Why It Matters

There was opposition to women receiving higher education in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially if the curriculum taught subjects outside of the “women’s sphere” – that is, classes that focused on instruction in areas other than domestic skills or training in jobs traditionally held by women like teaching or nursing. Many early colleges that admitted women offered courses in “Domestic Science.” Woman’s Medical College, however, provided rigorous instruction in medicine, much as male students would receive at other medical schools.