Cleveland and Northeast Ohio are home to a diverse collection of colleges and universities, from public urban schools, like Cleveland State University, to private small town colleges, like Hiram College. Learn more about these Ohio institutions of higher learning. Only four-year institutions are included here; see our listof community colleges for two-year schools. (listed in alphabetical order)

•Antioch College

Antioch College, located in Yellow Springs, was founded in 1853 with Horace Mann as its first president. The four-year liberal arts college has been noted over its history for its liberal views towards education and community activism. Classes were suspended in 2008 due to a lack of funds and dwindling enrollment, but resumed in October, 2011.
Notable alumnae include Coretta Scott King and her sister, Edythe Scott; author Sylvia Nasar ("Beautiful Minds"); actor Cliff Robertson; director and screenwriter Rod Sterling and biologist Stephen Gould.More »

•Ashland University

Ashland University, founded in 1878, is located in Ashland, Ohio, just off of I-71 between Cleveland and Mansfield. The 120-acre campus is affiliated with The Brethren Church and has an enrollment of approximately 6,500 students, 85 percent of whom are from Ohio.More »

•Baldwin-Wallace College

Baldwin-Wallace College, located in Berea, is a liberal arts college with approximately 3,850 undergraduate students. The school, founded in 1845, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Among B-W's strengths are its education, music, musical theater, and business programs.

Notable alumnae include OSU football coach, Jim Tressel and figure skater, Tonia Kwiatkowski.More »

•BGSU Firelands

A satellite campus of northwest Ohio's Bowling Green State University, BGSU Firelands is located in Huron near Cedar Point, about 90 minutes west of Cleveland. The campus, founded in 1968, offers a variety of associate degree programs and a few four-year, bachelors degree programs. Many of the school's 2400 students begin their bachelor's degree program at Firelands and complete their degree coursework at Bowling Green's main campus in Bowling Green, Ohio. BGSU Firelands also offers a Registered Nursing program in conjunction with Lorain Community College.More »

•Cleveland Institute of Art

The Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), located in Cleveland's University Circle cultural district, was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. The school became the Cleveland School of Art in 1891 and changed to the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1948. The school is consistently ranked among the top ten art schools in the United States.

CIA is also home to the Cinematique movie theater, which hosts a full schedule of independent films on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the Reinberger Galleries, which host a variety of art exhibits--most of which are free.

Notable graduates of CIA include Viktor Schreckengost (who also taught at the school for more than 50 years), Dana Schutz, and Robert Mangold.More »

•Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University, located in Cleveland's culturally rich, University Circle neighborhood, was formed in 1967 by combining the venerable Western Reserve University (founded 1826) with the Case Institute of Technology (founded 1880). Today, the school offers bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in a variety of disciplines and is consistently ranked as one of the leading colleges in the state as well as the entire United States.

Notable alumnae include former Ohio Members of Congress Dennis Kucinich and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, former Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes, and former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula.More »

•Cleveland Institute of Music

The Cleveland Institute of Music, founded in 1920, is a Cleveland treasure. Located in the University Circle neighborhood, near Severance Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Case Western Reserve University, the conservatory offers students a Bachelors of Music degree as well as advanced degrees, children's programs, and adult continuing education.

Thirty-five members of the Cleveland Orchestra are graduates of CIM.More »

•Cleveland State University

Cleveland State University, located just east of downtown Cleveland, is a fully acredited state university, which offers 117 courses of undergraduate and graduate study. CSU is home to approximately 16,000 students, two-thirds of them undergraduate students. Founded in 1964, the 85-acre campus is a more culturally diverse and more affordable alternative to other area colleges.

Notable alumnae include numerous area CEOs, judges, and business and civic leaders as well as Tim Russert, former NBC Washington Bureau Chief, author, and moderator of NBC's Meet the Press.

See also:

• Gifts for CSU Students, Parents, and Alumnae
• CSU's Wolstein Center

More »

•College of Wooster

The College of Wooster, founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church, is located in Wooster, Ohio, about 60 miles south of downtown Cleveland. The college is noted for its independent study program, a course of study that ranks second behind Princeton University according to US News and World Report.

The 240-acre liberal arts college has an enrollment of approximately 1,800 all-undergraduate students. The College of Wooster is also home to the Ohio Light Opera.

Notable alumnae include former White House counsel, John Dean; journalist, Susan Stranahan; and Timothy Smucker, CEO of the J.M. Smucker Co.More »

•Heidelberg University

Heidelberg University (formerly Heidelberg College) is a private, liberal arts college associated with the United Church of Christ. The school, located in Tiffin Ohio, sits on 110 acres and features 10 buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Heidelberg, founded in 1850, offers 36 undergraduate degrees, four graduate degrees and 13 pre-professional programs. The school's junior year aboard program, in conjunction with Germany's Heidelberg University, is the oldest exchange program in the United States.More »