University of Mary Washington Top Questions

I switched majors about three times at Mary Wash and still graduated on time, so if you are unsure of what you'd like to major in, don't worry, there's plenty of time to decide what department you find the most interesting. Class participation kind of depends on your department. I find it a lot of fun because in my experience the professors are great moderators, and people are polite, mature and respectful of each other's opinions and time to talk, making it a very comfortable atmosphere. Since the class sizes are quite small this also makes it less intimidating to speak in front of the class during presentations. A lot of students definitely care about their grades, however, I don't feel like there was a lot of competition, people are often supportive and if you have questions, you don't always have to ask the professor, you can ask students also. Some departments have a lot of group projects and most of the time I think that people have been helpful as they are used to being the ones who do a lot of work in high school group projects and therefore they care about getting the work done and so the work is evenly distributed. Professors are often very friendly outside class and a bit more laid-back than in the classroom. Their office hours are there so students can come talk to them if they have any questions about an assignment, and the professors I've had have been very helpful and nice.

Art Department Head and Ceramics professor Lorene Nickel is fantastic. But she expects alot out of all levels of her students and is a very tough grader. She takes her students on a trip to her house, every semester.

The workload is always a bit time-consuming, but I've never heard of it being unreasonable. The classes are small enough where your professor knows your name; in most cases students stay after class to chat with the professors, and hang out with them on campus.

My favorite class thus far has either been Stats for Psych with Dr. Kolar or Social Psych with Dr. Erchull. Every professor I've run across has been amazing, really striving for quality time. Many of my professors have taken pictures to help remember the students' names - our identity is of value to them. I still have professors from my first semester freshman year asking about my life even though I haven't taken a class with them since then!

Academic difficulty varies significantly by major and by Professors within each major. Most people going for an easy route choose Business Administration and stick to easier teachers, but there are definitely opportunities to challenge yourself within that major and every major for that matter. As a history major you definitely hear of teachers to steer clear of or that are easy. I always found that the most intellectually stimulating (... and yes demanding) courses were the ones taught by the "difficult" professors. Generally they have severe grading criteria but are usually exceptional lecturers or offer ample help in the subject they are teaching outside of the classroom. As far as difficult majors go any of the sciences are difficult. Political science has been a challenging major but with the recent turn over in faculty whether that remains the case is yet to be seen. The hardest majors are definitely the sciences, art history, history, economics, and historic preservation.

It's furstrating registering for classes because you end up taking classes that you don't need and are just a waste of time

Some teachers and great, some aren't just like any any other school.

I loved the historic preservation department and the professors, classes and outside field trips we took in the program. I specialized in museums and loved the classes assigned to that study. All classes were discussion or practice based and none were strictly lecture-note-taking-test. I thought this was the best way to learn what I have learned, and also allowed me to be practical and well-educated when I hit the museum/preservation field as an alum. I still email and talk to my professors-using them as my mentors throughout this entry-level time in my career! I also participated in the elementary education program for three and a half years-and loved it. Again, this department focussed on discussion based class involvement and hands-on learning through practicum requirements. Although I cursed the practicum hours for how much time they took from my weekly schedule - up to 15 hours a week in schools - in the end they helped me learn that I did not want to be a teacher, and would rather work in a museum education position! As for the general education classses-they were not too bad, but I know they have changed the makeup of the requirements since I was a freshman/sophomore. I think the new freshman seminar classes sounded interesting and many of my senior friends and I wished we could have taken them! The school also limited the amount of credits students were required to take before jumping into their major courses which I think is great and allows for the students to take more classes to help cater to their interests and build their overall education.

Great professors! Especially in the english department! Math department sucks. There is no "minors" at Mary Wash, you can only double major.

At a lot of colleges and universities, the classes you take are mostly taught by the TA with the occasional visit from the professor. At Mary Washington, this is not the case. TA's do not even exist at UMW. Every class is taught by the professor, and even more surprisingly, the professors care. They will take the time to learn your name; they will do what they can to help you understand and get the most out of their class. The professors want you to succeed, not just to make them look good, but because they want you to be a success and be all you can be.