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Group of students sits on Holmgren Meadow with Mills Hall in background on Northeastern University's Oakland campus.

About Mills College at Northeastern University

A legacy of leadership, a future of new opportunities

Mills College and Northeastern University have merged to create something unique in higher education: a bicoastal university for undergraduate and graduate learning. We’re leveraging Mills’ strengths in equity, social justice, and leadership by women and nonbinary people, and Northeastern’s mission in diverse and inclusive global experiential learning and research.

In addition to a full range of undergraduate and graduate degrees that will be offered by Mills College at Northeastern, we have created the Mills Institute to support curricular innovation, create a foundation for student success, and facilitate transformative learning, advocacy, and research.

Mills College at Northeastern and the Mills Institute operate on our Oakland campus, which is ideally located to provide our students with a range of opportunities for personal and professional growth and development in one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the U.S.

The Mills legacy

1852Mills College is founded as the Young Ladies’ Seminary in Benicia, California.
1865Missionaries Susan and Cyrus Mills buy the seminary and rename it Mills College.
1871The seminary is moved to the Oakland foothills, where a new campus has been purchased and Mills Hall is built.
1885Mills is chartered as the first women’s college west of the Rockies.
1920The Graduate Division opens, offering programs to both women and men.
1926Mills launches the first laboratory school west of the Mississippi for aspiring teachers.
1974Mills becomes the first women’s college to offer a computer science major.
1990The trustees reaffirm their commitment to educating women following a campus-wide strike to remain all-women at the undergraduate level.
2001Mills becomes the first women’s college to offer a bachelors-to-master’s BA/MBA accelerated degree program.
2014Mills launches the first transgender and nonbinary admissions policy in the country at a women’s college.
2022Mills merges with Northeastern University; the Mills Institute is established.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

Mills College at Northeastern brings to the university a legacy of nurturing academically successful first-generation students, LGBTQ+ students, and Black, indigenous, and other students of color. Founded in 1852 as the first U.S. women’s college west of the Rocky Mountains, Mills College was also the first to enact an admissions policy for transgender students.

Today, Mills College at Northeastern serves all genders and remains as dedicated as ever to supporting and advancing people of all backgrounds through education, experiential opportunities, and deep engagement with the Oakland community.

Senior Paint Wall at Adams Plaza on Northeastern University's Oakland campus
Front of Mills Hall with colorful banners on lamp post

WHO WE ARE

Our leadership

The Mills College at Northeastern team is dedicated to advancing the values, educational excellence, student experience, and scholarly research for which both Mills and Northeastern are known.

CAMPUS AND LOCATIOn

About Northeastern in Oakland

All Mills College at Northeastern programs will operate on Northeastern’s Oakland campus, which serves as the West Coast hub of Northeastern’s global system of 13 locations.

Find information about campus buildings and facilities, student services and support, and what we offer for the arts.

Students walk along path in front of Suzanne Adams Plaza

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