There are 22 currently operating colleges and universities based in the U.S. state of Vermont. This figure includes one research university, six master's universities, an art school, a culinary school, a law school, and a number of undergraduate associates and baccalaureate colleges. Four institutions chartered in other states offer degree programs at locations in Vermont.
The state's largest school is its flagship public university, the University of Vermont. The other five public institutions are organized as the Vermont State Colleges system.
The title of "oldest college in Vermont" is shared by three institutions. Middlebury College was chartered in 1800 and is Vermont's oldest operating college and the first institution to grant an academic degree (1802). Castleton University has its roots in successive institutions dating to 1787. The University of Vermont was chartered in 1791 but did not begin instruction until 1800 or grant a degree until 1804. Vermont's newest college is Landmark College, founded in 1984 to serve students with learning disabilities; it is also the most expensive college in the United States. The smallest college in the state, with 145 students, is Sterling College, a work college focused on environmental studies.
All of these schools are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, except New England Culinary Institute, which is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology.