Peer Institutions

A carefully selected group of peer institutions is essential for a university to articulate its identity and strategic direction. It offers a clearer understanding of its strengths, opportunities, and distinctiveness. When it comes to William & Mary, selecting a list of peers is challenging, due to our genuinely distinctive profile.

As a public university offering features commonly associated with private institutions — such as small class sizes — and as a liberal arts and sciences university that also holds R1 research status, we defy simple categorization. In many ways, one could argue that the ampersand in our name also symbolizes the unique blending of strengths that shape our distinct academic identity. Below you may find three separate lists of William & Mary peer institutions.

Board of Visitors List of Peer Institutions

In November, 2025, the university Board of Visitors approved the following list of peer institutions.

American University
Boston College
Brandeis University
Brown University
Clemson University
Dartmouth
Duke University
Emory University
Georgetown University
George Washington University
University of Georgia
Lehigh University
Northeastern University
Rice University
Santa Clara University
SUNY Stony Brook
Tufts University
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Tech
Villanova University
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St. Louis

IPEDS Comparison List

The U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects data from all postsecondary institutions. Our custom peer institution group was submitted by W&M in 2018 and is listed below:

Boston College
Brandeis University
Brown University
Dartmouth College
Emory University
Georgetown University
Tufts University
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of California – Irvine
University of California – Santa Barbara
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St Louis
Yeshiva University

SCHEV Benchmark Group

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) conducted a benchmarking study in 2007 to identify a list of institutions that are comparable according to their operations to each university of the Commonwealth. Their benchmark group for William & Mary is:

Boston College
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brown University
Clemson University
Dartmouth College
Emory University
Georgetown University
Marquette University
Rutgers University-New Brunswick/Piscataway
SUNY at Binghamton
Syracuse University
Tufts University
University of California-Irvine
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Georgia
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
Vanderbilt University
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St Louis
Yeshiva University

Comprehensive Summary of Peer Institutions

Comprehensive List of Peer Institutions
University	Board of Visitors (2025)	IPEDS (2024)	SCHEV (2007)
American U	X
Boston C	X	X	X
Boston U			X
Brandeis	X	X	X
Brown U	X	X	X
Clemson *	X		X
Dartmouth	X	X	X
Duke	X
Emory	X	X	X
Georgetown	X	X	X
George Washington	X
Georgia *	X		X
Lehigh	X
Marquette			X
Northeastern	X
Rice	X
Rutgers			X
Santa Clara	X
SUNY Binghampton			X
SUNY Stony Brook *	X
Syracuse			X
Tufts	X	X	X
UC Irvine		X	X
UC Santa Barbara		X	X
U of Connecticut			X
U of Delaware			X
U New Hampshire			X
UNC – Chapel Hill *	X	X	X
U of Notre Dame		X	X
U of Virginia *	X	X
Vanderbilt	X	X	X
Villanova	X
Virginia Tech *	X
Wake Forest	X	X	X
Wash U St Louis	X	X	X
Yeshiva U		X	X