 Jesus College was founded on 27 June 1571 , when Elizabeth I issued a royal charter . It was the first Protestant college to be founded at the university , and it is the only Oxford college to date from Elizabeth 's reign . It was the first new Oxford college since 1555 , in the reign of Queen Mary , when Trinity College and St John 's College were founded as Roman Catholic colleges . The foundation charter named a principal ( David Lewis ) , eight fellows , eight scholars , and eight commissioners to draw up the statutes for the college . The commissioners included Hugh Price , who had petitioned the queen to found a college at Oxford " that he might bestow his estate of the maintenance of certain scholars of Wales to be trained up in good letters . " The college was originally intended primarily for the education of clergy . The particular intention was to satisfy a need for dedicated , learned clergy to promote the Elizabethan Religious Settlement in the parishes of England , Ireland and Wales . The college has since broadened the range of subjects offered , beginning with the inclusion of medicine and law , and now offers almost the full range of subjects taught at the university . The letters patent issued by Elizabeth I made it clear that the education of a priest in the 16th century included more than just theology , however : 
