William & Mary

About William & Mary

William & Mary is an operating public research university whose accredited legal name is The College of William & Mary in Virginia. The institution uses William & Mary as its current public-facing name. SACSCOC accredits it to award baccalaureate, master's, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees, establishing that this record represents an independent degree-granting institution rather than a department or training provider. The university traces its establishment to a royal charter issued on February 8, 1693. It became a public, state-supported institution in 1906. That history is visible in Williamsburg through buildings, traditions and brick pathways, but the present institution also encompasses graduate and professional education. Its academic structure includes Arts & Sciences, a law school, a business school, a school of education, a school of coastal and marine sciences, and a school focused on computing, data sciences and physics. William & Mary reports more than 7,000 undergraduates and about 2,700 graduate students. This gives prospective students a setting that is substantial enough to offer multidisciplinary study, Division I athletics and extensive student organizations, but more compact than a very large state flagship. The main campus is closely integrated with Williamsburg, while a Washington, D.C., center supports semester, summer and winter-break study options. The institution may particularly suit students seeking a residential, academically intensive public university with access to research and professional schools. Applicants should assess the precise program, cost and campus arrangements relevant to their degree because graduate tuition, admissions and facilities vary by school.

Undergraduate applicants use the Common Application. The current official deadline page lists November 1 for Early Decision I and January 5 for both Early Decision II and Regular Decision. Both Early Decision plans are binding. Fall transfer applications are due March 1, while spring transfer applications are due October 1. Because the deadline page does not label the entering class in its title, applicants should reconfirm these dates in the live application cycle before submitting. First-year review is holistic. The official checklist requires the Common Application, high-school transcript, essay and recommendation material, with a $75 application fee or an eligible fee waiver. SAT and ACT scores are optional. If submitted, William & Mary superscores repeated tests and considers the more advantageous result when both SAT and ACT results are available. International first-year students are admitted for fall entry. They must provide official secondary-school records covering the required years, with official literal translations for records not issued in English. SAT or ACT results are optional; TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo results are strongly recommended for international applicants and non-native English speakers rather than stated as universally mandatory. Optional InitialView or Vericant interviews may supplement an application. Graduate and professional admissions are school-specific and should not be inferred from undergraduate requirements. Applicants to law, business, education, marine science, computing-related or other graduate programs must consult the relevant school for prerequisites, tests, deadlines and funding.

William & Mary's Program Finder lists undergraduate and graduate study, including bachelor's, master's, doctoral, professional and combined degrees, minors, certificates and online options. Programs are organized across Arts & Sciences and schools of law, business, education, coastal and marine sciences, and computing, data sciences and physics. Students should use the current finder and the relevant school catalog to confirm whether a subject is offered as a major, minor, certificate or graduate credential rather than assuming every field leads to the same degree type. Undergraduate education is broad rather than based on direct admission to a narrowly defined major. The university's international-applicant guidance explains that undergraduates normally choose a major by the end of the second year, and that an applicant's stated area of interest is not an admission factor. This structure allows exploration before declaring, although students considering sequenced subjects or professional preparation should still map prerequisites early with an adviser. The institution identifies itself as an R1 research university and describes hands-on work with faculty as part of the undergraduate experience. Academic opportunities extend beyond Williamsburg through study-away options, including programs based at the Washington Center. The surrounding professional schools can also broaden access to lectures, research areas and interdisciplinary pathways, but admission to graduate or professional degrees is handled separately. A prospective student should compare departmental course offerings, faculty research, laboratory or field requirements, and progression rules. This is especially important for marine science, computing, business, education and pre-professional interests, where the relevant school, degree level and application route may differ. The official Program Finder is the strongest starting point for determining the exact credential currently available.

Key Highlights

• Public university founded by royal charter in 1693
• Accredited to award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees
• More than 7,000 undergraduates and approximately 2,700 graduate students
• Academic units span liberal arts, law, business, education, marine science and computing-related fields

Student Life & Environment

William & Mary presents a predominantly campus-centered student experience. Its student-life directory lists more than 475 clubs and organizations, over 40 student-led sport clubs and 23 Division I varsity teams. Activities span academic and professional interests, service, culture and identity, media, performance, faith, student government, recreation, and fraternity and sorority life. This breadth gives students several ways to build community outside class without requiring participation in varsity athletics or Greek organizations. Residence Life offers rooms ranging from singles to quads as well as suites, apartments, language houses, and fraternity and sorority housing. On-campus living places students near classrooms, dining, libraries, faculty offices and the Sadler Center. Housing choices and availability can change by year, so applicants should review the 2026–2027 room-selection materials and contract terms rather than relying on a general description. The Sadler Center functions as a student union for studying, dining, events and organization activity. Recreation options include intramurals, fitness programming, outdoor trips, aquatics and use of Lake Matoaka. Health and wellness services are organized through Campus Recreation, the Counseling Center, Health Promotion and the Student Health Center. The institution's long history also shapes community traditions, including Opening Convocation, Yule Log and Commencement. Students seeking a quieter or highly independent urban experience should note that much of the social infrastructure is tied to the residential campus and the mid-sized Williamsburg setting.

Location & Surroundings

The main campus is in Williamsburg, a mid-sized Virginia city closely associated with the region's colonial history and tourism economy. The university describes Richmond and Virginia Beach as about an hour away and Washington, D.C., as roughly three hours away by car or train. Local leisure options include parks and outdoor spaces, restaurants and cafés, Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. Lake Matoaka and the campus's historic core provide recreation and gathering spaces within the university grounds. Daily life can be manageable without a car. William & Mary says a typical walk across campus takes about 20 minutes, while groceries, shops, cafés and a farmers market can be reached on foot or by bicycle. Students can use Williamsburg Area Transit Authority buses without charge, and Zipcar and student carpooling offer alternatives for occasional trips. Williamsburg has an Amtrak station for longer-distance rail travel. The nearest commercial airports are at Newport News/Williamsburg, Richmond and Norfolk, but reaching campus still requires ground transportation. International students and others arriving by air should budget for that connection and check current schedules and prices. William & Mary's Washington Center adds a city-based academic option, but it is not a substitute for the main residential campus.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026–2027 undergraduates, William & Mary estimates total annual costs of $48,638 for Virginia residents and $75,652 for out-of-state students. The in-state estimate includes $19,734 in tuition, $7,501 in fees, $10,512 for housing and $7,134 for food, plus $3,757 in indirect expenses. The out-of-state estimate includes $46,177 in tuition, $8,072 in fees, the same housing and food allowances, and $3,757 in indirect expenses. Exact bills vary with housing, meals, courses and program, and indirect costs are not billed directly by the university. Domestic students seeking need-based support should review FAFSA and CSS Profile requirements and deadlines. The university reports that in 2024–2025, 77% of first-year in-state students and 60% of first-year out-of-state students received some form of aid. These figures describe any aid, not necessarily full demonstrated need or a guaranteed future award. International applicants face a particularly important constraint: William & Mary states that it generally has no scholarship or loan funds for undergraduate citizens of other countries, so most must be prepared to finance the full cost. Career outcomes should be read with their survey coverage. Preliminary Class of 2025 data, updated April 28, 2026, indicate that 92% were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months, with an 88% knowledge rate; these results were not yet final. For the Class of 2024, the university reported the same 92% outcome at an 80% knowledge rate and an overall mean full-time salary of $64,890. Outcomes vary substantially by field, occupation and further-study plans, so program-level reports are more useful than the institution-wide average for individual decisions.