History

Lady Doak College, a premier Christian institution and the first women's college in Madurai, was founded by Miss Katie Wilcox, an American missionary with dedicatory zeal and vision. Commencing its pioneering service in the cause of women's education in and around the city of Madurai on 14th July 1948 in the Noyes Memorial Gardens, Tallakulam, Madurai, the college has completed 75 years of committed labour of love and learning. As an ecumenical Christian college whose purpose is to impart liberal education of Christian character to students of all creeds, this college strives to develop their intellectual powers, locate, identify and cultivate their interests and talents and train them to be responsible and useful citizens. Lady Doak College is a unit of the Katie Wilcox Education Association, which is a Christian Educational Trust.

In its first year, Lady Doak College had 81 students, a few books in a small library room, one hostel, a portion of the classroom building under construction and a few thatched sheds. Since that time, the college has grown in every way. In the place of temporary sheds, today, we have a well-built beautiful chapel, classrooms, lecture halls, comprehensive library, well-equipped laboratories, multimedia theatres, indoor stadium-cum-auditorium, open-air theatre, hostels, clinic, non-resident students' centre and canteens. Now the college has an enrollment of about 4420 women students served by a committed and skilled team of about 211 teaching and 139 non-teaching staff.

Academic autonomy was granted in 1978, making it one of the earliest autonomous institutions in the country. A challenging curriculum blended with relevant academic programmes, co-curricular activities, exposure programmes and a well-developed student support system has placed the college at the forefront in the field of higher education. The college currently offers 25 undergraduate, 15 postgraduate. Programmes and Madurai Kamaraj University has recognized 8 Departments as Research Centres. Besides these, 3 postgraduate diploma, 5 diploma and 14 certificate courses are also offered. The college is also one of the first few Arts and Science Colleges in the State of Tamil Nadu, which has initiated an international student exchange programme for credit transfer.

Lady Doak College aims to bring about the wholesome transformation of women with a well-balanced moral, social and spiritual outlook.