The Williams-Exeter Program at Oxford, abbreviated as WEPO, is a collaborative academic program of

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and Exeter College, one of the

constituent colleges A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Col ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Through the program, 26 undergraduate students of Williams College spend their junior year as full members of Exeter College. It was founded in 1985 following Williams College’s acquisition of four buildings in

Summertown, Oxford Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England. Summertown is a one-mile square residential area, north of St Giles, the boulevard leading out of Oxford's city centre. Summertown is home to several independent schools and the city's ...

, which now house the program as Ephraim Williams House. All coursework in the program is through the intensive Oxbridge

tutorial system The tutorial system is a method of university education where the main teaching method is regular, very small group sessions. These are the core teaching sessions of a degree, and are supplemented by lectures, practicals and larger group classes. ...

, which Williams College also partially emulates in its curriculum on campus in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

. The Director of the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford serves a two-year term in residence at Ephraim Williams House as both Williams College faculty and Supernumerary Fellow of Exeter College. Since 2017, a small group of Exeter College students have visited Williams College each January to participate in its Winter Study programming.

List of directors

* Daniel O’Connor, 1985-1987 * Jean-Bernard Bucky, 1987-1989 * Andrew Crider, 1991-1993 * John Reichert, 1993-1995 * William G. Wagner, 1995-1997 * Alan White, 1997-1999 * Jennifer Bloxam, 1999-2001 * Chris Waters, 2001-2004 * Jim Nolan, 2004-2006 * Guy Hedreen and Liz McGowan, 2006-2008 * Tom Kohut, 2008-2010 * Nancy A. Roseman, 2010-2012 * Katie Kent, 2012-2014 * Marlene Sandstrom and Noah Sandstrom, 2014-2016 * Gretchen Long, 2016-2018 * Lucie Schmidt, 2018-2020 * Steve Swoap, 2020-2022 * Bojana Mladenović, 2022-2024 * Sam Crane, 2024–present

Notable alumni

Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the U ...

, United States senator * James Spallone, former Connecticut representative * Hikaru Wakeel Hayakawa, climate activist *

Lina Khan Lina Maliha Khan (born March 3, 1989) is an American legal scholar who served from 2021 to 2025 as chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). She is also a professor at Columbia Law School. While a student at Yale Law School, she became known ...

, legal scholar and former Chair of the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

References

{{Reflist, 33em 1985 establishments in England Williams College Exeter College, Oxford Study abroad programs