About Us

National Rankings

About UMW National Rankings

What do they say about us?

We are proud to be recognized for:

Our unfailing dedication to a quality liberal arts education

  • Fiske Guide to Colleges, 2025. UMW is featured in this guide of some 300 of the “best and most interesting” public and private colleges and universities in the nation, as well as Canada, Great Britain and Ireland. Mary Washington also made the guide’s short list of inexpensive public colleges and universities based on current tuition and fees.
  • The Princeton Review, 2024. “The Best 389 Colleges” includes UMW among the nearly 100 schools named Best in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
  • U.S. News & World Report, 2025. “Best Colleges” ranked UMW among the top 10 public liberal arts colleges in the nation. UMW ties for No. 9 in the prestigious list and ties for No. 132 in national liberal arts, for both public and private universities. The guide also highlighted UMW’s undergraduate business, computer science and psychology programs, along with its bachelor of science in nursing program, and included Mary Washington on its “Top Performers for Social Mobility” list for efforts to advance opportunities for economically disadvantaged students.
  • Money Magazine, 2024. In the 10th edition of Money’s flagship colleges list of more than 700 four-year colleges – “The Best Colleges in America 2024″ – Mary Washington earned 3.5 stars and was included among 22 Virginia schools.
  • The Princeton Review, 2025. “The Best 390 Colleges” profiles only about 15 percent of the nation’s 3,000 four-year colleges. UMW Theatre also earned a spot in the 2025 publication, landing among the nation’s best 25 theatre programs for the second year in a row.
  • Washington Monthly, 2024. UMW ranked 96th in the nation on the publication’s list of liberal arts colleges, both public and private, and 103rd on the Best Bang for the Buck, Southeast Region, listing, which includes “one-of-a-kind schools that help non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.” UMW continues to have a strong social mobility rank, based on Pell-grant initiatives such as the Tuition Promise and service initiatives like the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.
  • Niche, 2025. UMW earned a B in Niche’s most recent annual college report card and is among the top 100 best liberal arts colleges in America. The college search site also ranked Mary Washington fourth for Best College Locations in Virginia, and gave it high marks for history, political science, business and English among Virginia schools.
  • Forbes, 2022. “America’s Top Colleges” ranked UMW 272nd of the 500 top undergraduate institutions; 64th of the nation’s public colleges; 42nd in the South.
  • Top Producer of Student Fulbright Awards, 2020. UMW ranked 7th in the nation among small colleges and universities with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates, by U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
  • Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 2018 magazine. UMW ranked among the top 100 Best Value Public Colleges and top 300 Best College Values.
  • Schools.com, 2020. UMW’s English program ranks No. 3 nationwide: “English is a major offered at virtually all liberal arts schools, but not all programs are created equal.”
  • College Factual, 2020. UMW ranked among the nation’s top 10 percent on the Best for the Money Without Aid list and among the nation’s top 15 percent on its Overall Best list of schools in the Southeast region and Best Overall Colleges for Veterans list; 56th out of the 580 programs reviewed for its Best History Colleges for Veterans list; among the nation’s top five percent for most-focused history programs; among the nation’s top one percent for most-focused English program; among the nation’s top one percent overall, top one percent for highest paid grads, top five percent for most-focused programs, and top five percent for veterans and returning adults for its geography program; and among the nation’s top five percent for highest paid grads for its political science and business administration programs.
  • College Factual/USA Today, 2020. UMW’s Geography program ranked No. 1 in the Southeast region, and the publication named its geography alumni to the top spot among the highest paid in the field.
  • College Magazine, January, 2021. UMW ranked No. 1 in the “I Came, I Saw, I Crushed This Major: Top 10 Best Classics Schools” feature.
  • College of Distinction, 2020-2021, Colleges of Virginia Distinction, Public Colleges of Distinction. UMW was praised for its innovative programming, attention to career development, sense of community, commitment to service learning and outstanding faculty.
  • Value Colleges, 2019. UMW placed 25th on its list of the country’s top 50 best-value schools.
  • Learn.org, 2020. UMW placed 16th on its “Top 50 Schools With Psychology Bachelor Programs” list.
  • Intelligent.com, 2021. UMW listed among its list of best colleges in Virginia, and was named “Best for Adult Learners.”
  • WalletHub Best College & University Rankings, 2020. UMW ranked 8th in Virginia as one of the nation’s top-performing schools with the lowest possible costs to undergraduates.

Fostering a supportive, bold and empowered community

  • Great Colleges to Work For, 2019. One of 60 colleges and universities nationwide selected for the distinction.
  • Peace Corps, 2020. “Top Producing Colleges and Universities” for more than a decade; in 2020, ranked 7th among small colleges and universities with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates.
  • The Princeton Review, 2025. “The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2025 Edition.”
  • Top RN to BSN, 2019: ranked UMW’s nursing education program 7th in Virginia for quality, affordability and job-market reputation.

About Us