Many Massachusetts-based institutions of higher education have become defunct over the years. Among these, Bradford College operated for 197 years, from 1803 to 2000, and ArsDigita University, an internet-based computer school associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, operated the least amount of time in the state, from 2000 to 2001.
| School | Location | Control | Type | Founded | Closed | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquinas College | Milton, Newton | Private | Associate’s college | 1956 | 1999 | [1] |
| ArsDigita University | Cambridge | Private | Special-focus institution | 2000 | 2001 | [1] |
| Berkshire Christian College | Lenox | Private | Special-focus institution | 1897 | 1986 | [1] |
| Berkshire Medical College | Pittsfield | Private | Special-focus institution | 1823 | — | [1] |
| Boston Business School | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1914 | 1984 | [1] |
| Boston Female Medical School | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1848 | 1874 | [1] |
| Boston State College | Boston | Public | Liberal arts college | 1872 | 1982 | [1] |
| Bouvé College | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1913 | 1977 | [2] |
| Bradford College | Haverhill | Private | Liberal arts college | 1803 | 2000 | [1] |
| Bryant & Stratton Business Institute | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | — | 1975 | [1] |
| Bryant McIntosh College | Lawrence | Private | Associate’s college | 1972 | 1975 | [1] |
| Burdett College | Worcester | Private | Baccalaureate college | — | 1999 | [1] |
| Calvin Coolidge College of Liberal Arts | Boston | Private | Liberal arts college | — | 1970 | [1] |
| Cambridge Junior College | Cambridge | Private | Associate’s college | 1934 | 1974 | [1] |
| Cardinal Cushing College | Brookline | Private | Special-focus institution | 1952 | 1972 | [1] |
| Central New England College | Worcester | Private | Associate’s college | 1905 | 1989 | [1] |
| College of Physicians and Surgeons | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1882 | 1906 | [1] |
| College of Saint Joseph | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Comers Commercial College | Boston | Private | — | — | — | [1] |
| Divine Providence Institute | Never opened | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Garland Junior College | Boston | Private | Associate’s college | 1947 | 1976 | [1] |
| Grahm Junior College | Boston | Private | Associate’s college | 1950 | 1979 | [1] |
| Holliston Junior College | Holliston | Private | Associate’s college | 1919 | 1986 | [1] |
| Hyannis State Teachers College | Hyannis | Public | Special-focus institution | 1897 | 1944 | [1] |
| Ipswich Female Seminary | Ipswich | Private | Special-focus institution | 1828 | 1878 | [1] |
| Kinyon-Campbell Business School | New Bedford | Private | Special-focus institution | 1911 | 1999 | [1] |
| LaFosse Teacher Training College | Never opened | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Lay College | Revere | Private | — | — | — | [1] |
| Leicester Junior College | Leicester | Private | Associate’s college | 1784 | 1977 | [1] |
| Marist College and Seminary | Framingham | Private | Special-focus institution | 1939 | — | [1] |
| Massachusetts College of Osteopathy | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1898 | 1944 | [1] |
| Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1981 | 1873 | [3] |
| Middlesex University | Waltham | Private | Special-focus institution | 1914 | 1947 | [1] |
| Monroe College of Oratory | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1880 | — | [1] |
| Mount Alvernia College | Newton | Private | — | 1959 | 1973 | [1] |
| New Bedford Institute of Technology | New Bedford | Private | Special-focus institution | 1904 | — | [1] |
| Newton College of the Sacred Heart | Newton Centre | Private | Liberal arts college | 1946 | 1975 | [1] |
| Newton Junior College | Newtonville | Private | Associate’s college | 1946 | 1976 | [1] |
| Newton Theological Institution | Newton Centre | Private | Special-focus institution | 1825 | 1965 | [1] |
| Northampton Junior College | Northampton | Private | Associate’s college | 1963 | 1973 | [1] |
| Oblate College & Seminary | Natwick | Private | Special-focus institution | — | 1974 | [1] |
| Oread Institute | Worcester | Private | Special-focus institution | 1849 | 1934 | [1] |
| Our Lady of Sorrows | Sharon | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Perry Normal School | Boston | Private | — | 1898 | 1974 | [1] |
| Radcliffe College | Cambridge | Private | Liberal arts college | 1879 | 1999 | [1] |
| Regina Coeli College | Never opened | Private | — | — | — | [1] |
| Sacred Heart College for Teachers | Never opened | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Saint Gabriel's Institute | Never opened | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Saint Hyacinth College & Seminary | Granby | Private | Special-focus institution | — | 2003 | [1] |
| Saint Joseph Teacher Training Institute | Never opened | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Saint Paul's House of Studies | Never opened | Private | Special-focus institution | — | — | [1] |
| Staley School of the Spoken Word | Brookline | Private | Special-focus institution | 1900 | 1957 | [1] |
| Stanley College | Unknown | Private | — | — | 1959 | [1] |
| Stevens College | Fitchburg | Private | — | — | 1971 | [1] |
| Wang Institute of Graduate Studies | Tyngsboro | Private | Special-focus institution | 1979 | 1988 | [1] |
| Winter Hill Business College | Boston | Private | Special-focus institution | 1903 | — | [1] |
| Worcester Junior College | Worcester | Private | Associate’s college | 1905 | 1989 | [1] |
| Worcester Medical Institute | Worcester | Private | Special-focus institution | 1846 | 1859 | [1] |
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