The undergraduate living and learning experience
The whole world is changing.
College should change with it.
The Mary Baldwin Signature is founded on the belief that both personal development and a sense of belonging are key to success in college and beyond.
Throughout your Mary Baldwin journey, we’ll provide that network of support, connecting you with students, faculty, and staff who share your interests on one of the most diverse campuses in the country. You will engage in academics and out-of-class experiences that will help you develop purpose and skills to set you on a path to build a life of success.
In the end, it鈥檚 your journey, and we are here to help you make your mark.
Made for human connection
Welcome to the neighborhood
We鈥檝e clustered our real-world-ready majors into four groups called neighborhoods. All incoming freshmen select a neighborhood based on their interests and ambitions. The Signature neighborhoods are:
- Business & Technology
- Health & Science
- Education & Society
- Creativity & Design
Students in a neighborhood are assigned to live together their first year, study and take classes together, enjoy special lectures, field trips, and more.
Plus, we’ll connect you with peer and faculty mentors, professional and academic advisors, and graduate fellows to guide and support you.
Made for life-long success
Six skills for today’s world
Our common curriculum and outside-the-classroom experiences are engineered to build mastery in six skills highly sought after in today鈥檚 global marketplace.
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Critical and creative thinking
- Inclusion, equity, and reflection
- Global perspectives and local responsibility
- Data and technology fluency
A common curriculum
Mary Baldwin has designed an easy-to-navigate common curriculum based in the liberal arts and focused on teaching skills needed to navigate any discipline and thrive in any career environment. We took the best parts of a classical education and made them suit this moment.
You鈥檒l learn the skills needed to be a clear communicator, a reliable collaborator, tech-savvy, ethics-oriented, and data-proficient.
Beyond Academics
Go from hands-up in the classroom to hands-on in the world. Mary Baldwin Signature gives you the opportunity to expand and apply your knowledge in a wide variety of settings.
Global Engagement
Deepen your knowledge of your major and minor through global contexts, enhance your cross-cultural skills, and expand you career possibilities.
Service Learning
Develop practical skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and more through service opportunities in the local community.
Career & Internships
Create a four-year roadmap to make your dreams a reality. Test out careers with internships, strengthen job skills, and build your professional resume.
FAQs
The Signature program is engineered to help students succeed post-graduation. The neighborhoods are inspired by actual career pathways in the economy, and the curriculum and other outside-the-classroom experiences teach skills universally sought-after in today’s global marketplace.
At the same time, Signature includes a peer-based social component and network of support proven to lead to more successful student outcomes.
Whether students pursue a career, graduate school, or military service, Mary Baldwin Signature empowers them with the skills, experience, and confidence to thrive!
Yes. Signature is a new, campus-wide program launching in Fall 2025. All undergraduates enrolling that semester or later will participate in the Signature program. Part of that experience is selecting a neighborhood.
Yes. Here’s how it works. Ultimately, you must select a major within your neighborhood. For example, if you’re in the Business & Technology neighborhood and decide to major in Marketing, you’re all set. However, if you decide to major in Theater, you will be moved to the Creativity & Design neighborhood.
That’s because each neighborhood is designed to prepare students for the best possible outcomes for those career pathways. Your advisor can help guide you through this process!
The vast majority of undergraduate students will live in a house associated with their neighborhood their first year. There are also a few thematic houses that exist outside the four neighborhoods:
- College for Women – an all-women community
- Ida B. Wells – for high-achieving women of African descent
- Virginia Women鈥檚 Institute for Leadership (VWIL) – an all-female corps of cadets
Are you a commuter? If so, you’ll still participate in the Signature program, but without the residential component.
If you’re enrolled in an online undergraduate program AND living on campus, you will participate in Mary Baldwin Signature.
If you’re enrolled in an online program and DO NOT live on campus, you will not be enrolled in Signature. However, you will still need to complete the common curriculum.
Yes! Some of your transfer credits will count toward our common curriculum requirements. Our advisors can assist you with this and all other aspects of the transfer process. Click the Request Information link below for more information.