These Are the Colleges Requiring Vaccine Boosters Now

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- More than 1,000 colleges require their students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
- Following the release of an updated COVID-19 vaccine booster, several colleges have released new booster requirements.
- The updated booster vaccine protects against both the original and newer omicron variants of the virus.
COVID-19 vaccines and regular boosters may be the new normal in higher education.
With omicron becoming the predominant variant of COVID-19 in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that eligible individuals 12 and older receive an updated bivalent vaccine to prevent a spike in omicron infections this fall. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the new boosters on Aug. 31.
Schools Pivot To Require COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots
The updated vaccine comes in two versions that have been reformulated from their original counterparts. The FDA authorized the Moderna bivalent vaccine as a single booster dose for individuals aged 18 and older and the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine as a single booster dose for those aged 12 and older.
While a large number of schools require the initial COVID-19 vaccines, and many require an additional booster, so far only a handful of schools have clarified the need to obtain the updated vaccine that specifically protects against omicron variants.
Colleges Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots
Last Updated: September 14, 2022, at 1:45 p.m. EST
States A-M
ALABAMA | ALASKA | ARIZONA | ARKANSAS | CALIFORNIA | COLORADO | CONNECTICUT | DELAWARE | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | FLORIDA | GEORGIA | HAWAII | IDAHO | ILLINOIS | INDIANA | IOWA | KANSAS | KENTUCKY | LOUISIANA | MAINE | MARYLAND | MASSACHUSETTS | MICHIGAN | MINNESOTA | MISSISSIPPI | MISSOURI | MONTANA
- California College of the Arts
- California Institute of the Arts
- California Institute of Technology
- California Lutheran University
- California State University system
- Chapman University
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
- De Anza College
- Dominican University of California
- Foothill College
- Harvey Mudd College
- Holy Names University
- La Sierra University
- Laguna College of Art and Design
- Los Angeles College of Music
- Loyola Marymount University
- Menlo College
- Mills College
- New York Film Academy
- Occidental College
- Pitzer College
- Pomona College
- Saint Mary’s College of California
- Samuel Merritt University
- Santa Clara University
- Scripps College
- Southern California Institute of Architecture
- University of California system
- University of San Francisco
- University of Southern California
- University of The Pacific
- University of The West
- Western University of Health Sciences
- Whittier College
- Colorado College
- Fort Lewis College
- Naropa University
- University of Colorado at Boulder
- University of Denver
- University of Northern Colorado
- Connecticut College
- Mitchell College
- Post University
- Trinity College
- University of Connecticut system
- Wesleyan University
- Yale University
- American University
- Gallaudet University
- George Washington University
- Georgetown University
- Howard University
- Trinity Washington University
- Agnes Scott University
- Clark Atlanta University
- Columbia Theological Seminary
- Emory University
- Morehouse Colege
- Oglethorpe University
- Spelman College
- The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
- Chicago Theological Seminary
- DePaul University
- Elmhurst University
- Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Knox College
- Lake Forest College
- Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
- Loyola University Chicago
- McCormick Theological Seminary
- Methodist College
- Roosevelt University
- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
- Rush University
- Saint Augustine College
- Spertus College
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
- DePauw University
- Holy Cross College
- Saint Mary’s College
- University of Notre Dame
- Valparaiso University
- Bates College
- Bowdoin College*
- Colby College
- College of the Atlantic
- Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
- Goucher College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Loyola University Maryland
- McDaniel College
- Montgomery College
- Notre Dame of Maryland University
- St. John’s College
- St. Mary’s College of Maryland
- University System of Maryland
- Washington College
- Amherst College
- Anna Maria College
- Babson College
- Bay Path University
- Bentley University
- Berklee College of Music
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
- Bridgewater State University
- Cambridge College
- Clark University
- College of the Holy Cross
- Curry College
- Emerson College
- Emmanuel College
- Endicott College
- Fitchburg State University
- Framingham State University
- Hampshire College
- Harvard University
- Lasell University
- Lesley University
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design
- Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts State University system
- Merrimack College
- Mount Holyoke College
- New England Conservatory of Music
- Northeastern University
- Olin College of Engineering
- Regis College
- Salem State University
- Simmons University
- Stonehill College
- Suffolk University
- Tufts University
- Wellesley College
- Wheaton College
- Williams College
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
- Eastern Michigan University
- Kalamazoo College
- Michigan School of Psychology
- Michigan State University
- University of Michigan system
- Wayne State University
- Carleton College
- Hamline University
- Macalester College
- Minneapolis College of Art and Design
- Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
- Mitchell Hamline School of Law
- St. Catherine University
- St. Olaf College
- The College of Saint Scholastica
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
States N-Z
NEBRASKA | NEVADA | NEW HAMPSHIRE | NEW JERSEY | NEW MEXICO | NEW YORK | NORTH CAROLINA | NORTH DAKOTA | OHIO | OKLAHOMA | OREGON | PENNSYLVANIA | RHODE ISLAND | SOUTH CAROLINA | SOUTH DAKOTA | TENNESSEE | TEXAS | UTAH | VERMONT | VIRGINIA | WASHINGTON | WEST VIRGINIA | WISCONSIN | WYOMING
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
- Drew University
- Felician University
- Georgian Court University
- Monmouth University
- Montclair State University
- Rutgers University
- Saint Elizabeth University
- Saint Peter’s University
New Mexico
New York
- Adelphi University
- Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Albany Law School
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Bank Street College of Education
- Bard College
- Barnard College
- Clarkson University
- Colgate University
- Columbia University
- Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
- Cornell University
- Culinary Institute of America
- Dominican University
- Fordham University
- Glasgow Caledonian New York College
- Hamilton College
- Hartwick College
- Jewish Theological Seminary of America
- Manhattan College
- Manhattan School of Music
- Manhattanville College
- Maria College
- Marist College
- Marymount Manhattan College
- Mercy College
- Nazareth College
- New York Film Academy
- New York University
- Pace University
- Pratt Institute
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Russell Sage College
- Sarah Lawrence College
- School of Visual Arts
- Siena College
- Skidmore College
- Syracuse University
- The New School
- Union College
- Vassar College
- Wagner College
- Wells College
North Carolina
- Bennett College
- Davidson College
- Elon University
- Johnson C. Smith University
- Methodist University
- Queens University of Charlotte
- Salem College
- Union Presbyterian Seminary at Charlotte
- Wake Forest University*
North Dakota
Ohio
- Case Western Reserve University
- Cleveland Institute of Art
- Columbus College of Art and Design
- Denison University
- John Carroll University
- Kenyon College
- Methodist Theological School in Ohio
- The College of Wooster
Oklahoma
- Lewis & Clark College
- Linfield University
- Pacific University
- Reed College
- Southern Oregon University
- University of Oregon
- University of Portland
- Willamette University
- Allegheny College
- Alvernia University
- Bryn Mawr College
- Bucknell University
- Cabrini University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Chatham University
- Franklin & Marshall College
- Gettysburg College
- Haverford College
- Holy Family University
- Juniata College
- La Salle University
- Lehigh University
- Moore College of Art and Design
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Rosemont College
- Salus University
- Seton Hill University
- Swarthmore College
- The University of the Arts
- University of Pennsylvania
- Widener University
- Williamson College of the Trades
- Brown University
- Bryant University
- Community College of Rhode Island
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Salve Regina University
- Bridgewater College
- Hollins University
- Mary Baldwin University
- Sweet Briar College
- Union Presbyterian Seminary
- Washington and Lee University
- William & Mary
- DigiPen Institute of Technology
- Pacific Lutheran University
- Seattle University
- University of Puget Sound
- Whitman College
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
*Will require new omicron booster
Wake Forest University and Bowdoin College detailed in their fall 2022 plans that they will require the new bivalent vaccine upon release.
Wake Forest students will be required to receive the new bivalent booster once it becomes available, even if they already received a booster shot, according to a message sent on Aug. 4 on behalf of the executive vice president, provost, and vice president for campus life. The school will update its requirements once it determines vaccine availability.
Other colleges are more flexible in their expectations. At St. Olaf College in Minnesota, both the original boosters and the updated booster fulfills their requirements. However, campus community members who are 50 and over have until Dec. 31 to receive the new booster, if they prefer that option.
Similarly, Stonehill College allowed community members to sign a "COVID-19 Booster Waiver" so that they could wait to fulfill the requirement until the new bivalent booster became available.
Even if your college doesn't require a booster, the CDC recommends the vaccine for those ages 12 and over, which includes college students. Studies show that the immunity provided by COVID-19 vaccines wanes after around six months but that booster shots increase protective antibodies to fight a potential infection.
The updated bivalent booster adds omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike proteins to the vaccine, since omicron has proven more transmissible and resistant to the original formula.
The BA.5 variant accounts for 88% of all U.S. cases, with the BA.4 accounting for 8%, said Kathy Katella in a post by Yale Medicine.
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