St Mary's College of Maryland

St Mary’s College of Maryland is a prestigious liberal arts institution on Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the US. 

Small but historic, St Mary’s City, the college’s location, is one of the oldest settlements in the country. Its rural 361-acre campus is on quaint St Mary’s River, popular locally for its sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding opportunities, and part of Chesapeake Bay, a few miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. 70 miles from Washington D.C., 95 miles from Baltimore and 115 miles from Richmond, Virginia, SMC is within reach of many of the region’s major cities.

Psychology, biological & biomedical sciences, economics and literature are among the most popular courses. The college has been secular since it was founded in 1840, and coeducational since 1949.

A high proportion of its students live on campus, and over half study abroad as part of their degree programmes, in locations ranging from Ireland to Argentina, Thailand, Australia and Costa Rica. Its students and academic staff have won an impressive number of Fulbright awards.

Most of those at the university complete a St Mary’s Project in which, under supervision, they launch a research project in a field of their choice. Students are expected to submit a proposal to the department they hope to sponsor their work.