Welcome to St. Mary's College of Maryland

Secular since its founding, St. Mary's College of Maryland (named for the colonial capital of 1634, St. Mary's City) is top-rated nationally for the liberal arts and sciences. In 1992, the Maryland legislature designated this public, coeducational institution the state's honors college. That is, over 97% of the faculty hold the Ph.D. or other terminal degree; eleven of the current faculty have received Fulbright Awards; the College is home to the Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; in recent years the incoming class has had the highest SAT scores in Maryland's public higher-education system; and over 50% of the graduates continue on to graduate school.

Less than two hours from Washington and Baltimore, the College is situated on a beautiful campus that borders the St. Mary's River, just north of its confluence with the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Students number approximately 1,900, most of whom are residential. They live in a mix of traditional residence halls and newer two-story townhouses, suites, and apartment complexes. Academic and other general buildings are interspersed throughout the campus: the last two decades have seen increased construction with an expanded library, two new classroom buildings, a new science center, a new campus center, a new athletic facility, a student-services building, and blueprints for a River Center and an outdoor amphitheater.

While faculty publish and present frequently at conferences, the overall emphasis in on teaching. The student-faculty ratio is 13.5 to 1, and faculty work closely with their students as both teachers and mentors. The last few years have seen an expanded emphasis on study abroad, with students traveling to Europe, Central America, Asia, and Africa. In most academic majors, students carry out a St. Mary's Project in the senior year, a capstone experience for their liberal arts education.

The College is affiliated with the outdoor museum at Historic St. Mary's City, site of Maryland's 1634 capital. Archaeologists at the City encourage St. Mary's students majoring in anthropology, history, and museum studies to undertake work in local archaeological "digs". Together, College and City form a warm, collegial community.