The University of Virginia was long the dream of one of its state icons, Thomas Jefferson. As the brainchild of Jefferson, the University of Virginia has a long and illustrious history as an outstanding academic institution. For a about 30 years Mary Washington College was the female undergraduate college for UVA. In 1972 the two institutions went their separate ways. Mary Washington became a college unto itself. It moved to admit male students and retained its public institution status. Today Mary Washington continues to build on the academic excellence it offered as part of UVA while building its own traditions as an institution of higher learning.
Public but professional. When students look for quality education they should consider the professorial staff and how that staff is utilized by the college administration. In many large public institutions, in the interest of financial solvency, graduate students are often used to teach survey or freshman courses to large lecture groups. Full professors are employed primarily to teach the upper level classes.
Mary Washington, though a public institution supported by the Commonwealth of Virginia, follows a more professional approach to the utilization of its faculty. You can look, but you will not find graduate assistants teaching classes at Mary Washington. Nor will you find large lecture hall accommodations for your courses. For the most part class sizes average around 20 students and they are all taught by qualified professors and there is good opportunity for student-faculty interaction. Mary Washington may be a public University but it has a private school mentality when it comes to academics.
Unique Curriculum – Many students who come to Mary Washington College have an interest in history in one form or another. Because Mary Washington College is located in Fredricksburg Virginia it can offer those interested in the Civil War many unique research opportunities and on site experiences. Being in the state of Virginia also has gives students some access to colonial history as well. The College itself is named for the mother of George Washington and the city named for her son is within an hours drive of Mary Washington College. Students will find that road trips to Washington, D. C. and Richmond, VA are within reason.
Students interested in historical preservation, architecture, archeology or museum related work will find their academic needs met at Mary Washington and reinforced in the community for Fredricksburg itself. All students are required to take course work in what are called “goal areas” and “across the curriculum requirements. In this sense some students may find that the curriculum demands are too constricting and may opt for a more open academic system. For whatever its drawbacks the system at Mary Washington is taken seriously by staff and studens. . Students are required to agree to the College’s Honor Code and behave accordingly.
A Bit of Old Virginia When you visit the campus at Mary Washington College you will definitely feel like you have stepped back into another era. Everywhere you look on campus the buildings are made of red brick and adorned with white columns. The campus itself is tied together by brick walkways and there are scattered benches and a focal fountain and everywhere there are trees.
It’s not the kind of campus where you would expect raucous parties or rowdy behavior and in fact there is little of either. In fact the social life at Mary Washington tends to be a bit sedate. Some students in search of more action will use the weekends to go to other nearby universities where there is more social life. of course part of the reason why folks step off campus is that there is a considerable disparity between the male and female student population with women outnumbering men by a 2 to 1 ratio. This inequality can have some negative effect on socialization.
Still there is plenty to do on the campus. Students can get involved in some 90 clubs and organizations on campus. Intercollegiate sports are played at the Division III level which guarantees a chance to play against other schools without athletics devouring the college. As is the case with many southern schools spring is the season for the most important school social activities. A full week of festivities celebrate the distribution of class rings to members of the Junior class.
Mary Washington may still be in its formative years as a college in its own right but it seems likely that despite its modernization it will always maintain a touch of its Virginia stock and charm. Going to Mary Washington will continue to allow students to go to a modern college but enjoy just a little taste of the past.
