Skip to main content
Main Content

Essentials

32 Pages
  • Rankings

    1987 - US News ranked 22nd among "national universities" 1997 - US News - 6th among public universities 1997 - US News - 2nd in "quality education while spending relatively less" 1999 - US News - 6th among public universities 1999 - Newsweek's "Hot Schools" list 1999 - Kiplinger's Personal Finance…
  • Royal Charter

    William & Mary President James Blair brought both English and Latin versions of the twelve page Royal Charter establishing the college with him from the Court of William and Mary at Kensington Palace. This original copy of the charter establishing William & Mary in Virginia was apparently…
  • Senior Class Chain of Office

    The Senior Class Chain of Office is worn by the president of the senior class at William & Mary for official functions. At the end of the Commencement ceremony, after the last faculty member has exited the auditorium, the president of the graduating class presents the Senior Class Chain of…
  • Sundial

    The William & Mary sundial was probably made in London during the seventeenth century or early eighteenth century. Scientific measurements of how lines on the dial by Dr. George W. Crawford, Professor of Physics Emeritus, prove it was engraved for use in the vicinity of Williamsburg.
  • Tuition

    Tuition at William & Mary is published annually in the catalog. All known university catalogs have been digitized and are available online. Discussion of tuition increases as well as any mid-year changes to tuition are documented in official university records like the Board of Visitors, office…
  • W&M Historical Highlights

    This is a working chronological list of William & Mary Historical Highlights prepared for use by staff of the Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center. There is of course much more to the history of William & Mary than the dates and vignettes listed here. Feel free to browse this…
  • Women at William & Mary

    The first female students were admitted to William & Mary for the fall term in 1918. 19th Century On February 6, 1896, the Faculty of the College of William & Mary approved a resolution "that ladies of town and College be permitted, at Dr. Hall's discretion, to attend his lectures on…

Want to find out more?

To search for further material, visit the Special Collections Research Center's Search Tool List for other resources to help you find materials of interest.

Questions? Have ideas or updates for articles you'd like to see? Contact the Special Collections Research Center at spcoll@wm.edu or 757-221-3090.

A note about the contents of this site

This website contains the best available information from known sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information in this website is not complete, and it changes as we continue to research and uncover new sources.