Founded in 1852 and established in Oakland, California, in 1871, Mills College is an independent liberal arts college for women, with graduate programs for women and men. As the first women's college west of the Rockies, Mills is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. The College was initially founded in Benicia as the Young Ladies Seminary under the leadership of Mary Atkins, a graduate of Oberlin College. In 1866, Susan Tolman Mills and her husband Cyrus Mills bought the school and moved it to Oakland. Mills received its charter in 1885 and introduced graduate degrees in 1921.

Mills holds the distinction of being the first women’s college to offer a computer science major (1974) and 4+1 MBA degree (2001), and was among the first liberal arts colleges to offer a modern dance degree (1941). Mills is also home to the Institute for Civic Leadership, the Center for Contemporary Music (called the San Francisco Tape Music Center until 1967), and the Women’s Leadership Institute. Mills opened the first laboratory school for aspiring teachers west of the Mississippi, which was founded in 1926 and is known as the Children’s School.

Mills offers more than 40 undergraduate majors (both BA and BS degrees) and 23 graduate degree and certificate programs. Mills women compete in six intercollegiate sports—cross country, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, and volleyball—as members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III.