St Aidan's College is a college of the University of Durham in England. It had its origins in 1895 as the association of women home students, formalised in 1947 as St Aidan's Society. In 1961, it became a full college of the university, and in 1964 moved to new modernist buildings on Elvet Hill designed by Sir Basil Spence.

Durham University is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to open in England for more than 600 years, after Oxford and Cambridge, and is thus the third-oldest university in England. As a collegiate university, its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and its 17 colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide teaching to students, while the colleges are responsible for their domestic arrangements and welfare.