National Rankings

What do they say about us?

UMW is proud to be recognized for an unfailing dedication to a quality liberal arts education!

• 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.
• The Princeton Review, 2026. UMW was featured in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 391 Colleges” publication, which profiles only about 15 percent of the nation’s 3,000 four-year colleges. UMW appears on multiple Top 25 lists, including #11 Best Health Services, #15 Best College Theatre, #15 Best Student Support and Counseling Services, #15 Town-Gown Relations and #21 LGBTQ-Friendly. In addition, Princeton Review’s “Best Value Colleges for 2025” named Mary Washington among the nation’s top colleges for students seeking a great education with excellent career services at an affordable price, making it one of just five public universities in Virginia to earn this distinction. The publication also ranked UMW 11th in the Top 20 Best Schools for Making an Impact category and 18th in the Top 20 Best Schools for Internships category.
• The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges, 2025. UMW received a spot on this environmentally conscious list, which assesses campus sustainability practices along with students’ perspectives on “green” campus experiences.
• Fiske Guide to Colleges, 2026. 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. The publication describes Mary Washington as “one of the premier public liberal arts and sciences colleges in the country.”
• Money, 2025. In the 11th edition of Money’s flagship list of more than 700 four-year colleges – “The Best Colleges in America 2025,” which lists the schools where students are most likely to graduate and land jobs – Mary Washington earned 3.5 stars and was included among 26 Virginia schools. In addition, in Money’s annual “Best Graduate Schools in America” ranking of post-baccalaureate programs, UMW earned four out of five stars, landing among the nation’s top 33 colleges in the “Best MBA Programs for Your Money” category, which considers a combination of quality and value.
• Poets&Quants, 2025. UMW landed 84th overall in this prestigious list of “Best Undergraduate Business Schools,” which considers admission standards, academic experience and career outcomes. The University claimed 34th in the “academic experience” category, landing in the survey’s top third. The survey also revealed that Mary Washington alumni would recommend their alma mater, giving it a ranking of 9.5 out of 10.
• 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.
• Peace Corps, 2025. UMW made the Peace Corps’ list of the top 10 volunteer-producing schools for 2025 in the small college category, for institutions with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates. Mary Washington has been included regularly on this prestigious list since 2005.
• WalletHub Best College & University Rankings, 2025. UMW ranked 8th in Virginia as one of the nation’s top-performing schools with the lowest possible costs to undergraduates.
• Forbes, 2025. “America’s Top Colleges” ranked UMW 327th of the 500 top undergraduate institutions; 156th of the nation’s public colleges; and 78th in the South.
• 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.
• 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, 2021. Earning accolades in the “Colleges of Virginia Distinction” and “Public Colleges of Distinction” categories, UMW was praised for its innovative programming, attention to career development, sense of community, commitment to service learning and outstanding faculty.
• Intelligent.com, 2021. UMW listed among its list of best colleges in Virginia, and was named “Best for Adult Learners.”
• 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.
• 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.
• Learn.org, 2020. UMW placed 16th on its “Top 50 Schools With Psychology Bachelor Programs” list.
• Value Colleges, 2019. UMW placed 25th on its list of the country’s top 50 best-value schools.
• Top RN to BSN, 2019. UMW’s nursing education program ranked 7th in Virginia for quality, affordability and job-market reputation.
• Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 2018. UMW ranked among the top 100 Best Value Public Colleges and top 300 Best College Values.