The Washington Monthly magazine has named University of Mary Washington the top public master’s university in the mid-Atlantic region in a ranking of how colleges are meeting public obligations in the areas of research, service and social mobility.
The magazine ranked UMW third among public “master’s” universities nationwide and 19th among all master’s universities in part because of the large number of Mary Washington graduates that go on to join the Peace Corps.
“Colleges should be judged not just on who they enroll and how many graduate but on what students do with their lives after they leave,” the editors of Washington Monthly wrote about their “different kind of college ranking.”
In addition, Parade Magazine has named Mary Washington one of the best small state schools in its “College A-List.” Parade wrote, “The University of Mary Washington combines the very best personalized community qualities of a liberal arts college with the diversity and curricular breadth of a university. A value for in or out-of-state students, the beautiful campus and location near Washington and Richmond make for a superb quality of life.”
The Parade and Washington Monthly rankings come just days after U.S. News & World Report rated UMW’s undergraduate program fifth among public southern institutions in the “Universities – Master’s” category in its 2011 edition of America’s Best Colleges. Also in August, UMW ranked 44th out of 100 institutions that Forbes.com online news magazine deemed “America’s Best Buys.”
Washington Monthly recognized colleges that are “inclined to spend energy and resources on encouraging students to give back to their communities and their nation, and not just themselves.” The desire to spotlight service-oriented schools prompted the magazine to do its first ranking in 2005.
This is the first year that the University of Mary Washington has been cited by the magazine. In early 2010, the Peace Corps ranked UMW second among small colleges and universities with less than 5,000 undergraduates, with 23 alumni currently volunteering for the Peace Corps. The university’s 2010 Peace Corps ranking marks a rise from last year’s ranking of sixth among small colleges and universities. Since the Peace Corps’ inception in 1961, more than 180 Mary Washington alumni have served the 27-month commitment around the world.
More information about the Washington Monthly ranking may be found at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/toc_2010.php.