The large, square Magdalen Tower is an Oxford landmark, and it is a tradition, dating to the days of Henry VII, that the college choir sings from the top of it at 6 a.m. on May Morning.

In 1487 when the Founder's Statutes were written, the foundation consisted of a President, 40 fellows, 30 demies, four chaplain priests, eight clerks, 16 choristers, and appointed to the Grammar School, a Master and an usher.

[9] The founder's statutes included provision for a choral foundation of men and boys (a tradition that has continued to the present day) and made reference to the pronunciation of the name of the college in English.

James eventually offered a compromise candidate in the form of the moderate Bishop of Oxford, Samuel Parker,[19] but he too was rejected by the fellows as they considered the role filled.

[21] Magdalen's prominence since the mid-20th century owes much to such famous fellows as C. S. Lewis and A. J. P. Taylor, and its academic success to the work of such dons as Thomas Dewar Weldon.

The irregularly shaped St John's Quad is the first on entering the college, and includes the Outdoor Pulpit and old Grammar Hall.

These are thought to be allegorical, and include four hieroglyphics in front of the old library that represent scholarly subjects: science, medicine, law, and theology.

[33][34] The other hieroglyphics have been assigned symbolism relating to virtues that should be encouraged by the college (e.g. the lion and pelican grotesques in front of the Senior Common Room representing courage and parental affection) or vices that should be avoided (the manticore, boxers, and lamia in front of the Junior Common Room, representing pride, contention, and lust).

The roof, giving the impression of a stone vaulted ceiling, is in fact a facsimile made from plaster added in 1790 by neo-Gothic architect James Wyatt.

[45] It forms the centre of the May Morning celebrations in Oxford, from which the choir sing pieces including the Hymnus Eucharisticus and the Dean of Divinity blesses the University, city, and crowds.

The new residence was an extension of the library, which had been created out of a glasshouse by an earlier Sherardian professor, John Sibthorp, to house the Sherard herbarium.

In the 16th Century, as recorded in a map from 1578, the Grove consisted of formal enclosed gardens, tree-lined avenues, an orchard, and a fish pond.

C. S. Lewis wrote a poem about the walk, Chanson d'Aventure or What the Bird Said Early in the Year, which is commemorated on a plaque near the gate to Holywell Ford.

Bat Willow meadow features Y, a 10 metre high sculpture of a branching tree by Mark Wallinger, commissioned for the college's 550th anniversary in 2008.

[68][69] Due to their age and infection with honey fungus, the willow trees were cut down in 2018 and replanted, and the wood used to make cricket bats.

[70] The Fellows' Garden is located further north along the bank of the Cherwell than Bat Willow meadow, directly behind the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

As part of Oxford's annual May Morning in a tradition that dates back 500 years, at 6 a.m. on 1 May, the choir perform Hymnus Eucharisticus from the top of Magdalen's Tower to crowds below on Madgalen Bridge and the High Street.

Past academical clerks include John Mark Ainsley, Harry Christophers (founder and director of The Sixteen), James Whitbourn, Peter Harvey, Robin Blaze, Paul Agnew, Roderick Williams and conductor/composer Gregory Rose.

[76] Other recent works include the BBC's The Blue Planet and Paul McCartney's classical piece Ecce Cor Meum.

Unlike undergraduates, graduates are not required to move out between terms and typically live "outside walls", including in Holywell Ford, the Daubeny Laboratory, and Professor's House.

[78][79] Accommodation charges are inclusive of heating, power, and internet access, and weekly cleaning by the college scouts (housekeepers), but do not include catering.

[93] The match was heavily affected by rain and ended in a draw,[94] but did see Oxford's John Evans make scores of 56 and 107, in addition to taking a five wicket haul in the South Africans first innings.

[97][98] As well as the MCBC, Magdalen College is represented by teams in football, hockey, rugby, netball, cricket, lacrosse, squash and pool, amongst others.

These include king Edward VIII, who attended while Prince of Wales from 1912 to 1914, after which he left without graduating;[100] Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the king of Bhutan, who read for an MPhil in politics in 2000;[101] and crown prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, first in line to the throne of Brunei, who enrolled in the Foreign Service Programme (now known as the Diplomatic Studies Programme) in 1995 under an assumed name.

[104] Wolsey rose from humble origins to become lord chancellor and the archbishop of York, obtaining great political power and becoming adviser to king Henry VIII.

[127] Hormuzd Rassam, the native Assyriologist, studied at Magdalen for 18 months between accompanying archaeologist Austen Henry Layard on his first and second expeditions.

He was the first Middle Eastern archaeologist, but his contributions were dismissed by some of his contemporaries and by the end of his life, his name had been removed from plaques and visitor guides at the British Museum.

[132] Novelist and Spanish anti-fascist Ralph Winston Fox studied modern languages at Magdalen College, where he graduated from in 1922 with a first class honours.

Fox was best known for being the biographer of both Genghis Khan and Vladimir Lenin, and for being killed while fighting against Hitler backed fascists during the Spanish Civil War.

[146][48] The Sherardian Chair has been held since 2022, by Lars Østergaard, who studies how molecular signalling mechanisms evolve to affect plant development.