Is UVA or William & Mary better for undergraduate teaching?

The central tradeoff is that William & Mary provides a more consistently small, undergraduate-centered classroom experience, while UVA offers more academic scale, course variety, and research resources but with a less uniform teaching experience. At William & Mary, students are more likely to encounter seminar-style discussion classes early and to see professors repeatedly across a major. UVA has excellent undergraduate instructors and strong faculty mentorship, but introductory courses, especially in popular STEM, economics, and social science subjects, can be substantially larger.

William & Mary’s smaller undergraduate population and liberal-arts emphasis make faculty access part of the institution’s everyday culture. Professors commonly teach their own courses, including many lower-level classes, and students often build close relationships through office hours, research, advising, and upper-level seminars. Its classes tend to feel more personal across departments, although some introductory requirements can still be lecture-based.

At UVA, the quality of teaching can be outstanding, particularly once students move into upper-level courses, departmental seminars, labs, and independent research. The university’s size also means more specialized classes and a wider range of faculty expertise. However, students may need to be more proactive about using office hours, seeking research positions, and choosing smaller sections; the experience can vary more by major and course level.

For undergraduate teaching as your top priority, William & Mary has the clearer edge. UVA can deliver equally strong mentorship for an engaged student, but William & Mary is more likely to make small classes and regular faculty attention the default rather than something students must deliberately seek out.