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Wadham College
UK-2014-Oxford-Wadham College 05.jpg
Wadham College Oxford Coat Of Arms.svg
Blazon: Gules, a chevron between 3 roses argent barbed vert (Wadham); impaling Gules, a bend or between 2 escallops argent (Petre)
University Oxford
Location Parks Road
Coordinates 51°45′21″N 1°15′17″W / 51.755871°N 1.254593°W / 51.755871; -1.254593
Full name Wadham College of the Foundation of Nicholas Wadham Esquire and Dorothy his wife in the University of Oxford
Latin name Collegium Wadhamensi
Established 1610; 412 years ago (1610)
Named for Dorothy (née Petre) and Nicholas Wadham
Sister college Christ's College, Cambridge
Warden Robert Hannigan
Undergraduates 462 (2015/2016)
Postgraduates 182
Boat club Wadham College Boat Club
Map
Wadham College, Oxford is located in Oxford city centre
Wadham College, Oxford
Location in Oxford city centre

Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road.

Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, according to the will of her late husband Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609), a member of an ancient Devon and Somerset family.

The central buildings, a notable example of Jacobean architecture, were designed by the architect William Arnold and erected between 1610 and 1613. They include a large and ornate Hall. Adjacent to the central buildings are the Wadham Gardens.

Amongst Wadham's most famous alumni is Sir Christopher Wren. Wren was one of a brilliant group of experimental scientists at Oxford in the 1650s, the Oxford Philosophical Club, which included Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. This group held regular meetings at Wadham College under the guidance of the warden, John Wilkins, and the group formed the nucleus which went on to found the Royal Society.

Wadham is a liberal and progressive college which aims to maintain the diversity of its student body and a friendly atmosphere. Founded as a men's college, in 1974 it was among the first to become coeducational, and the college has a strong reputation as a promoter of gay rights. In 2011 it became the first Oxford college to fly the rainbow flag as part of queer week, a celebration of sexual diversity and individuality.

Wadham is one of the largest colleges of the University of Oxford, with about 460 undergraduates, 180 graduate students, and 65 fellows.

As of 2018, it had an estimated financial endowment of £107 million, and in 2014/2015 ranked 3rd in the Norrington Table, a measure which ranks Oxford colleges by academic performance.

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