Academics
Exploration is at our core.
As a liberal arts university, Washington and Lee’s small size and expansive curriculum offer students the academic flexibility of a larger university with the support and faculty mentorship only a small college can provide. We encourage students to study what interests them, to make connections across disciplines, and to engage in immersive experiences that put their learning to work. Four years at W&L leaves students well-prepared to land their first job and instills in them the knowledge and skills to build a fulfilling career.
World Languages
12
Students can take classes in 12 world languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Sanskrit.
Interdisciplinary Programs
13
W&L offers 13 different interdisciplinary programs that draw on our distinctive curricular structure.
Learning Opportunities
#1
According to a 2023 student poll by The Wall Street Journal, W&L ranked more highly than any other college or university for learning opportunities, including the overall quality of teaching.
Majors and Minors
47/44
Our expansive academic offerings include programs in business administration, accounting, entrepreneurship, journalism, engineering, and teacher education that you won’t find at other liberal arts colleges.
Encouraging Exploration
42%
of the Class of 2024 pursued either a major or a minor in both the College and the Williams School.
Student to Faculty Ratio
7:1
Our low student-to-faculty ratio means students receive personal attention from faculty mentors.
World Languages
12
Students can take classes in 12 world languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Sanskrit.
Interdisciplinary Programs
13
W&L offers 13 different interdisciplinary programs that draw on our distinctive curricular structure.
Learning Opportunities
#1
According to a 2023 student poll by The Wall Street Journal, W&L ranked more highly than any other college or university for learning opportunities, including the overall quality of teaching.
Majors and Minors
47/44
Our expansive academic offerings include programs in business administration, accounting, entrepreneurship, journalism, engineering, and teacher education that you won’t find at other liberal arts colleges.
Encouraging Exploration
42%
of the Class of 2024 pursued either a major or a minor in both the College and the Williams School.
Student to Faculty Ratio
7:1
Our low student-to-faculty ratio means students receive personal attention from faculty mentors.
Areas of Study
Majors and Minors
We offer 47 majors and 44 minors and programs often found only at larger schools, including business, journalism, engineering and a top-tier graduate law school.
Hands-On Learning
Education is Not a Spectator Sport
Our size, extensive resources, innovative teaching and interdisciplinary learning means you’ll have personal attention and distinctive experiences.
The College
The College departments and programs represent the liberal arts core of the University, ranging from fine arts, humanities, certain social sciences, journalism and mass communications, natural and physical sciences, computer science, and mathematics.
The Williams School
W&L is the only top liberal arts college in the United States to claim a nationally accredited undergraduate business program. The Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics is distinctive among its peers -- offering a business education within a larger liberal arts curriculum -- and most students take some classes there, regardless of major.
The Law School
One of the smallest of the nation’s top law schools -- and W&L’s only graduate program -- the Ƶ School of Law seeks to cultivate broad-minded, highly skilled, and honorable practitioners of law. Our law professors also teach undergraduate students alongside law students in courses affiliated with W&L’s interdisciplinary Law, Justice, and Society program.
Academic Leadership
Students are encouraged to get to know and utilize their deans and administrators.
Lena Hill
Provost and Professor of English
- P: 540-458-8746
- E: lmhill@wlu.edu
In addition to her many duties as Provost, Hill researches and teaches courses primarily in 19th- and 20th-century African-American literature. She has written a number of books and articles on the subject.
Paul Youngman
Associate Provost and Redenbaugh Professor of German
Youngman teaches courses on German literature and language. His research focuses on the German cultural reception of various technologies. Youngman is also a U.S. Army veteran and the recipient of the Bronze Star with “V” device.
Leslie Wingard Cunningham
Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Professor of English and Africana Studies
Leslie Wingard Cunningham is Professor of English and Africana Studies and the Associate Provost for Faculty Development. As a senior leader in academics, Wingard Cunningham is a member of the W&L provost’s office team focused on supporting faculty as they balance and advance their research, service, scholarship, and teaching.
Chawne Kimber
Dean of the College and Professor of Mathematics
- P: 540-458-8746
- E: ckimber@wlu.edu
In addition to her duties as Dean of the College at W&L, Kimber is a member of the Mathematics Department faculty. Her research interests include ordered rings and groups.
Robert D. Straughan
Crawford Family Dean of the Williams School and Professor of Business Administration
Straughan teaches International Marketing Strategy and Sustainable Business. He has authored dozens of studies on sustainable business and cross-cultural business. He works closely with students with career interests in consulting.
Melanie Wilson
Dean and Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professor of Law
- P: 540-458-8502
- E: mwilson@wlu.edu
Melanie D. Wilson is the dean of W&L’s Law School and the Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professorship in Law. She writes and teaches about issues of criminal procedure, focusing on the Fourth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment and prosecutors. Before entering academia, Wilson clerked for The Hon. Richard Freeman in the Northern District of Georgia and practiced law for 13 years in both the private and public sectors.