Abstract: The nine colonial colleges established before the founding of the United States were the beginning of higher education in the United States.Their establishment and development are influenced by European higher education system and the needs of colonial society.They have both strong religious purpose and practical utilitarian purpose.In the early colonial period,the curriculum adopted the knowledge of classical literature and Biblical Theology inherited from the Middle Ages in Europe as a whole.In the late colonial period,the spread of the Enlightenment had an important impact on the North American colonial colleges.The training objectives of the colleges began to meet the needs of the social reality,and the training of practical talents became the demands of the times.The contents of the course began to add science and practical courses to the classical courses dominated by “seven arts”.In terms of management,the system of “off campus board of directors” was adopted,and finally a management mode of higher education with unique American characteristics was formed.The establishment and development of colonial colleges had an important impact on the development of higher education in the United States.It is an important prerequisite to understand the characteristics of American higher education to study the running tradition of American colonial colleges.

Key words: colonial colleges of North America, America, general education, the educational tradition