About 250 undergraduate students, both local and international and of a variety of backgrounds, live in the original college building, and 315 graduate students are housed in the nearby New College Village.

The first Master was Reverend Noel A. Pollard,[1] who filled that role until 1973, when he was succeeded by Dr Stuart Barton Babbage.

The current Master of the college is Adjunct Professor Bill Pierson, and the Dean of Residents is Jonathan Billingham.

New College hosts a formal dinner every four to six weeks, with a well-known guest speaker from politics, science, business, sport or entertainment.

Previous guests include former Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and John Howard, long-term Governor of New South Wales Marie Bashir, former NSW Premier Bob Carr, Host of at the Movies Margaret Pomeranz and former Wallabies Captain, now Investment Banker Nick Farr-Jones.

New College students stage a play or musical and a revue on campus each year.