The College opened in 1931 as a residential college for students from The Dominions. Its aim was to improve international tolerance and understanding amongst people on the brink of their careers by providing a forum in which they could interact. The College has expanded greatly since that time and now consists of a community of 650 postgraduate students from over ninety countries. It is an independent educational charity which receives no state funding and relies instead on the generation of its own income.

The College's most recent report and accounts can be found here.

 

The vision of the College today is to "provide a home for outstanding international postgraduate students and their families, irrespective of background, where mutual understanding and respect are fostered and an appreciation of leadership, global citizenship and social responsibility is developed."

The College has excellent residential and study facilities. It also runs an extensive extra-curricular programme, which includes a conference series aimed at examining subjects of international concern. Its membership includes Visiting Fellows, who act as advisors to these conferences, and Goodenough Alumni, who have a more informal role as mentors and advisors to Members.

 

The College serves all the academic and professional institutions in London, where its Members study and teach. It maintains a loose balance between nations, as it does between the broad faculties of Medicine, Law, Business, Art, Science and Education. It is the first choice for scholars from a wide range of international schemes including Chevening, Fulbright, Commonwealth, Marshall and Beit.

 

Selection is based not only on the academic prowess of applicants but also on their ability and enthusiasm to contribute to the life of this unique College and, later, to their home countries. The College expects all those it selects to have the potential to rise to the heights of their chosen careers and, as a result, boasts an international alumnus of considerable achievement and influence.