What Colleges Require the COVID-19 Vaccine?

The Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11. Some colleges communicated changes to students before the fall semester began while others are quietly removing vaccine requirements from their web pages.
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Updated on November 14, 2023
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As 2023 fall students prepare for finals, more colleges and universities have ended their COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

Many institutions announced the end of their COVID-19 vaccine requirements last May, days after President Joe Biden signed a bill ending the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies.

BestColleges reporting has found that even more colleges ended their COVID-19 vaccine requirement over the course of the summer months and into the new semester.

"Our response to the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, remains a public health priority, but thanks to the Administration's whole of government approach to combatting the virus, we are in a better place in our response than we were three years ago, and we can transition away from the emergency phase," the Department of Health and Human Services wrote.

BestColleges found a variety of university responses to handling the now-endemic COVID-19 disease. Some have chosen to keep their vaccine requirements and treat them like regular vaccination requirements like measles, mumps, and rubella.

A new booster shot targeting the COVID-19 omicron variant was released in September, the New York Times reported. The new shot is more efficient against the COVID-19 variant EG.5, nicknamed "eris", which was the dominant strain this summer.

"At this time, there is no evidence indicating EG.5 is able to spread more easily, and currently available treatments and vaccines are expected to continue to be effective against this variant," a CDC spokesperson told Politico.

A few colleges responded to the uptick in COVID-19 cases by reinstating temporary mask mandates.

Historically Black college and university (HBCU) Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, reinstated an indoor mask mandate on Aug. 20 before removing it Sept. 1st, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Another HBCU, Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, instated a two-week mask mandate that started on August 25th.

Other colleges and universities have either entirely removed COVID-19 resource websites or haven't updated them since early 2022.

Check your school's website to learn about your school's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. You can also review our full list below, which includes colleges requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for on-campus, residential students.

A Full List of Colleges Requiring the COVID-19 Vaccine

Last Updated: October 19, 2023, at 2:01 P.M. EST

States A-G

Chevron Down

ARIZONA | CALIFORNIA | COLORADO | CONNECTICUT | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | GEORGIA

Arizona

  • Diné College

California

  • American Jewish University
  • California College of the Arts
  • Claremont Graduate University
  • Dominican University of California
  • Pitzer College
  • Saint Mary's College of California
  • Santa Clara University
  • Scripps College
  • Soka University of America
  • Southern California Institute of Architecture
  • University of Redlands
  • University of San Francisco
  • University of the Pacific *Only for students in health professions
  • University of the West

Colorado

  • Rocky Vista University

Connecticut

  • Mitchell College
  • Post University

District of Columbia

  • Trinity Washington University

Georgia

  • Agnes Scott College
  • Morehouse College
  • Morris Brown College
  • Oglethorpe University
  • Spelman College

States H-M

Chevron Down

ILLINOIS | INDIANA | KENTUCKY | LOUISIANA | MARYLAND | MASSACHUSETTS | MICHIGAN | MINNESOTA | MISSOURI

Illinois

  • Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
  • Lake Forest College
  • Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
  • Rush University
  • Saint Augustine College
  • Spertus College

Indiana

  • DePauw University

Kentucky

  • Simmons College of Kentucky

Louisiana

  • Southern University system
    • Southern University and A&M College, New Orleans, Shreveport, Law Center

Maryland

  • Goucher College
  • Johns Hopkins University

Massachusetts

  • Anna Maria College
  • Endicott College
  • Harvard University
  • Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
  • New England Law | Boston
  • Wellesley College

Michigan

  • University of Michigan system *Only for students in Ann Arbor university housing
    • Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint
  • Wayne State University *Only for students in university housing and clinical settings

Minnesota

  • Macalester College

Missouri

  • Washington University in St. Louis

States N-S

Chevron Down

NEVADA | NEW HAMPSHIRE | NEW JERSEY | NEW YORK | OREGON | PENNSYLVANIA | RHODE ISLAND | SOUTH CAROLINA

Nevada

  • Touro University Nevada

New Hampshire

  • Franklin Pierce University

New Jersey

  • Rutgers University
    • Camden, Brunswick, Newark

New York

  • Bank Street College of Education
  • Bard College
  • College of Mount Saint Vincent
  • Hobart William Smith Colleges
  • Jewish Theological Seminary of America
  • Le Moyne College *PA/OT/Nursing students only
  • The Juilliard School

Ohio

  • Antioch College
  • Kenyon College
  • Methodist Theological School in Ohio
  • Oberlin College and Conservatory
  • Ohio Wesleyan University
  • The College of Wooster

Oregon

  • Reed College

Pennsylvania

  • Bryn Athyn College of the New Church
  • Bryn Mawr College
  • Cabrini University
  • Gwynedd Mercy University *Only for students in university housing
  • Haverford College
  • Neumann University
  • Robert Morris University
  • Salus University
  • Seton Hill University
  • Swarthmore College
  • University of Pittsburgh
    • Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, Pittsburgh Campus, Titusville
  • Widener University
  • Williamson College of the Trades

Rhode Island

  • Community College of Rhode Island

South Carolina

  • Wofford College

States T-Z

Chevron Down

TENNESSEE | TEXAS | VERMONT | VIRGINIA

Tennessee

  • American Baptist College

Texas

  • Seminary of the Southwest
  • St. Edward's University

Vermont

  • Landmark College

Virginia

  • Sweet Briar College

Washington

  • Pacific Northwest University

Note that this list covers COVID-19 vaccine requirements for 2023-2024 on-campus or residential students and does not specify individual university policies such as vaccine exemptions. Some colleges may require all students, regardless of their residential status, to get vaccinated. Faculty and staff vaccine requirements may be different from the residential student requirements listed above.

Don't see your school on this list? Reach out to contact@support.bestcolleges.com if your college or university still requires the COVID-19 vaccine. Please include the relevant vaccine page link or email.


Editor's Note: This article is updated regularly as new information becomes available. Reporting and data collection for this piece has been provided by Jessica Bryant, Anne Dennon, Darlene Earnest, Reece Johnson, Hannah Muniz, Rachel Schneider, Evan Castillo, Chloe Appleby, and Jordan Stewart-Rozema.