Immunization Exemptions for College
A tool to help you know the likelihood of obtaining an exemption before you apply
Disclaimer
The author of this article is not an attorney and not authorized to practice law in any state in the United States. Nothing presented in this document is to be taken as legal advice. Everything presented here is personal opinion derived from extensive research and is for informational purposes only. Feel free to reach out centerforpublictransparency@gmail.com for clarification or recommended revisions.
What’s on This Page
A map of the 50 states (including DC) shaded by colors indicating the degree of certainty that an exemption to immunizations at universities in a given state is likely to be guaranteed (does not include healthcare degrees)
A table, filterable, listing all of the universities in those states that have been investigated so far indicating the degree of certainty of the immunization exemption with a link to the school’s immunization requirements page, if it has one
A list of the states with their overall exemption status for people who prefer lists to maps
Related Articles
Methodology for Investigating Immunization Exemptions for Universities in the US
The Challenge With Obtaining Immunization Exemptions for Healthcare Degrees
The Map
Non-medical exemptions are available at universities in 48 states (and DC) and 44 of those states (and DC) have at least one major public or private university with guaranteed exemptions.
The Table
The table allows you to filter a state to see the actual exemption status for the largest public and private universities in the state.
Exemption types:
NM - Nonmedical
R - Religious
P - Philosophical
M - Medical Only
T - Titers
W - Waiver/Declination
The List
For those of you who like to see a list, here is a breakdown of the map above but in list form.
States with Guaranteed Exemptions at All Universities
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Florida
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
States With either Scrutinized or Guaranteed Exemptions at All Universities
All but One Private Guaranteed
Georgia
Hawaii
Maryland
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
West Virginia
Ohio
South Dakota
All but One Public Guaranteed
Alabama
Kentucky
Washington
More Than One Private Scrutinize
District of Columbia
New Mexico
Nevada
More Than One Public Scrutinize
Alaska
Some Public and Private Scrutinize
California
Delaware
Indiana
Mississippi
Many Public and Private Scrutinize
Pennsylvania
All Universities Scrutinize
Illinois
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
States With No Religious or Philosophical Exemptions at Any Universities (Medical Only)
Connecticut
Maine