The undergrad career-ready living and learning experience
The whole world is changing.
College should change with it.
Welcome to Mary Baldwin Signature, a career-ready living-and-learning experience unlike any other.
Signature weaves academics, professional planning, and co-curricular experiences into one intentional journey. You’ll have the opportunity to explore your interests and build critical skills while gaining momentum toward what’s next.
The best part? From day one, we connect you with peers, mentors, and advisors who have your back every step of the way.
It’s your path. How will you make your mark?
See for Yourself
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Forge meaningful connections from day one
At the heart of MBU Signature are our Neighborhoods—vibrant communities built around clusters of real-world-ready majors:
- Creativity & Culture
- Business & Technology
- Health & Science
- Education & Society
Your Neighborhood isn’t just about academics—it’s about connection. You’ll live alongside classmates your first year, take classes together, and share in special lectures, field trips, and experiences that bring learning to life.
You’ll also be connected with a network of faculty mentors and professional and academic advisors dedicated to helping you thrive.
The Commons:
Your Support Hub
Receive one-on-one coaching throughout your journey
You’re never on your own at MBU. As an incoming freshman, we’ll connect you with advising coaches, career coaches, tutors, and more. You’ll have a whole support team to help you navigate your options and thrive academically, located in one easy-to-access location, The Commons at Grafton Library.
Our goal: to help you you thrive academically and prepare you for whatever is next — whether that’s a career, service, or graduate school.
Skill-Building for Today’s World
Build six critical skills and gain a competitive edge
Beyond your Neighborhood and major, Signature helps you build six in-demand skills through interdisciplinary pathways—giving you the edge today’s employers are looking for.
Build Confidence: Common Curriculum
Mary Baldwin has designed an easy-to-navigate common curriculum that builds confidence in six skills highly sought after in today’s workplace.
These are not your typical Gen Ed classes. These are innovative, future-forward and interdisciplinary courses designed to spark your curiosity and give you a strong foundation for future success.
Build Mastery: Skill Stacks
Skill Stacks let you build on what you learned in the Common Curriculum. Pick one of the six essential skills and complete three or more courses, extracurriculars, or on-the-job experiences to master it.
These interdisciplinary opportunities let you explore beyond your Neighborhood while ensuring everything you do at MBU impacts your degree and career goals.
The Signature Flow
Step-by-step, the Signature program will equip you with all the skills, knowledge, and confidence you need to succeed.
Here are some key milestones:
Freshman Year
- Choose a Neighborhood based on your academic interests
- Take introductory courses within your Neighborhood to find a discipline that interests you
- Take common curriculum courses across Neighborhoods to build fluency in needed career skills
Sophomore Year
- Choose a major in your Neighborhood!
Junior and Senior Year
- Complete courses and extracurriculars to build a career-ready Skill Stack
- Complete a Capstone project and internship
- Graduate ready to succeed!
Experience Signature Events
Explore thought-provoking lectures, dynamic performances, and engaging community experiences.
Our Signature Promise
Mary Baldwin Signature is designed around three powerful guarantees — so you don’t just graduate with a degree. You graduate with a competitive edge.
Make Meaningful Connections from Day One
Connect with like-minded peers and faculty mentors in your Neighborhood from day one.
Receive 1:1 Coaching Throughout Your Journey
Receive personalized support from advising and career coaches who help you chart a clear path forward.
Build Critical Skills for Professional Success
Build six critical skills that give you a competitive edge in today’s job market.
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. All residential undergraduates participate in the Signature program. Part of that experience is selecting a Neighborhood.
The short answer – yes. You must select a major within your Neighborhood by the end of your sophomore year. That being said, if you want to choose a major in a different Neighborhood, you can switch to that Neighborhood.
Your advisor can help guide you through this process!
The vast majority of first-year undergraduate students will live on the same floor in the same residence hall with other members of their Neighborhood.
However, there are also a few themed houses that exist outside the four Neighborhoods:
- College for Women – an all-women community
- Ida B. Wells – a community for high-achieving women of African descent
- PERSIST – a leadership program for African American men
- Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL) – MBU’s all-female cadet corps
Even if you choose to live in one of these themed houses, you will still participate in your Neighborhood’s programming.
Are you a commuter? If so, you’ll still participate in the Signature program, but without the residential component.
Students enrolled in online-only undergraduate programs do not participate in Mary Baldwin Signature, but they do 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.
Minors, like majors, expose students to knowledge and training in a particular discipline like Math or English Literature. Minors can give students a fresh perspective, allow them to pursue a passion, as well as help them prepare for a particular career.
Skill Stacks train students in highly sought-after skills that are useful for careers across disciplines, like problem solving and leadership. Building mastery in one of these skills, can give student a competitive edge whatever they decide to do post-graduation.
Students may complete both a minor and a Skill Stack in addition to their major.