Which access modifiers can be applied to a class in the .NET Framework?

The following access modifiers can be applied to classes. These modifiers determine which classes in the object hierarchy can use the class.

• public The class can be accessed from any assembly
• private The class can only be referenced from within the same class
• protected The class can be accessed from the same class or any descendant of the class
• internal The class can be accessed from any class within the same assembly

Additional Resources
C# Class Access Modifiers (Microsoft)
VB.NET Access Modifiers (Microsoft)