Lady Doak College is a principle institute for Christians and also the first college for women in Madurai. The institution was the brainchild of a missionary from America, Ms. Katie Wilcox, who had a vision to empower women. The College had its humble beginning in 1948 and in 1978 it gained autonomous status and also affiliation to Madurai Kamaraj University. As a Universal Christian College whose purpose is to impart value education in accordance with the noble ideals of Christianity to the students, this college also envisions to nurture their intellect, place and identification and develop their interests and talents, in the process making them responsible and benevolent citizens. At present Lady Doak College works as a part of Katie Wilcox Education Association and stands high as one of the pioneering colleges in India that has achieved autonomy.

Eligible students can take admission to various aided and self financed courses that are offered by Lady Doak College. Aided Courses in undergraduate level include-- Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in History, Social Sciences, Economics (spl. in Corporate Economics), (English & Tamil Medium), English Literature and Tamil Literature; Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. (Spl.)) in subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany (Spl. in Industrial Microbiology) and Zoology (Spl. in Biotechnology), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com). At postgraduate level courses like Master of Arts (M.A.) with specialisations in English Literature, Tamil Literature, History and Economics are offered. One can also pursue Master of Science (M.Sc) in Mathematics and Zoology (Spl. in Biotechnology). Doctoral Research in Biological Sciences is also a favourite option chosen by students. Postgraduate Diploma in Bimolecular Modelling & Dynamics of one-year duration is also offered.

Self-Financed Courses of Lady Doak College comprise-- Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in subjects like Computer Applications, Information Technology & Management (ITM), Mathematics with Computer Applications, Physics with Computer Applications, Biotechnology, Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) - Commerce with Computer Applications, Corporate Secretaryship, Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Postgraduate courses include-- Master of Science (M.Sc) in Microbiology, Chemistry, Physics, Biotechnology, Information Technology, Computer Science; Master of Commerce (M.Com.), Master of Arts (M.A.) in Social Work. Few more diploma courses in postgraduate level of one-year duration are also offered. These are-- Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA), Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Public Relations (PGDPM & PR), Post Graduate Diploma in Event Management (PGDEM), Post Graduate Diploma in Remote Sensing and GIS (PGRS & GIS), Post Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship Development (PGEDP). Research programmes include-- Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) with specialisations in Tamil, Commerce, Economics, Microbiology, Zoology, English, and Chemistry.

Lady Doak College houses departments in- Tamil, English, History, French, Economics, Commerce, Social Sciences, B.B.A, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Botany, Computer Science, Zoology & Biotechnology, Physical Education. A team of efficient and qualified faculty members can be considered treasures of the college.

In addition, a handful of centres enhance the environment, ideal for academic pursuits. The Centre for Information Technology began with 2 computers in 1986. Today it has transformed into a hub of carrying on computing activities on campus, thereby providing instruction, support, arrangement and maintenance services. Present highlights are: 3 well-stocked laboratories with full interactive 200 systems, a language laboratory with thirty-one systems. It also houses High-End IBM server, HP servers, Windows 2003 server, Windows NT Server and Unix Server with sophisticated nodes.

This Center of Lady Doak College offers numerous courses. These comprise-- Diploma in Computer Applications (DCA), Advanced Diploma in Computer Applications (ADCA), Diploma in Desk Top Publishing (DDTP), Diploma in Multimedia & Animation (DMA), Beacon`s Typing Tool.

The Centre for Women`s Studies was set up in 1989 as a distinct discipline in the curriculum of Lady Doak College that had received the support of University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2004. In fact it is the first UGC supported Centre in the Madurai Kamaraj University area. The Centre for Environmental Studies was founded to co-coordinate education, studies and conduct activities of departments that are linked to Environmental Studies. The Faculty Development Centre was formed on August 2005 to enhance professional skills amongst teachers. Lady Doak College also has its career guidance cell that offers multiple facilities to its students like campus interviewing, job placements, soft skills training, guidance for competitive and Civil exams. It also organises career counselling, which is effective for students to chalk out their career plans for future. Almost twenty years ago, the Audio Visual unit of Lady Doak College had begun functioning with a tiny television set, a handful of documentary films and also some LP records. At present 2 full-fledged Audio Visual rooms are available on campus that can accommodate 150 and 100 people respectively. Few short-term courses on Digital and Video Photography are offered to the students. Apart from this, the institution undertakes video recording and photography of all college programmes.

In its days of inception Lady Doak College was put up in Van Allen and then at College Hall. The Miller Memorial Library was dedicated to Mrs. Miller in memory of her husband, on 8th March 1964, with a collection of reference books, periodicals, journals and also books on Humanities and Arts. All the departments like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology and Computer Science maintain their own departmental libraries. There are 86837 volumes and 212 periodicals. For ensuring maximum utilisation, easy accessibility and user satisfaction, an open access system is used. Facility of book bank also is available to help all the deprived and meritorious students. It stores 5444 books. There is a book club also, where students can take membership. They are continuously motivated to submit articles, essays and also book reviews. The Library Automation began in 1996 with the help of 2 computers, using CDS-ISIS package. Bar coding technology was established in 2001.