With Eliza Kellas, head of the Emma Willard School, Mrs. Sage was active in the women's suffrage movement; in founding the new college, they proposed to offer women the means of independence through the combination of broad education in the liberal arts with preparation for specific professional careers.

Initially, the college operated under the charter of the Emma Willard School, granting its first baccalaureate degree in 1918 and graduating its first class in 1920.

In 1927, the New York State Board of Regents granted a separate charter for Russell Sage College and reaffirmed the status of Emma Willard as a secondary school.

Majors offered at the college are: Undergraduate Graduate The self-contained 10-acre (4.0 ha) campus is located in the historic district of Troy, New York with 19th-century brownstone residences, Victorian gates, formal courtyards and walled gardens.

There is a bowling lane, numerous antique and jewelry stores, a public library nearby, and several independent coffee shops in the area.

The campus was home to the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI), which utilized the Schacht Fine Arts Center.

Due to a lack of state funding, NYSTI shut down at the end of 2010, and the college has filled its role with the new Theatre Institute at Sage.

In order to apply to live in Wool House, you must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, community service credits, and participate in campus activities.

These are also first-year dorms but like Slocum Hall, but due to financial reasons and small amount of enrollment they have not been lived in for quite a few years.

Sage Hall, featuring an elevator and back door that opens into Buchman, formerly housed the Troy Female Seminary, which is the only dormitory without a kitchen in the basement.

Russell Sage College has a rich history of student traditions, the most notable of which is the rotation of class colors.