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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Linguistics

Language is complex and endlessly fascinating.

If you agree, UMW’s minor program in linguistics might be for you. At a crossroads of the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences, linguistics complements any major that deals with language, literature, cognition, sociology, or education. Get to the heart of the structure, use, and psychology of language. Study language acquisition. Learn how to describe the sounds languages use. Discover the similarities and differences among the world’s various tongues.

Areas of Study

Courses offered in UMW’s minor program in linguistics include Introduction to Linguistics, Writing Systems of the World, Issues in Linguistics, Introduction to Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics, Language and Gender, Language and Race, Introduction to Phonology, History of the English Language, Introduction to Morphology, and seminars on different topics.

Career Opportunities

Those who have studied linguistics at UMW have gone on to graduate programs in such fields as English as a second language, speech/language pathology, audiology, and computer science at prestigious schools including Brown University, the University of Virginia, and Georgetown University. Career options include teaching English in another country, serving as a translator, and working in journalism, library science, and editing.

Internships

Students in UMW’s Department of English and Linguistics (ELC) have interned with newspapers, radio and television stations, public relations departments of businesses and institutions, membership departments, law firms, technical writing businesses, libraries, and schools. A list of guidelines for completing a for-credit ELC internship is provided by the department, and a complete list of available internships can be found through the Office of Academic and Career Services.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Urban Studies

Explore the dynamics of city living.

UMW’s urban studies minor puts you in touch with the hustle and bustle, and focuses on the historical, social, cultural, economic, and political issues that cities face. Explore urban life, planning, policymaking, and issues such as housing, education, environmental risks, urban social movements, and crime and policing. This multidisciplinary minor includes classes in areas as disparate as Classics and Geography, Historic Preservation and Sociology. Students can study abroad, count internships towards the minor, and build with LEGOs!

Areas of Study

The urban studies minor requires six classes, which include extensive selections from the historic preservation, anthropology, geography, sociology, classics, history, and art history departments.

Career Opportunities

UMW’s minor in urban studies provides a thorough understanding of urban communities, along with a background in sociology, economics, historic preservation, and more. Our minor in urban studies will help prepare you to make a difference in the world around you in such fields as planning, community organization, housing, and economic development. A minor in urban studies is also good preparation for graduate work in planning, education, law, business, policy and more.

Internships

Working closely with faculty in the Geography, Historic Preservation, and Sociology departments, urban studies minors can find internships in Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties, in Washington, D.C., and in Richmond, with local and regional planning departments, non-profits and federal agencies such as the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Data Science

Data drives the world.

UMW’s major and minor in data science cover the evidence-based approaches, analytical models, and stat-centered processes critical in nearly every field. Understand complex systems and make sound decisions in today’s quick-changing world. Study techniques for analyzing big data, social media, consumer information, demographic trends, sports data, and more. Collaborate with scientists and statisticians from the nearby Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center. Understand the behavior of complex systems, aid in decision-making and become essential to any modern enterprise.

Areas of Study

As a data science minor at UMW, you’ll gain fundamentals in math, computer science, statistics, and business analytics. Choose from courses in data mining, modeling and simulation, linear algebra, statistics, and analytics application development.

Career Opportunities

No matter what your major, UMW’s data science minor will enhance your credentials and provide you with a skill set beneficial to the career path you choose – business, education, government, you name it. With companies around the world realizing the value of leveraging large amounts of information to make effective decisions, data science is an exploding job market.

Internships

At UMW, internships give data science minors valuable real-world experience and resume-boosting on-the-job training. Many data science students find internships with the Dahlgren naval base and affiliated defense contractors. Plenty of analytics and data science opportunities, many with nonprofits, exist in nearby Washington, D.C. A complete list of available internships is provided by Career Services.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Arts Administration

You make the arts happen.

Behind every successful art show, every smash-hit theatrical production, every breathtaking ballet, is a savvy arts administrator. UMW’s minor in arts administration complements a degree in the arts, or any course of study. Melding accounting, management, and marketing with specialized courses in UMW’s Department of Theatre and Dance, this minor will give you the education and hands-on experience you’ll need to make a difference in the world of the arts.

Areas of Study

UMW arts administration minors learn the principles of accounting, management, and marketing, combined with strategies in essential areas of arts administration. Tie it all together with practical hands-on experience through a theater practicum or an internship in house management, box office, communications, finance, and more.

Career Opportunities

UMW’s proximity to Washington, D.C., and some of the world’s most celebrated arts organizations – the National Gallery of Art, the Phillips Collection, the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden – gives students unprecedented opportunities to work in the field of arts administration and establish a valuable network of professional contacts.

Internships

Gain valuable real-world experience at prestigious art galleries in nearby Washington, D.C., the arts-rich Fredericksburg community, or right here on campus. Part-time jobs and internships are available in UMW’s box and management offices; scene, costume, and electrics shops; and at such celebrated artistic entities as the Virginia Ballet Company, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and Ford’s Theatre.

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Majors, Minors & Areas of Study

Physics

Answer the question of why.

Why don’t riders fall off the roller coaster? When you look in a window, why do you see what’s inside as well as your own reflection? As a University of Mary Washington physics major, you’ll satisfy your curiosity about the physical universe, then analyze and describe your discoveries. Explore what interests you most – astronomy, thermodynamics, nuclear physics, electronics, optics, mathematical physics, quantum mechanics and more – preparing yourself for higher study or entry into an in-demand career.

Degree Awarded

Students majoring in physics who complete all requirements earn the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in physics.

Areas of Study

The principles of physics underlie other natural sciences and are essential to many applied sciences and technical programs. UMW’s course offerings include general physics, astronomy, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, nuclear physics, modern physics, electronics, optics, mathematical physics, mechanics, quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, solid state physics, and more.

Career Opportunities

Graduates in physics establish careers as researchers, educators, and engineers in such fields as acoustics, astronomy, astrophysics, atomic physics, biophysics, chemical physics, fluid dynamics, geophysics, low-temperature physics, medical physics, materials science, nuclear physics, optics, particle physics, plasma physics, solid state physics, spectroscopy, and vacuum physics.

See Career Paths

Internships

For-credit and paid internships provide opportunities for students to gain field experiences and learn about potential employers. Internship sponsors such as NASA and the Naval Surface Warfare Center work with the department to establish individual objectives. Individual study is another avenue to learn intensively and enhance career skills.