Brenau University
500 Washington St. SE
Gainesville, GA 30501

Brenau University is a private comprehensive university that has a variety of colleges and programs to meet the needs of all its students. This Georgia school maintains an academically qualified faculty who offer students a liberal arts education which encourages creativity and fosters critical thinking, while creating an environment that promotes intellectual, emotional, social, and psychological development.

Brenau University includes the Academy, the oldest residential preparatory school for girls in the state of Georgia; the Women's College, which offers traditional liberal arts education including more than 30 majors; and the Evening and Weekend College, which offers bachelor's, master's and Specialist in Education degrees for men and women. Also, selected graduate and undergraduate majors are available through distance education programs offered in the Online College, including a popular RN-to-BSN nursing program.

The Women's College at Brenau University continues at the heart of the Georgia school with 916 students from 19 states and 12 other countries. Twenty-five percent are from minority groups (not including international students) and 15 percent are older than 25. Eighty-three percent of Evening and Weekend College students are female, while 80 percent are over the age of 25. Minority students make up 30 percent of this Georgia school's population.

Quick Facts:

• Brenau University's 50-acre main campus is located in Gainesville, Ga., approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.


• Brenau University was privately owned until 1911 when a board of trustees assumed stewardship of the college, as is still the case today.


• "Brenau," derived from German and Latin, means "refined gold."


• In March of 1992, the board of trustees voted to convert Brenau College to Brenau University to reflect the Georgia school's offerings.