We prepare young women to excel in the modern world — and we’ve been doing it since our first students arrived in 1906. You are our sole focus. At Sweet Briar, women get all the attention, all the student leadership roles, and any career choice is open to you. We think that makes Sweet Briar pretty special.

Who We Are

Sweet Briar College was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in honor of her daughter, Daisy, who died at age 16. The sole owner of Sweet Briar Plantation, Indiana left the expansive estate to create an independent college for women. From its founding, Sweet Briar has united traditional undergraduate coursework with applied learning to empower women through education in the liberal arts and sciences — graduating generations of change-makers as lawyers and legislators, humanitarians, artists, doctors and scientists and entrepreneurs. These Sweet Briar alumnae fulfill not only Indiana’s bold vision, but their own passions and ambitions.