Worcester College, Oxford

Worcester College
University of Oxford
East side of Main Quad
Arms: Argent, two chevronels between six martlets, three, two and one sable (modified arms of Cookes)
Scarf colours: black, with two equally-spaced pearl-pink stripes
LocationWorcester Street
Coordinates51°45′18″N 1°15′49″W / 51.754971°N 1.263701°W / 51.754971; -1.263701
Full nameWorcester College in the University of Oxford
Latin nameCollegium Vigorniense
Established1283 (1283)
as Gloucester College,
1560 (1560)
as Gloucester Hall,
1714 (1714)
as Worcester College
Named forSir Thomas Cookes,
Worcestershire
Previous namesGloucester College, Gloucester Hall
ArchitectNicholas Hawksmoor

James Wyatt

William Burges
Sister collegeSt Catharine's College, Cambridge
ProvostDavid Isaac, CBE
Undergraduates412 (2011/2012)
Postgraduates167
Endowment£59.6 million (2022)
Websitewww.worc.ox.ac.uk
Boat clubWorcester College Boat Club
Map
Location in Oxford city centre

Worcester College (/ˈwʊstər/ WUUST-ər) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms was adopted by the college. Its predecessor, Gloucester College, had been an institution of learning on the same site since the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Founded as a men's college, Worcester has been coeducational since 1979. The provost is David Isaac who took office on 1 July 2021.

As of 2022, Worcester College had a financial endowment of £59.6 million.

Notable alumni of the college include the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, television producer and screenwriter Russell T Davies, US Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, Fields medallist Simon Donaldson, novelist Richard Adams (author of Watership Down), professional basketball player and US Senator Bill Bradley, and the Sultan of Perak, Nazrin Shah.