[9] Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, was responsible for the refoundation of the college and also established its motto—garde ta foy (Old French: "keep your faith").

It has maintained strong academic performance over the past decade, achieving an average of ninth in the Tompkins Table and coming second in 2015.

The secluded location of the hostel was chosen because it was separated from the town centre by the River Cam and protected by Cambridge Castle.

[13] Derived from Audley were the arms of Magdalene, including the motto Garde Ta Foy (from Old French for "keep your faith"), and the wyvern as the crest.

He donated to the college seven acres of property at Aldgate in London, which was his reward from Henry VIII for disposing of Anne Boleyn.

[14] The transaction involved Spinola luring the master and fellows of the time to accept an increase in the annual rental from £9 to £15 a year in exchange for the property.

When the Quayside development site of Magdalene College was completed in 1989, a gargoyle of Spinola which spits water into the Cam was installed as a "revenge at last".

[21] Daniel Waterland, a theologian by training, became master of the college in 1714 and prescribed a new curriculum for undergraduate students at Magdalene.

The Zong massacre of 1781 prompted Peckard to speak strongly against slave trade in his sermons, some of which were published as tracts and pamphlets.

[25] Peckard set the college on the course of achieving a wider reputation of scholarship and sound thinking, and was later appointed as vice-chancellor of Cambridge University.

The college had more liberal admissions policies than most, admitting Arthur Cohen, the first practising Jew to graduate from Cambridge.

[10][better source needed] Magdalene has an evenly mixed student body in terms of sex, race and education background.

[31] In recent years, Magdalene's access programme has attracted many applicants from state schools, especially from North West England;[32] and the college's close affiliation with international students' bursaries such as the Prince Philip Scholarship and the Jardine Foundation has attracted many applicants from Southeast Asia, most notably Wong Yan Lung who went on to become Secretary for Justice for Hong Kong.

[33] In October 2022, the new library designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects won the Stirling Prize for excellence in architecture.

Magdalene College is located at the bend of the River Cam on the northwestern side of the town centre, at the foot of Castle Hill.

The main site of the college is the area bounded by Magdalene Street, Chesterton Lane and the River Cam.

[39] Situated on the north-east side of Magdalene Street is the porters' lodge, where mail to members of the college is delivered and distributed.

[44] To the far end of the hall is the High Table, placed on a platform one step above ground level, where fellows and their guests dine.

The architect and polymath Robert Hooke, otherwise best known for coining the idea of a biological cell, participated in designing this building in 1677, and construction carried on from then until the 1700s because of the college's lack of money.

[46] Construction of a new College Library began in 2018; the new building, designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects, offers three times more space.

It was built in 1908–09 by Aston Webb to provide extra accommodation to host increasing numbers of undergraduate students.

Most of the trees planted in the original plan of the garden were chopped down and replaced in a renovation in the early 1900s, under the instruction of botanist Walter Gardiner.

[46] Near the northwest corner of the Fellows' Garden lies a Victorian pet cemetery with several gravestones and statues of departed dogs and cats of the College.

[45] The area of the Village was developed over a period of 45 years by three architects, Harry Redfern, Sir Edwin Lutyens and David Roberts.

Benson was best known for writing the lyrics of Land of Hope and Glory, a British patriotic song set to the tune of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.

[37] To the left of the courtyard is a gentle grassy slope where the college punts are moored and parties are held in the summer.

[37] Most of the buildings bounded by the River Cam, Bridge Street and Thompson's Lane are owned by Magdalene College, despite being covered by shop-fronts and restaurants on the ground level.

[59] Designed by Níall McLaughlin Architects, it won the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2022 for its architectural achievements,[60] the first Oxbridge building to receive this accolade.

It holds the College's books for undergraduate and postgraduate use, and it provides more than 90 study spaces across three floors with views of the Fellows' Garden and the River Cam.

Power to appoint the master was vested until 2012 in the visitor of the college, an hereditary title of the heir of the founder, Lord Audley (now Baron Braybrooke).