ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS
The origin of Coppin State College dates to 1900. In that year, the Baltimore City School Board initiated a one-year course for the training of African-American elementary school teachers at Douglass High School on Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1902, the program expanded to a two-year Normal Department within the high school. The Department became a separate institution with its own principal in 1909. This facility for teacher training in 1926 was named the Coppin Normal School to honor Fannie Jackson Coppin (1837-1913), educator, missionary, and outstanding African-American pioneer in teacher education. In 1938, the School was renamed Coppin Teachers College with a four-year curriculum and authority to grant the Bachelor of Science degree. The College became Coppin State Teachers College at its present location in 1952 and was renamed Coppin State College in 1963 when the Board of Trustees decided to extend the institution's degree-granting authority beyond teacher education. In 1988, the College became part of the University of Maryland System (Chapter 246, Acts of 1988). The System was renamed University System of Maryland in 1997 (Chapter 114, Acts of 1997).
Set on 38 acres in Baltimore City, Coppin State College is an historically African-American liberal arts college. A four-year institution, Coppin provides academic programs in the arts and sciences, teacher education, nursing, graduate studies, and continuing education. It offers seventeen majors and four graduate-degree programs. The fully accredited residential campus serves Baltimore residents and students from around the world. Coppin offers flexibility in course scheduling with convenient day, evening and weekend classes.
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