Colleges of the University of York

The University of York has nine colleges. These colleges provide most of the accommodation for undergraduates and postgraduates at the University. While lectures, examinations, laboratories and facilities such as the central library are run by the University, the colleges play an important role in the pastoral care of the student body.

Every student is a member of a college, staff may choose to join a college if they wish. All the colleges are of equal status, but each has its own constitution. The day-to-day running of the colleges is managed by an elected committee of staff and student members chaired by the college's 'Head of College'. Each college has a Junior Common Room for students, which is managed by the elected Junior Common Room Committee, and a Senior Common Room, which is managed by elected representatives of the college's academic and administrative members. The colleges are deliberately assigned undergraduates, postgraduate students and staff from a wide mixture of disciplines.

In 1963 the University of York opened. At the time, the university consisted of three buildings, principally the historic King's Manor in the city centre and Heslington Hall, which has Tudor foundations and is in the village of Heslington on the edge of York. A year later, work began on purpose-built structures on the Heslington West campus, including the construction of the Colleges, which now form the main part of the university.

Baron James of Rusholme, the university's first Vice-Chancellor, set out to create a modern university which retained the collegiate character of the traditional collegiate universities of Oxbridge. York's first two Colleges, Derwent and Langwith were founded in 1965, and were followed by Alcuin and Vanbrugh in 1967.Goodricke and Wentworth were founded shortly afterwards, in 1968 and 1972 respectively.

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