro, made possible the formation and financing of public junior colleges in Missouri. Several Jefferson County citizens began to recognize the need for a public junior college in their community, they met, organized and petitioned the State Board of Education for the formation of a Junior College District. The Community College District of Jefferson County was voted into existence on April 2, 1963.
Classes were first held at Hillsboro High School in 1964 until the following year (1965) when the college moved to its present 400+ acre campus on Highway 21 near Hillsboro. Jefferson College became the second junior college district in Missouri to be approved.