University of Mary Washington

The University of Mary Washington is one of Virginia’s outstanding public liberal arts universities, providing a superior education that inspires and enables our students to make positive changes in the world.

We are a place where faculty, students, and staff share in the creation and fearless exploration of knowledge through freedom of inquiry, personal responsibility, and service. We regard the provision of rigorous, high-quality instruction as a privilege and our most important function.

Through a professionally-engaged faculty, we support ongoing research appropriate to the development of student abilities and faculty interests. We especially champion the participation of undergraduates in research.

Our size, enthusiastic and dedicated faculty, and historical commitment to fine teaching foster a culture where both undergraduate and graduate students benefit from genuine relationships with their faculty and multiple opportunities for active learning.

We are the heart for engagement among vibrant, diverse communities and we are dedicated to supporting professional advancement and economic development and to improving the regional quality of life. We fulfill our mission by fostering students’ intellectual and creative independence, facilitating their immersion in local, regional, national, and international communities, and by instilling the values of honor and integrity. Our graduates are models of adaptive learning, personal achievement, responsible leadership, caring service to others, and engaged citizenship in a global and diverse society.

Wherever you are in your life, in the world, or in your college career, knowledge is power…so, grab it! Dream big and let the University of Mary Washington’s passionate master teachers, rigorous academics, and liberal arts and sciences curriculum take you there.

The University of Mary Washington is one of Virginia’s outstanding public liberal arts universities and is dedicated to the goal of providing a superior education that will enable our graduates to make positive changes in the world. As a liberal arts and sciences university, the University of Mary Washington offers a broad approach to learning designed to help students deal effectively with complexity, diversity, and change. The word “liberal” traces its root to the Latin “liber,”meaning “free.” True to that origin, UMW’s academic programs will help you free your mind for an infinite range of possibilities. A liberal education helps develop a sense of social responsibility, and also builds strong and transferable skills in communication, analysis, problem-solving skills, and the ability to apply knowledge in real-world settings.

At the University of Mary Washington, the Division of Student Affairs promotes students’ success, learning, and personal wellness as they explore the intersections of their college experience. In concert with the University’s liberal arts and sciences mission and values of inclusion, integrity, and leadership, we provide programs, resources, and educational opportunities that prepare students for engaged citizenship in a global society.

The Student Affairs Division is committed to supporting and strengthening the University of Mary Washington’s distinction as an outstanding public liberal arts university. Recognizing that students experience their education as an intersection of various identities and activities rather than as a compartmentalization of academics, social life, and co-curricular involvement, we work alongside our university colleagues to challenge and support students as they learn, grow, and lead.

First-year seminar courses introduce students to the pursuit of intellectual inquiry. Seminars are designed to let students interact with outstanding faculty members while exploring nontraditional topics in nontraditional ways. As a premier provider of arts and cultural programming, the University of Mary Washington welcomes patrons to its campuses each year to experience music, museums, the fine arts, theatre, and lecture series. UMW Arts and Culture is an alliance of eight distinctive sites and programs at Mary Washington that provide inspiring events and exciting opportunities for the university and regional communities.

Expand your global horizons and gain once-in-a-lifetime experiences when you study abroad. UMW offers Faculty-Led Programs, led by UMW professors during breaks from the regular academic calendar or during summer sessions. Students may also participate in UMW’s Approved Programs, which provide the opportunity to study abroad for a summer, semester, or year at an international institution. For the same tuition cost as a semester or year at UMW, students can also study abroad through one of our Exchange Programs.

Founded in 1908 and named for the mother of our country’s founding father, we have built a rich history of traditions and accomplished academic excellence. We have evolved from our beginnings as Fredericksburg’s State Normal and Industrial School for Women to one of the nation’s premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences universities today.

From 1944 to 1972, we functioned as the women’s college of the University of Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary academic organization, established a Mary Washington chapter in 1971. Shortly after we became coed in the early 1970s, we were reorganized as an independent college. Having added a limited number of graduate and professional programs beyond the central undergraduate curriculum, and having established more than one campus, the General Assembly of Virginia in 2004 renamed us University of Mary Washington.

We continued to evolve with the creation of two new colleges in the summer of 2010, when the College of Business and the College of Education joined the College of Arts and Sciences in fulfilling our mission of providing rigorous undergraduate and graduate programs.