Vassar College is a private, liberal arts college. Founded for women in 1861, it adopted coeducation in 1969. Its goal is to develop independent thinking that is both critical and creative, analytical and constructive, with emphases on individual direction and study, independence and self-responsibility, and independent projects or research, including senior theses and laboratory experimentation. Its 1,000-acre Vassar campus is located on the outskirts of Poughkeepsie, 75 miles north of New York City, and includes a range of architecture from Gothic to modern.