Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International, designed over the course of the college’s history by a range of prominent architects, including James Renwick Jr., Eero Saarinen, Marcel Breuer, and Cesar Pelli. In a designated arboretum, the campus features more than 200 species of trees, a native plant preserve, and a 400-acre (1.6 km2) ecological preserve.

Vassar was founded as a women's college in 1861 and became coeducational in 1969. Vassar was the first of the Seven Sisters colleges, higher education schools then strictly for women, and historically sister institutions to the Ivy League.

In recent freshman classes, minority students have composed up to 27% of matriculants. International students from over 45 countries compose 8% of the student body. In May 2007, falling in with its commitment to diverse and equitable education, Vassar returned to a need-blind admissions policy wherein students are admitted by their academic and personal qualities, without regard to financial status.

Roughly 2,400 students attend Vassar. About 60% come from public high schools, and 40% come from private schools (both independent and religious). The overall female-to-male ratio is about 60:40, slightly above the standard for a liberal arts college. More than 85% of graduates pursue advanced study within five years of graduation. They are taught by more than 270 faculty members, virtually all of whom hold terminal degrees in their fields.