The U.S. Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into Smith College on May 4, 2026, over its longstanding policy of admitting transgender women. No ruling has been made — the investigation is just beginning, and Smith has said it stands behind its admissions policy. Transgender students can still apply to Smith, Wellesley, and Mount Holyoke, all of which admit transgender women. But the investigation signals continued federal scrutiny of single-sex institutions' admissions policies.

Smith College has admitted transgender women since 2015. For more than a decade, that policy was campus policy — not front-page news. That changed on May 4, 2026, when the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced it had opened a Title IX investigation into whether Smith's admissions practices violate federal law.1

The investigation doesn't end anything. It's the beginning of a formal process. But for students planning to apply to women's colleges — and for families trying to understand what's happening with federal higher education oversight — it raises real questions worth understanding.

What the Investigation Claims

The Department of Education alleges that Smith College is allowing what it describes as "biological men" access to women-only spaces on campus, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams, according to the agency's May 4 press release.1

The legal theory is that Smith's admissions policy — which allows self-identified women, including transgender women, to enroll — violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination at any institution receiving federal financial aid. The Trump administration's interpretation is that "sex" in the 1972 law means biological sex at birth.

Smith receives federal financial aid funding and would be subject to Title IX compliance requirements.

An investigation is not a finding of guilt. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) routinely opens investigations after receiving complaints. The process can take months or years, and institutions often reach negotiated resolutions without losing federal funding. Nothing has been decided yet.

How the Investigation Started

The complaint was filed in June 2025 by Defending Education, a conservative advocacy group, according to reporting by CNN and NPR.2 The trigger was Smith's 2025 commencement ceremony, where the college awarded an honorary degree to Admiral Rachel Levine, a transgender woman who served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health under President Biden.

Defending Education argued that inviting Levine and awarding her the degree was evidence of Smith's continued embrace of a policy the group contends violates federal sex discrimination law.

Smith updated its formal admissions policy in 2015 to explicitly welcome transgender women. It is one of the largest all-women's colleges in the country, part of the Seven Sisters consortium of historically women's institutions.

Which Other Women's Colleges Could Be Affected

Smith is not alone in admitting transgender women. Several other prominent women's colleges have similar policies:

  • Mount Holyoke College (also a Seven Sister school) updated its policy in 2014 to admit any student who identifies as a woman, regardless of assigned sex at birth
  • Wellesley College admits transgender women
  • Barnard College admits transgender women

According to reporting by CNN and NPR, the Smith investigation could have implications for other women's colleges that maintain similar admissions policies.2

If you're weighing women's colleges as part of your college list, review each school's current admissions policy directly on their website. Policies and their legal status may change as this investigation and related legal questions develop. Check how each school describes its admissions criteria for self-identifying women.

What This Means for Applicants Right Now

Three things are true at the same time:

Transgender applicants can still apply. Smith has not changed its admissions policy in response to the investigation. Wellesley and Mount Holyoke have not announced any policy changes either. As of May 7, 2026, all three schools continue to welcome applications from transgender women.

Federal oversight is intensifying. This investigation is part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration using Title IX and other federal civil rights laws to challenge campus policies it considers inconsistent with its definition of biological sex. The Stanford BIPOC program investigation and challenges to DEI-related programs at other universities reflect the same enforcement posture.

The outcome is genuinely uncertain. Title IX law has been interpreted differently across administrations. Courts have issued conflicting rulings on the question of whether Title IX's prohibition on sex discrimination covers gender identity. This legal question has not been definitively resolved at the Supreme Court level.

The Broader Picture for College Planning

If you're building a college list that includes women's colleges — whether for yourself or a student you're advising — a few things are worth keeping in mind.

Women's colleges have mission-driven identities that go beyond their admissions policies. Like HBCUs, which were founded to serve students excluded from mainstream higher education, women's colleges have long histories rooted in expanding access. The question of institutional identity vs. federal compliance is one that campus communities across the country are navigating right now.

Understanding how Title IX shapes campus safety protections is also relevant context — the same law that prohibits sex discrimination also protects students from sexual harassment and assault. How colleges balance these obligations is part of the ongoing policy conversation.

For students who want to understand the admissions landscape more broadly as they build their lists, our college planning essentials guide walks through how to evaluate institutional fit alongside academic and financial factors.

What to Watch

The OCR investigation at Smith is in its early stages. Key developments to track:

  1. Whether Smith contests the investigation or enters into resolution discussions with OCR
  2. Whether other women's colleges receive similar complaints or investigations
  3. Whether courts weigh in on the underlying legal question of Title IX's definition of sex
  4. Whether Congress acts on related legislation

For students applying in the 2026–27 or 2027–28 cycles, the most useful thing to do right now is stay informed and contact institutions directly with specific admissions questions. Admissions offices — not press releases — will have the most current information about how each school's policies apply to individual applicants.

You can check current acceptance rates and application data for women's colleges and other institutions as you evaluate your options.

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Department of Education. (2026, May 4). U.S. Department of Education Opens Title IX Investigation into All-Women's Smith College for Admitting Men. Office for Civil Rights. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-opens-title-ix-investigation-all-womens-smith-college-admitting-men ↩ ↩2

  2. CNN. (2026, May 4). Smith College: Department of Education opens investigation into all-women's college for admitting trans women. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/04/us/smith-college-title-ix-trans-students ↩ ↩2