There are so many interesting classes to choose from at William & Mary. To get a sense of how many awesome subjects there are to learn about here, I asked a couple William & Mary students what their favorite classes have been: 

Alena Jones ‘26

Mermaid Tales with Professor Francessca Sawaya and Capitalism and Revolution with Professor Elliot Warren

“I would say Mermaid Tales was a really good class while transitioning into W&M because it’s the type of class that similar types of people enroll in. Professor Sawaya also does an incredible job of helping us make personal connections with other class members with collaborative assignments that help us build off each other’s ideas. Capitalism and Revolution helped me confirm my decision to want to major in history at William & Mary and made me completely rethink the importance of European history in the broader global context.” 

Emma Dunlop ‘26

Social Psychology with Dr. Moloney 

“Her lessons were engaging and always connected to relevant, present-day topics. Also, the assignments were fun and thought-provoking. It was a great way to spend my mornings!”

Audrey Rasmussen ‘26

Emerging Diseases with Dr. Sher

“We talked about major diseases in history and public health response to these diseases, as well as current outbreaks around the world. The scientific journal articles we read were super interesting, and I enjoyed my research for our final paper. My writing and presentation skills improved because of this class and Dr. Sher’s excellent feedback!” 

Mia Honda ‘26

Books and Biases with Professor Conradi Smith

“We got to do some cool research about children’s books that we all most likely read as kids!”

Arleigh Wagoner ‘26

History of Western Music with Professor La Barre

“I enjoyed listening to and learning about music and how its changed over time. Plus, as someone who reads/plays music, I learned a lot about the history of notation, the development of instruments, and how the broad term ‘classical music’ is divided into categories I’d never known before! The professor was fantastic and I loved the required concert assignments and listening maps!” 

Aneesa Parish ‘24

Evolution of Organisms with Professor Murphy 

When it comes to the course, I believe that was the best evolution class I’ve ever taken, and I am not a theory-based biology student. I was nervous at first, but the way she structured her lectures, she gives breaks where you can ask her to repeat something even if you’re a tad bit confused. Coming from that 300 level course, I knew everything so much more in depth. The environment is great and Professor Murphy really cares for her students as far as understanding as well as mentally, especially when you’re taking orgo and physics together along with her class (most of us were in Junior fall semester). For reference, I was really struggling mentally with everything going on towards the end of the semester and broke down in her office over a quiz I didn’t think I’d have time to take. She laughed, offered tissues, and just said, ‘take an extra day or don’t take it.’ She has her class structured for students like me with extra assignments just in case you aren’t able to get to one later in the semester.” 

Sarah Callahan ‘26

American Medical History 1750-1950 with Professor Brennan 

“I’m not even a STEM major, I just took it for fun and she made it very accessible by explaining how the US perception of the body changed over time. We also took a field trip to the exhibit in Williamsburg where the public hospital used to be, which was essentially a mental asylum that sanctioned questionable treatment methods using 18th and 19th century medical knowledge.” 

Chiara Leupke ‘25

History of Christianity with Professor Angelov 

“It was a fascinating, thought-provoking class that left me talking and thinking about the topics outside of class. The course focuses on how Christian theology developed and spans from ancient Greco-Roman society to the current state of religion post-Reformation. As an economics major, this class gave me the liberal arts experience that W&M is known for. 

Josep Ocampo ‘25

Nation, Race, & Gender in South Asia with Professor Zutshi

“Last year, I took a class about a region I had little to no knowledge of. The course was Nation, Race, & Gender in South Asia taught by Professor Zutshi. Learning about how the interplay between race and gender shaped the nation and its evolution from the Mughal period up to the present was truly fascinating. Prior to this class, I hadn’t envisioned studying gender to be as insightful as it was. It changed the way that I viewed society and made me notice the similarities and differences in what a nation means/meant across different geopolitical regions. I gained a new way to look at the world and I expect I’ll take many more eye-opening classes during my time here.”