The University of Mary Washington has been named a “Top Employer for Interns” by the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP).

All the award winners demonstrate a commitment to meaningful internships,” State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Director Peter Blake said in a release this morning announcing 2023 honorees across the commonwealth. “High-quality internships enhance a student’s educational experience and strengthen our workforce.”

The timing of the announcement – Thursday, July 27, Virginia Intern Day and National Intern Day – is especially poignant for recognizing interns’ contributions to the workforce and honoring employers who offer programs providing valuable career-centered experience.

UMW hosts interns on campus year-round as part of its long-held mission to support working-learning opportunities that round out the classroom experience. The University also encourages students to seek off-campus internships with businesses and organizations that are looking to attract and retain exceptional employees. By the time they graduate, more than 30 percent of all Mary Washington students have completed some type of internship. Read more.

UMW’s Admissions Application opened Aug. 1.

Applications for admission to the University of Mary Washington are now open for the incoming class of fall 2024 and transfer students. Students can choose to complete UMW’s application directly on the website with no fee or submit the Common App.

“One of our best tips is to start early! Apply before your senior year ramps up. You don’t want to miss senior year activities because you are working on applications,” says UMW Director of First-Year Admission Sarah Lindberg. “Know the short list of schools you are applying to, and write your essay outside of the application so you can easily edit and save it.”

Common App essay questions include several options, giving students a prompt to discuss an accomplishment, reflect on their thinking, recount lessons learned or define what captivates them. Each is an opportunity for students to share their experience and goals. In addition, students who complete a “Taking Flight” interview as part of their application process will also be considered for a $1,000-$2,000 scholarship. Read more.

UMW student Harrison Miles spent the summer doing research that used soybean plants and a fungus extracted from lantern flies and could possibly lead to more effective organic pesticides. He’s among 19 Mary Washington students who conducted research to tackle real-world problems during this year’s 10-week Summer Science Institute. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Harrison Miles fills six plastic cylinders with pieces of leaves from a soybean plant. He slips them inside a machine that resembles a kitchen blender and sets it awhirl. The vials spin so quickly they need time to cool before he begins his next task – extracting the RNA he’ll use for further investigation.

“We create a soup of the fungus,” said Miles, who earned a degree in psychology and elementary education from the University of Mary Washington in 2015, and returned to campus to study conservation biology. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to get this kind of experience anywhere other than Mary Washington.”

Working on Jepson Science Center’s third floor, he spent the summer working with beauveria bassiana harvested from spotted lantern flies shipped in from Pennsylvania. He injected the fungus into soybeans and measured toxin production as the plants grew. The work, done with guidance from Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Josephine Antwi, could help create more effective organic pesticides.

The project is one of more than a dozen that unfolded during the University’s 24th annual Summer Science Institute (SSI), focused on biology, chemistry, computer science, Earth and environmental sciences, physics and math. The 10-week event had students and faculty working closely together on research aimed at finding solutions to real-world concerns, like pesticides. Read more.

University of Mary Washington’s Center for International Education Hosting Virtual Exchange Day Event

On Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, the UMW Center for International Education (CIE) will participate in Exchange Day, a nationwide celebration of the power of international exchanges.

CIE will be hosting a virtual event on their social media platforms, bringing participants, alumni and the local community together for a day of celebration.

The Exchange Day event will take place all day on Aug. 7, 2023, and CIE invites university faculty, staff and students, as well as elected officials and the media, to join in amplifying the impact of this celebration on social media using the hashtags #CelebrateExchangeDay and #ExchangesImpact.

Under the motto “Eat, Play, Give,” cities across the United States will hold similar events providing international exchange program participants, alumni and their hosts an opportunity to enjoy American cuisine, share cultural diversity and customs, and give back to their local communities.

Participation in this event will help spread the word about the breadth and impact of international exchange programs in the United States.

The Center for International Education offers a wide variety of education abroad programs for UMW students to gain an invaluable international experience to supplement their degree studies. In addition to study abroad, CIE is also responsible for International Student Support Services programming and issues travel documents to all incoming international students to the university.

Please email cie@umw.edu for more information about the upcoming event or participation in Exchange Day.

University of Mary Washington is offering three ways to visit campus this summer.

High school students and their families can get an early start on their college search with enhanced summer visits at the University of Mary Washington. Prospective students also can interview for a “Taking Flight” scholarship opportunity starting July 1.

This summer, UMW is offering three types of college campus visit experiences. Tours and info sessions are offered weekdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; weekend tours are available on Saturdays at 9:30 and 11 a.m.; and summer enhanced visits are offered on July 11 and 20, and Aug. 10. The summer enhanced visit offers a more hands-on and specialized tour experience allowing students and their families to hear from academic leaders from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education.

Summer college campus tours at UMW are designed to fit all schedules. Prospective students can sign up for preferred dates on the “Visit UMW” webpage.

For those who prefer a virtual option to get to know UMW, online interviews can provide the first opportunity for students to share what matters to them and get ahead on their application for admission. Plus, students who complete an application and an interview between July 1 and Feb. 1 are automatically considered for a “Taking Flight” scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $2,000. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington athletic department saw 163 student-athletes – 58% of all student-athletes in C2C-sponsored sports – named to the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference All-Academic Team for the 2022-23 school year.

Student-athletes must mantain at least a 3.2 grade-point average for the year to be eligible. Read more.

The University of Mary Washington finished fifth in the Virginia Sports Information Directors College Division All-Sport Survey results for the 2022-23 year. Read more. 

The Virginia Governor’s Office announced last week the appointment of three new members of the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors. John Anstey of Roanoke, Virginia, a 1993 Mary Washington alumnus; Nicole Neily of Arlington, Virginia; and Rev. Dean Nelson of Montgomery Village, Maryland, will serve four-year terms as members of the University’s governing board. They succeed Heather Crislip ’95, Deborah Santiago ’90 and Kerri Barile ’94, whose terms ended on June 30, 2023. Read more.