Institution Profile

The University of Mary Washington is a premier public liberal arts and sciences university that stands out in Virginia’s extremely competitive environment of higher learning. With more than 70 majors, minors and special programs – from accounting and communications to historic preservation, and women’s and gender studies – UMW offers both undergraduate and graduate courses. With a total enrollment of fewer than 5,000 and a faculty-student ratio of 14 to 1, Mary Washington provides a supportive learning environment with small, intimate classes and engaged master teachers who encourage original thinking and innovative, hands-on research. The UMW experience revolves around impactful learning, instills the value of service and social justice, highlights the importance of living in a diverse and inclusive community, and gives students the ability to adapt a liberal arts education to the digital age. U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review, Washington Monthly, Money Magazine, Fiske and College Factual are among the selective guides that have named the University to their 2020 and 2021 best-colleges rankings. And UMW has earned a spot among top producers of Peace Corps volunteers for more than a decade. Through its ASPIRE initiative, UMW holds students, and all its community members, to the highest standards of conduct and honor, emphasizing Accountability, Scholarship, Personal and Institutional Integrity, Inclusive Excellence, Respect and Civility, and Engagement. At the University of Mary Washington, students find the tools it takes to discover themselves build their futures, and effect positive social change in an increasingly demanding world.