William and Mary, College of
The College of William & Mary in Virginia (also known as The College, William & Mary, or W&M) is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Privately founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States after Harvard University.
William & Mary educated U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler as well as other key figures important to the development of the nation, including U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, Speaker of the House Henry Clay, and 16 signers of the Declaration of Independence. W&M was the first school of higher education in the United States to install an honor code of conduct for students. The establishment of graduate programs in law and medicine in 1779 make it one of the first universities in the United States.
In addition to its undergraduate program, the College is home to several graduate and professional schools, including law, business, public policy, education, marine science and colonial history. In 2012, W&M enrolled 6,071 undergraduate and 2,129 graduate and professional students.
The College of William & Mary is a medium-sized, highly residential, public research university. The focal point of the university is its four-year, full-time undergraduate program which comprises most of the institution's enrollment. The College has a strong undergraduate arts & sciences focus, with a select number of graduate programs in diverse fields ranging from American colonial history to marine science. The College offers an undergraduate joint degree program in engineering with Columbia University as well as a liberal arts joint degree program with the venerable University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
