Globe-trotting Redefined
More than 4,000 people from the Fredericksburg area took a trip around the world this spring, but they only went as far as the UMW campus. The 21st annual Multicultural Fair offered the music, dance, crafts and flavors of countries around the world.
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Accept No Substitutes
At UMW, faculty – not graduate assistants – teach undergraduate classes and labs. These outstanding teachers include a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, an American Psychological Association divisional Researcher of the Year, and other leading scholars in their fields. In addition, our 16:1 student-faculty ratio means that students get plenty of individual attention.
Serious About Fun
UMW has gained a national reputation for its rigorous academic programs, but we're pretty serious about having fun, too. Lip sync contests, live music, outdoor grilling events, campus carnivals, and more than 100 student organizations provide plenty of study breaks.
We Couldn’t Have Said It Better Ourselves
Open most any college guide book – the Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes.com – and you’ll find UMW rated among the nation's best in both quality and value. In fact, the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011 designated UMW a "best buy" – the only college or university in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., to make the list.
Win-Win-Win
With one of the top NCAA Division III athletic programs in the nation, the University of Mary Washington has become known as an institution that succeeds both athletically and academically. UMW's 23 varsity teams have produced more than 250 All-Americans and played in more than 175 NCAA Tournament events.
The Best of Both Worlds
With just over 4,000 undergraduates and all classes and labs taught by faculty – not graduate students – it’s easy to see why UMW is known as a public university that provides the quality of a private liberal arts college.
World Peace
From Mongolia to Samoa to Cameroon, more than 200 UMW alumni have done their part to change the world as members of the Peace Corps. Currently, 32 alums are volunteering, making UMW first among the corps’ “Top Producing Colleges and Universities ” with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates. The high level of participation grows out of the University’s emphasis on service.
Discovery Channels
Getting out of the classroom and into the Potomac River, the bustle of election day, or the New York Public Library is all in a day’s work for UMW undergraduates, who tune into the university’s research opportunities in myriad ways. These biology students are collecting samples to study the effects of invasive aquatic plants on invertebrate populations.
Comfort Zone
You’ll be challenged at UMW – but not in the areas of finding friends, good food, and fun things to do. Campus restaurants, including the Eagle’s Nest, shown here, offer everything from sushi to gelato. Also on the menu – good conversation and relaxing on several outdoor patios.
Out of the Woods
Wearing environmentally friendly regalia at commencement this year, UMW graduating seniors are out of the woods in more ways than one. The caps and gowns are made of acetate fabric fiber that uses natural wood exclusively sourced from renewable, managed forests. Scientific research shows the material decomposes in soil in one year.
Finishing School
The University of Mary Washington’s graduation rate of 77 percent is ranked fourth in the nation among public master’s universities in a recent analysis of 1,400 four-year institutions by the Chronicle of Higher Education. UMW graduates are well-prepared to compete for jobs and admission to top graduate programs.
A Welcoming and Diverse Community
The University of Mary Washington strives to enroll a student body that is culturally and ethnically diverse. In fall 2010, 20 percent of entering students identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, and/or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
Heavy Metal
You’d need a truck to transport all the trophies, plaques, and silver bowls students in UMW’s debate program have won over the years. Consistently ranked in the nation’s top 10 programs, UMW won the American Debate Association’s 2009 Varsity National Championship and placed third at the 2010 National Debate Tournament, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious intercollegiate debate championship.
Extreme Sports
UMW’s 22 club sports bring out the passion of students who are devoted to sports including synchronized swimming, rugby, polo, and ultimate Frisbee. Teams participate in regional and national competition with other universities, and all teams are open to beginners as well as seasoned competitors.
At Your Service
They tutor children who need a boost at school. They raise thousands of dollars for cancer research. They give hundreds of pints of blood. UMW students are focused on more than their own well-being, and their efforts were recently recognized when the University was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
