Peirce College is a private, non-profit 4 year college located in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Peirce College is one of the oldest accredited colleges offering online degree programs in the United States. 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.