College of William & Mary

The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, and the ninth-oldest in the English-speaking world. William & Mary is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university is among the original nine colonial colleges.

By the 18th century, William & Mary had become a key intellectual center of colonial America. Its contributions to law, politics, and education were crucial during the American Revolutionary era. In 1779, then led by Right Reverend James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and other reformers, underwent a significant transformation: abolishing the Divinity School, modernizing the curriculum, and founding the first American law school. It was one of the first American institutions to offer graduate instruction. William & Mary was also the first to adopt an honor code (1736). In 1750 its students founded first collegiate secret and honor society, the F.H.C. Society, popularly known as the Flat Hat Club, followed by the Phi Beta Kappa in 1776, the first Greek letter fraternity.

The university comprises six schools: Arts & Sciences, Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, Education, Law, Raymond A. Mason School of Business, and Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Its historic Wren Building, attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, is the oldest academic building still standing in the United States. The main campus spans 1,200 acres and includes restored colonial structures, research centers, and modern academic facilities. William & Mary is the only U.S. university with an official Coat of Arms granted by the College of Arms in London.

Alumni include three U.S. Presidents (Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Tyler), numerous Founding Fathers, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and early national leaders such as Edmund Randolph and Peyton Randolph. George Washington received his surveyor's license from the college in 1749 and later served as its first American chancellor, a position previously long held by bishops of London and archbishops of Canterbury. In modern times, chancellors have included U.S. Supreme Court justices, Cabinet secretaries, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

William & Mary’s enduring legacy and connection to the formation of the United States have earned it the nickname "the alma mater of the Nation".