Feature Article

College of William & Mary — Second-Oldest College in the U.S.

College of William & Mary — Second-Oldest College in the U.S.

10/24/2016

Updated on 09/19/2022

The College of William & Mary, chartered in 1693, is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States—second only to Harvard University (http://www.harvard.edu), which was established in 1636. Although it’s the second-oldest college in the U.S., William & Mary isn’t without its own firsts: it was the first to receive a Royal Charter; the first U.S. college to become a university; the first law school in the U.S.