Mills College
Mills College was a private women's liberal arts college founded in 1852 in Oakland, California. Acquired by Northeastern University in 2022, the campus now operates as Northeastern University Oakland, offering undergraduate, graduate, and experiential learning programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1852
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Mills College does
Mills College was a private, independent women's liberal arts college founded in 1852 in Oakland, California, operating as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) institution. It was one of the oldest women's colleges in the United States, offering undergraduate and graduate programs grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, and was located at 5000 MacArthur Boulevard in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2022, Mills College was acquired by Northeastern University and officially ceased independent operations in August 2022; the campus, including the Mills College Art Museum and Julia Morgan's Campanil clock tower, was retained and rebranded as Northeastern University Oakland.
Northeastern University Oakland operates as a regional campus within Northeastern's network of 12+ locations (including Boston, Silicon Valley, Seattle, London, Toronto, and Vancouver). The campus offers undergraduate education, graduate and professional degrees, online bachelor's degree completion, research programs under Northeastern's R1 research classification, and global programs including study abroad and co-op experiences. Its core product is experiential learning, combining classroom instruction with cooperative education (co-op) placements and industry partnerships — particularly with Bay Area employers in technology, business, healthcare, and science. The business model is tuition-driven, supplemented by research grants and contracts, with revenue generated from a diversified student base across undergraduate, graduate, and adult learner segments.
As of the available data, Mills College does not operate as an independent entity. The leadership listed (Alecia DeCoudreaux as President) reflects the pre-acquisition governance. Post-acquisition, the Oakland site functions as part of Northeastern University's broader higher education enterprise, with no standalone revenue, financial statements, or cap-table data for Mills College available.
Mills College firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mills College
- Legal name
- Mills College
- Website
- https://mills.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1852
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Mills College was a private women's liberal arts college founded in 1852 in Oakland, California. Acquired by Northeastern University in 2022, the campus now operates as Northeastern University Oakland, offering undergraduate, graduate, and experiential learning programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mills College industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Women’s Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH), General Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAA)
Keywords
Where Mills College is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mills College business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Tuition and Fees: Higher education institution generating revenue primarily through tuition and fees from undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs.
- Research Grants and Contracts: R1 research university status enables significant research funding from government and private sources.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Mills College product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mills College was a private women's liberal arts and sciences college in Oakland, California offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across multiple disciplines. Following its 2022 acquisition by Northeastern University, the campus now operates as Northeastern University Oakland, delivering undergraduate, graduate, and bachelor's degree completion programs with co-op-based experiential learning, industry immersion, and R1-caliber research opportunities connected to the Bay Area innovation economy.
Product overview
Northeastern University Oakland (formerly Mills College, established 2022) offers a comprehensive educational portfolio comprising undergraduate and graduate degree programs, experiential learning with co-op opportunities, research programs through its R1 research status, global programs, and bachelor's degree completion options. The campus connects students to the Bay Area innovation economy with programs in tech, business, healthcare, science, analytics, public administration, and digital media.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Undergraduate Education
- Graduate Education
- Experiential Learning (Co-op)
- Research Programs
- Global Programs Global experience opportunities including study abroad, Dialogue of Civilizations, Global Co-op, and international business programs across Northeastern's global campus network.
- Bachelor's Degree Completion Online degree completion programs enabling students who have completed some college coursework to efficiently earn their bachelor's degree.
Companies that use Mills College
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Mills College technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Mills College partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Industry Partners (Bay Area Employers)coreLeading Bay Area employers provide experiential learning opportunities, co-op positions, and industry immersion for students. Partners benefit from access to innovative students and leading faculty researchers for workforce solutions and tech-driven innovation.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Mills College competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Smith College: Elite private women's liberal arts college in Northampton, Massachusetts. Closest direct historical peer to Mills as a selective, single-gender residential liberal arts institution serving a similar student profile.
- Mount Holyoke College: Private women's liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Member of the Five Colleges consortium alongside Smith; directly comparable to Mills as a selective women's liberal arts college with similar scale and program mix.
- Scripps College: Former women's liberal arts college within the Claremont Colleges consortium in Southern California. Closest California-based historical peer to Mills as a small, selective women's college, though it has since transitioned to coeducation via its Pomona merger.
- Barnard College: Private women's liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. Comparable to Mills as an academically rigorous women's liberal arts college, while its Columbia affiliation mirrors the Mills-Northeastern post-acquisition structure.
- Wellesley College: Top-tier private women's liberal arts college near Boston, Massachusetts. Comparable to Mills in mission, selectivity, residential model, and historical role as a leading U.S. women's college.
- Bryn Mawr College: Private women's liberal arts college in suburban Philadelphia. Comparable to Mills as a small, residential, single-gender liberal arts institution with strong academic reputation and similar tuition-driven economics.
Broad incumbents
- Stanford University: Elite private research university located in the Bay Area (Stanford/Palo Alto). Comparable as a prestigious Bay Area university drawing on the same Silicon Valley employer network and student demand, though at materially larger scale and broader scope than Mills.
- UC Berkeley: Public R1 research university in Berkeley adjacent to the former Mills campus. Comparable as a major Bay Area higher-education institution competing for the same local student and faculty pool, though at much larger scale and public funding model.
Others
- Northeastern University: R1 private research university headquartered in Boston that acquired Mills College in 2022. Directly comparable as the parent institution operating the Oakland campus, including shared GTM, experiential-learning model, and brand.
Regional players
- Saint Mary's College of California: Small private Catholic liberal arts college in Moraga, in the East Bay near Oakland. Comparable as a regional Bay Area private liberal arts institution, though coeducational and Catholic-sponsored rather than historically women's.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Mills College social profiles
Digital presenceMills College financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mills College leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Mills College funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mills College M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mills College
What does Mills College do?
Mills College was a private women's liberal arts and sciences college in Oakland, California offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across multiple disciplines. Following its 2022 acquisition by Northeastern University, the campus now operates as Northeastern University Oakland, delivering undergraduate, graduate, and bachelor's degree completion programs with co-op-based experiential learning, industry immersion, and R1-caliber research opportunities connected to the Bay Area innovation economy.
Is Mills College a public or private company?
Mills College is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Mills College founded?
Mills College was founded in 1852. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Mills College based?
Mills College is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mills College make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Tuition and Fees are the primary driver. The others are research Grants and Contracts.
Who are Mills College's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Scripps College, Barnard College, Wellesley College and Bryn Mawr College. Broad incumbents are Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Northeastern University is listed as an others. Saint Mary's College of California is listed as a regional player.
Does Mills College have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mills College.
What industry is Mills College in?
Mills College's product category is Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHACAB, Women’s Liberal Arts Colleges, with a secondary code of EDAHACAH, Residential Liberal Arts Colleges. Its NAICS code is 6113.