St Anne's stands out in Oxford as a college that is down to earth, modern, informal and open to the world. It also has a determined sense of its academic purpose. It began in 1879 offering a university education to women who otherwise would have found it unaffordable. It became a full College of the University in 1952. It has taken both men and women since 1979, and is now one of Oxford's largest colleges, with over 400 undergraduates and 150 graduates.