With a spacious, green campus located along the River Cherwell, it is known for its relaxed atmosphere, modern architecture and beautiful gardens, creating a peaceful environment for a focused academic community.

The historian and philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin was the college's first president, and was instrumental not only in its founding, but establishing a tradition of academic excellence and egalitarianism.

Since then, the college caters to a wide range of subjects, from the humanities to the social and natural sciences, being coeducational since its foundation in 1965.

Wolfson's first president Sir Isaiah Berlin, the influential political philosopher and historian of ideas, was instrumental in the college's founding in 1965.

There is no high table, only one common room for all the members of the college, and gowns are worn only on special occasions.

Berlin's reputation and presence in the early years also helped shape the intellectual character of the college, attracting many distinguished fellows like Niko Tinbergen, who won a Nobel Prize for his studies in animal behaviour in 1973.

Berlin's own prominence in the humanities helped attract many graduate students like Henry Hardy, interested in political philosophy and the history of ideas.

[17] The college has its own squash court and croquet lawn, and takes part in many university sporting events, including cricket, football, and the yearly rowing competition.

[21] The Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, which is affiliated with the college and the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, was based there between 2005 and 2021.

[19] In the sciences, alumni of the college include the human geneticist Dame Kay Davies, the astronomer and Caltech professor Richard Ellis, theoretical physicist David Deutsch, mathematician and geneticist Eric Lander and mathematician James R. Norris.

In law and public policy, alumni include Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government Chris Whitty, former Minister of External Relations of Brazil and Supreme Court Justice Francisco Rezek, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan.

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the youngest serving Prime Minister of Iceland, studied at the College.

Notable current and former fellows of the college include: Jiyuan Yu, a moral philosopher noted for his work on virtue ethics.