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William & Mary

Ranked
Williamsburg, United States
601–800th in World University Rankings 2025
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About

Basic information and contact details for William & Mary

institution

William & Mary is the second-oldest university in the US after Harvard University. The “public Ivy” was founded in 1693 with the granting of a royal charter by King William III and Queen Mary II. The institution can claim many “firsts” including the US’ first Greek letter society, Phi Beta Kappa in 1776, and the country’s first law school.

Its main 1,200-acre historic campus in Williamsburg, Virginia, is home to the oldest university structure in the country, the Sir Christopher Wren Building, which was completed in 1700. The Williamsburg campus includes man-made Lake Matoaka, with the Briggs Amphitheatre on its shores, and College Woods.

Instructing about 8,000 students, the university has more than 40 undergraduate courses, and about 20 graduate programmes across four graduate schools – business, education, law and marine science.

Three US presidents studied at William & Mary, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler. Other famous alumni include Jon Stewart, the comedian and former host of The Daily Show, Ellen Stofan, the chief scientist of Nasa, James Comey, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the actor Glenn Close.

Quirky traditions include the Raft Debate, where scholars from different disciplines are pitted against one other. The idea is that four “shipwrecked survivors” are on a desert island with only one small raft. Each academic must persuade the audience, who select the winner, that they are the person who most deserves to leave the island.

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Rankings

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Key Student Statistics

A breakdown of student statistics at William & Mary

gender ratio
Student gender ratio
58 F : 42 M (1)
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International student percentage
7% (1)
student per staff
Students per staff
11.8 (1)
student
Student total
8599 (1)

Based on data collected for the (1) World University Rankings 2025

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Subjects Taught at William & Mary

See below for a range of subjects taught at William & Mary

Social Sciences501–600th

  • Sociology
  • Politics and International Studies
  • Geography

Psychology401–500th

  • Psychology

Physical Sciences401–500th

  • Chemistry
  • Geology, Environmental, Earth and Marine Sciences
  • Physics and Astronomy
  • Mathematics and Statistics

Life Sciences601–800th

  • Sport Science
  • Biological Sciences

Education301–400th

  • Education

Computer Science251–300th

  • Computer Science

Arts and Humanities401–500th

  • Languages, Literature and Linguistics
  • History, Philosophy and Theology
  • Art, Performing Art and Design

Business and Economics601–800th

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Business and Management
  • Accounting and Finance