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Arts & Sciences Annual Report
In the 2024-2025 Report
Message from the Dean
What a year it has been in Arts & Sciences. Every day, I’m inspired by the creativity and dedication of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. And every day, I’m reminded that none of it would be possible without you. Your support fuels discovery, connection and impact.
This year, our students explored new ideas and new places. They conducted research, shared their stories, found their voices and built community. Our faculty and staff created the environment that made that possible. And you made it all real through your belief in the power of the liberal arts and sciences.
This report captures just a glimpse of the momentum we’ve built together in 2024-25. Thank you for helping us keep that momentum going.
With deep gratitude,
Suzanne Raitt
Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English
The Heart of William & Mary
Transforming Arts & Sciences
As we move forward under our new name, the College of Arts & Sciences, we remain steadfast in advancing William & Mary’s central mission, affirming the enduring power of the arts and sciences to shape the world.
Strategic Focus Areas
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Strategic Planning
The College of Arts & Sciences is charting a course for the years ahead. Through a collaborative strategic planning process, faculty, staff, students and alumni are helping define priorities that will guide our investments in teaching, research and student success.
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Maximizing Your Impact
We are working to ensure that the resources entrusted to us have the greatest possible effect, today and for generations to come. This includes growing private support, stewarding existing resources wisely and building sustainable funding models that position us for lasting success.
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Innovating for Tomorrow
To remain at the forefront of liberal arts and sciences education, we are looking beyond the horizon. Academic long-range planning allows us to anticipate emerging fields, adapt to evolving student needs and invest in the programs, faculty and facilities that will define the next era of Arts & Sciences at William & Mary.
By the Numbers
Explore Arts & Sciences by the numbers and learn about the teaching, research and learning happening on and off campus, and in and out of the classroom.
2024-2025 Student Enrollment
All enrollment data as of Spring 2025
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6,315Undergraduate
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371Graduate
Undergraduate Majors by Area
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759Arts & Humanities
including 314 secondary majors
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1,571Natural, Physical & Computational Sciences
including 115 secondary majors
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2,218Social Sciences
including 319 secondary majors
Graduate Students by Area
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31Arts & Humanities
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225Natural, Physical & Computational Sciences
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115Social Sciences
W&M Rankings
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# 6Best Colleges: Undergraduate TeachingU.S. News & World Report 2025
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# 6Best Schools for Internships (Public)The Princeton Review 2025
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# 17America's Top Colleges: Public UniversitiesForbes 2024
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# 23Best Colleges: Public UniversitiesU.S. News & World Report 2025
Student Outcomes
Arts & Sciences equips students to be leaders for today and tomorrow. The Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement connects with students post-graduation through the Next Destination Survey. Read about the Class of 2023 and stay tuned for updates from the classes of 2024 and 2025.
Check out recent achievements from current students and alumni:
Applied Learning & Internships
As the A&S hub for undergraduate research experiences beyond the classroom and across disciplines, the Charles Center continues to expand student access to transformative mentorship, internship, and applied learning initiatives. Director Elizabeth Harbron is co-leading the university’s multiyear Applied Learning for All initiative to facilitate cross-campus collaboration, data collection, and innovation.
Applied Learning & Internships
Highlights include:
- Two new masterclass series—in journalism and in the arts—provided more than 350 students with hands-on learning opportunities with master practitioners.
- The Center’s Research in Motion program supported the research or conference travel of 61 undergraduates.
In addition to awarding 287 research grants for summer 2025, the Charles Center is supporting 34 internships, including experiences for:
- 10 Woody interns in Museum Studies
- 10 Monroe Scholar internships
- 9 City Research interns (3 interns with the City of Williamsburg and 6 interns with area nonprofits)
- 3 Sharpe Community Scholars Action Research internships
- 2 Journalism & Democracy fellows with regional news organizations
Undergraduate & Mentored Research
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179Students Completed Undergraduate Honors Theses
Innovation: New Degree Programs
This year, we launched two new degree programs: a B.A./B.S. in Public Health and a B.S. in Human Health & Physiology. These new degree programs better convey the depth and breadth of study offered by the newly renamed Department of Health Sciences (formerly Kinesiology).
Health Sciences has seen the second greatest percent increase in graduating majors of any department in Arts & Sciences over the last 10 years, and these new degree programs help meet critical demand for health professions careers.
Graduate Studies
The past academic year has seen Graduate Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences continue to thrive, with the strength of Arts & Sciences graduate programs helping W&M to attain status as an R-1 (research intensive) university in early 2025.
The Office of Graduate Studies continues to work closely with our colleagues in the School of Computing, Data Science, & Physics (CDSP) to ensure a seamless transition for students.
The Graduate Center, the Graduate Advisory Board, and the Graduate Student Association continue to serve students in both Arts & Sciences and CDSP.
Learn more about the graduate programs offered by Arts & Sciences.
Faculty Excellence & Research
Faculty continued doing the high-quality research for which W&M is known, winning external grants, and building new collaborations globally, locally and within the university. We allocated approximately $245,000 internally this year to support faculty research and events via the Faculty Grants Fund, made possible in part by the Arts & Sciences Annual Fund.
In addition to internal funding awarded, faculty secured significant external funding. Below are the external funding totals for A&S FY25 to date (7/1/2024-5/31/25). Please note, these totals are incomplete and unaudited; final totals will be available later in the year.
- 250 external proposals totaling $79,534,454
- External grant funding: $11,262,915
- Of the above award totals, $1,788,598 represents 41 external student and faculty fellowships
Books Published by Faculty
Each year, William & Mary News publishes a compilation of books written or edited by faculty across campus, as submitted by the authors. Explore the 2024 list.
Academic Culture & Values
Strategic initiative actions this year included:
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Insights from Within
The annual Insights from Within community conversation featuring a panel headlined by student-athletes.
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Open Inquiry Speaker Series
Open Inquiry Speaker Series featuring Lynda Barry, acclaimed teacher, author and artist.
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All Faculty Network
All Faculty Network, a mentoring, community-building, and faculty success initiative, which provided three workshops on student support, teaching, and strategies for career advancement and success.
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Open Inquiry Awards
Ten Open Inquiry Awards distributed to faculty teaching existing or new non-COLL courses across A&S.
Arts at W&M
This past year marked a transformative chapter for the arts at William & Mary with the launch of the Office of the Arts. For the first time in many years, William & Mary presented a fully curated performing arts season under the banner of William & Mary Presents!, showcasing a remarkable array of talent across musical genres and disciplines. The season featured multiple Grammy Award-winning artists (including Take 6, pictured), with performers in jazz, bluegrass, classical, and global traditions. These world-class acts were complemented by vibrant theatre and dance productions and immersive workshops, all celebrating the range of W&M’s artistic expression. The support of the Year of the Arts Committee, Sumner G. Rand Foundation, The Charles Center Masterclass Series, and the Arts & Sciences Annual Fund and Dean’s Innovation Fund helped make this ambitious programming possible.
Highlights of the year included:
- 160+ ticketed events
- 20,000 attendees across campus art spaces
- Partnerships with Virginia Arts Festival, Tidewater Classical Guitar Society, Ampersand International Arts Festival, and more
Communications
The Arts & Sciences communications team advances the College’s mission by supporting essential internal communications and leading external initiatives that strengthen visibility, engagement and reputation. This year’s highlights include:
- Supporting strategic planning and flagship events – providing communications support for A&S-wide strategic visioning efforts and enhancing the reach and impact of signature events.
- Launching a refreshed College of Arts & Sciences brand – developing and rolling out updated branding to unify and strengthen the Arts & Sciences identity across print, digital, and in-person channels.
- Modernizing the Arts & Sciences digital presence – redesigning and upgrading academic department websites to improve user experience, accessibility and visual appeal, while ensuring alignment with university standards.
- Expanding communications capacity – recruiting a Communications & Marketing Manager to enhance marketing content development, strengthen social media engagement and support a more proactive outreach strategy.
Advancement
Our Advancement team had many opportunities to visit with alumni, parents, and friends of Arts & Sciences. In addition to local connections in Williamsburg, Dean Raitt and Executive Director of Development, Gerald Bullock, made stops throughout the U.S. and internationally, including: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and England.
One Tribe One Day, William & Mary’s annual giving day, was once again a resounding for Arts & Sciences. At the heart of this success was the Council of Arts & Sciences, whose leadership challenge energized our community and inspired action. Now entering its fifth year, the Council continues to be a vital partner in shaping and sustaining our shared priorities.
Your support strengthens Arts & Sciences today and shapes what’s possible tomorrow.
Advancement
Support for Arts & Sciences reached new heights in 2024-25, thanks to our dedicated and growing community of donors. Your generosity powered student opportunity, faculty excellence and the creative, collaborative work happening across our departments and programs.
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$ 11.4MRaised
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5,175Donors
Arts & Sciences Funding Priorities
Your support of the Arts & Sciences Annual Fund strengthens and elevates the role of Arts & Sciences as a centerpiece of critical thinking and creative problem solving. Annual Fund support furthers these strategic funding priorities, as well as other needs of academic departments and programs.
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Student Success
Student success is our highest priority. We are committed to creating a vibrant, inclusive environment where every student can thrive—academically, personally and professionally. From first-year advising to career exploration, research to internships, we help students turn passion into purpose.
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Democracy & Civic Engagement
At the heart of a thriving democracy is an informed, engaged public. Through disciplines in Arts & Sciences as well as partnerships across campus and in the community, we prepare students to lead, think critically and uphold democratic values in a complex world.
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Arts Innovation & Leadership
The arts are a powerful force for innovation, leadership and community. With the launch of William & Mary’s new Office of the Arts, we are expanding opportunities for students to lead, create and collaborate across disciplines. From performance and production to arts entrepreneurship and civic engagement, Arts & Sciences is preparing students to shape the future of the arts—on campus and far beyond.
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Excellence in Teaching & Research
Excellence in teaching and research is the foundation of a William & Mary education. Our faculty are leaders in their fields who mentor students through discovery and inquiry. With your support, we invest in the people, resources and innovation that fuel world-class scholarship and transformative learning. This year, this includes the Summer Scholars Fund.
Summer Scholars Fund
In 2024-2025, we launched the Summer Scholars Fund. Each summer, more than 100 William & Mary students engage in hands-on, mentored research, from laboratory experiments and archival analysis to community-based projects and the creation of art. These transformative experiences depend on on-campus residency. The Summer Scholars Fund helps ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate, regardless of financial circumstances.
Contact the College of Arts & Sciences Advancement Team:
University Advancement
Gerald Bullock, M.Ed.'97
- Title: Executive Director of Development
- Email: [[igbull]]
- Phone: 757-221-1023
Susan Adams
- Title: Donor Engagement Associate
- Email: [[sfadams]]
- Phone: 757-221-1805
Looking Ahead
As we prepare for the next academic year, we reflect with pride on the achievements of our students, faculty and staff, and look ahead with optimism. This year will bring new opportunities and the chance to tackle challenges with creativity.
In 2025–2026, we will advance our key initiatives with a shared commitment to excellence across Arts & Sciences. Your generosity makes this possible. With your support, Arts & Sciences remains a place where students are inspired to explore and discover, where innovative ideas take root and where knowledge continues to grow and enrich the world.
With gratitude,
Suzanne Raitt
Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English