page_title: Peirce College
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Peirce College / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Thomas May Peirce from Men of the Century: An Historical Work, 1896, page 202
context_page_description: Peirce College is a private college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college focuses on adult learners.
context_section_description: In 1865, Thomas May Peirce, a Philadelphia educator, founded the Union Business College. The curriculum was designed to provide returning Civil War soldiers a business-focused education in anticipation of post-war business growth and expansion. Different from many colleges and universities of the era, Union was co-educational at its founding. Originally housed within Handel and Haydn Hall on Spring Garden Street, the college moved to its present location at 1420 Pine Street in 1915. In 1917, the school was renamed the Peirce School of Business Administration.
  In 1964 Peirce School was renamed Peirce Junior College as it received approval to grant associate degrees. In 1997 the College was approved to grant Bachelor of Science degrees and was renamed Peirce College. In 2000 the College began offering online courses.
  The Pine Street facilities have twice been awarded the General Building Contractors Association's Best Institutional Project in the under $5 million category; in 2001 for improvements made to College Hall, and in 2011 for the new Library.
caption: Thomas May Peirce
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