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.” 

College is not only a time for discovery in extracurricular activities, but also a time to find what study techniques are the best fit for you. To assist you in finding your best fit study method, here are 8 active recall study methods and techniques to try during this upcoming semester. 

1. Listen to recordings 

How: Create recordings of yourself or someone else explaining the topic you want to remember and listen to throughout the day. You can also record lectures if permissible by the professor to listen to while studying. 

Why: This is convenient for studying on the go! It also leads your brain to listening subconsciously and better retention of information. 

2. Teach someone else 

How: Pretend to teach someone else the information you are trying to study 

Why: Teaching someone else forces you to think of ways to have someone else remember the information you are teaching. In doing so, you can memorize the information better. 

3. Condense chapter / lesson into key sentences 

How: Write key sentence overviews or bullet points of what you have learned / read.

Why: Condensing information forces your brain to alter the information to fit it into a smaller scale. This can make your memory on the topic stronger, and it provides a good one sentence to remember during test time!

4. Memory palace 

What: Convert your memories into visual images around a mental memory palace.

How: Visualize a memorable location (ie. your dorm or classroom) and place what you want to remember in certain areas of that location. To remember, you can mentally walk through the palace to remember where you stored each piece of information. 

Why: Associating information with a visual palace you’re familiar with connects something you already know with something you want to remember. This helps your brain create an imprint with what you want to remember and is a fun way to memorize! 

5. Study group discussions 

How: Get together with a group of friends and discuss what you are working on in class.

Why: Sometimes talking with friends can create a lasting impact on your memory of the topic. If someone says something funny or interesting you’re more likely to remember it! Also if working on projects, assignments, or studying for the class, study groups can provide other perspectives.

6. Design a test on the topic

How: This method is great for transferring notes into flashcards after a lecture. Create a collection of short answer questions in your own words with bullet points of the main points you should have in your answer. Study this test by either speaking the answers or writing them down. 

Why: Designing a short-answer test in your own words not only creates a connection in your brain, it also will lead to new answers each time you study! Using bullet points in the initial answers will help you remember the key information to remember while also forcing your brain to come up with a unique answer each time you study the test.

7. Blurting 

How: Blurting is an active recall technique where you brain dump all the information you can remember. Write down everything you know about a topic, then go back and check to see if you missed anything. If you did, find the information and fill it in. Repeat until you remember everything! Blurting is good to do after reading textbooks or a lecture! 

Why: Blurting drives your brain to actively recall information and shows you which information is not adequately retained! 

8. Make connections between your life and the lesson 

How: Making connections between your life and what you’re learning helps personalize and make the information seem more important. Try to find a connection in your own life with what you learn in class. OR, research into a celebrity or historical figure that might be connected to what you’re learning.

Ex. If you are learning anatomy and can connect it to when you were injured.  

Why: When your life and the lesson are connected, you’re more likely to be interested in learning about it. The information is no longer just a paragraph in your textbook, but a real life scenario that you can either relate to or remember more easily!