University of Maryland Undergraduate Programs: An Overview

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), a public land-grant research university, stands as the flagship institution of the state and a prominent academic center in the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1856, UMD has a rich history and a strong commitment to academic excellence, research, and innovation. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the undergraduate programs offered at the University of Maryland, College Park, encompassing its academic environment, campus life, and notable achievements.

General Information

The University of Maryland, College Park is ranked No. 42 in National Universities and No. 16 in Top Public Schools, according to the 2026 edition of Best Colleges. Situated in a suburban setting, the campus spans 1,347 acres. As of fall 2024, the total undergraduate enrollment is 31,133. The university maintains a student-faculty ratio of 18:1 and operates on a semester-based academic calendar. Moreover, the University of Maryland, College Park accepts the Common Application and has a test-optional admissions policy.

Financial Aspects

The school's in-state tuition and fees amount to $11,809, while out-of-state tuition and fees are $41,186. Financial aid is available to students, with 35% of first-year students receiving need-based aid. The average net price for federal loan recipients is $16,590. The four-year graduation rate is 77%. Six years after graduation, the median salary for graduates is $67,785.

Academic Profile

The University of Maryland's eleven schools and colleges collectively offer over 200 degree-granting programs, including 113 undergraduate majors, 107 master's programs, and 83 doctoral programs. As a member of the Association of American Universities, UMD is recognized for its research contributions and academic rigor.

Undergraduate Catalog

The University of Maryland Undergraduate Catalog serves as a comprehensive resource for information on undergraduate academic programs. It includes course descriptions, program requirements, and the university's academic, registration, and graduation policies and regulations. It is important to note that program requirements in the Undergraduate Catalog supersede any information in any bulletin of any school or department. The Undergraduate Catalog also provides hyperlinks to other informational resources at the University of Maryland. The provisions of the Undergraduate Catalog are not to be regarded as a contract between the student and the University of Maryland. Changes are effected from time to time in the general policies, and academic and graduation requirements.

Registration Guide

The registration guide outlines registration dates and procedures and provides information on deadlines, fees, and other student services at the university.

Historical Overview

The University of Maryland, College Park has a history marked by significant events and transformations. During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers moved past the college in 1864. Financial difficulties led to the sale of land and a period of bankruptcy, but the Maryland legislature assumed half ownership in 1866, partially transforming it into a state institution. By October 1867, the school reopened with 11 students.

In 1912, a fire destroyed student housing, school records, and most academic buildings, leaving only Morrill Hall untouched. During Phillips Lee Goldsborough's tenure as Governor of Maryland, the state purchased Maryland Agricultural College, taking control of the school in 1916 and renaming it Maryland State College. In the same year, the first female students, Elizabeth Gambrill Hook and Charlotte Ann Vaux, enrolled at the school. On April 9, 1920, the college became part of the existing University of Maryland, replacing St. John's College, Annapolis as the university's undergraduate campus.

The university continued to evolve, with the first black students enrolling in 1951 and President Wilson H. Elkins pushing for increased academic standards in 1957. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited the university in 1957, attending her first college football game there. In 1969, the university was elected to the Association of American Universities.

In 1988, a restructuring of the state's higher education system led to the school being designated as the flagship campus of the newly formed University of Maryland System, formally named the University of Maryland, College Park.

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Recent Developments

The university has faced challenges, including data breaches in 2014. In 2017, it received a record-breaking donation of $219.5 million from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. Darryll J. Pines became the 34th president of the university in 2020. In April 2024, UMD students joined other campuses across the United States in protests against the Gaza war.

Campus Environment

The center of the university's campus is McKeldin Mall, the largest academic mall in the United States. McKeldin Library and the Thomas V. Miller, Jr. Administration Building border the Mall on the east and west, respectively. Academic buildings surround McKeldin Mall on the north and south ends. West of McKeldin Mall is the North Hill Community, and south of McKeldin Mall lies Morrill Hall and the Morrill Quad, which was the original center of campus. South of the Morrill Quad are the South Hill and South Campus Commons Communities, and the Southwest Mall and the Robert H.

Campus Drive, the main thoroughfare through campus, runs parallel to McKeldin Mall to the north. Regents Drive runs perpendicular to the Mall and is home to the Memorial Chapel and the Campus Farms. Regents Drive crosses Campus Drive at the campus hallmark, The "M", which is a mound with a large "M" formed by flowers in its center. The northeast quadrant of campus, formed by Campus and Regent Drives, is home to many of natural sciences and applied sciences departments.

Admissions

For the Class of 2026 (enrolled fall 2022), Maryland received 56,766 applications and accepted 19,451 (34.3%). The University of Maryland, College Park is a college sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship Program and sponsored 58 Merit Scholarship awards in 2020. In 2020, the university announced it was joining the Common App.

Rankings and Recognition

News & World Report rankings of universities, the University of Maryland is 44th (tie) in "National Universities" and 17th in "Top Public Schools". The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Maryland as 43rd in the world in 2015. The 2017-2018 Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Maryland 69th worldwide.

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Faculty and Alumni Achievements

The university's faculty has included four Nobel Prize laureates. The earliest recipient (1956), was Juan Ramón Jiménez, a Spanish language and literature professor. Four decades later, physics professor William Daniel Phillips won a prize in physics for his contributions to laser cooling. In 2005, Thomas Schelling was awarded the prize in economics for his contributions to game theory. In 2006, John C. Mather was awarded the prize in physics alongside George Smoot for their work in the discovery of blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. In addition, two University of Maryland alumni are Nobel Prize laureates; Herbert Hauptman won the 1985 prize in chemistry, and Raymond Davis Jr.

The university has many notable academics. Professor of mathematics, Sergei Novikov won the Fields Medal in 1970, followed by alumnus Charles Fefferman in 1978. Alumnus George Dantzig won the 1975 National Medal of Science for his work in the field of linear programming. Professor of physics Michael Fisher won the Wolf Prize in 1980 and the IUPAP Boltzmann Medal in 1983. James A. Yorke, a distinguished university professor of mathematics and physics and chair of the mathematics department, won the 2003 Japan Prize for his work in chaotic systems.

Research and Innovation

On October 14, 2004, the university added 150 acres (61 ha) in an attempt to create the largest research park inside the Washington, D.C. Glenn L. The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) launched in 2005 as one of the Centers of Excellence supported by the Department of Homeland Security in the United States.

Campus Life

The university hosts "living-learning" programs (LLPs) that allow students with similar academic interests to live in the same residential community take specialized courses and perform research in those areas of expertise. There are two main residential areas on campus, North Campus and South Campus. North Campus is made up of Cambridge Community (which consists of five residence halls and houses the College Park Scholars program), Denton Community (which consists of three halls), Oakland Community (which consists of one hall), Ellicott Community (consisting of three halls), and the Courtyards, a garden-style apartment community in north campus consisting of seven buildings. The Heritage community, completed in 2024, features two residence halls and a dining hall. Most residence halls have AC, but some do not.

There are three dining halls on campus. In addition, a food court in the Stamp Student Union provides many fast food dining options for the university community. The 251 North dining hall lies in the Denton Community on the northern part of campus.

Transportation

College Park-University of Maryland Metro station provides access to Downtown, Washington, D.C. The university is accessible through the three airports in the greater Washington metropolitan area: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. A small public airport in College Park, College Park Airport, lies nearly adjacent to campus, but operations are limited. A free shuttle service, known as Shuttle-UM, is available for UMD students, faculty, staff, and some residents of College Park and Greenbelt. The university is served by an off-campus stop on the Washington Metro's Green Line called College Park - University of Maryland. This stop is adjacent to a stop on the MARC Camden line, a commuter rail line which runs from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.

Student Media

The Diamondback is an independent student newspaper. It was founded in 1910 as The Triangle and renamed in 1921 in honor of a local reptile, the Diamondback terrapin, which became the school mascot in 1933. WMUC-FM (90.5 FM) is the university's non-commercial radio station, staffed by UMD students and volunteers. WMUC is a freeform and sports broadcasting station broadcast at 10 watts. Its broadcasts can be heard throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

Athletics

The university sponsors varsity athletic teams in 20 men's and women's sports. The teams, named the "Terrapins", represent Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. Maryland became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1952 but left to join the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2014. As of 2025, Maryland's athletic teams have been awarded 47 national championships by the NCAA, USILA, AIAW, and NCA. In 2008 and 2010, The Princeton Review named the University of Maryland's athletic facilities the best in the nation.

Men's basketball is the most popular sport at the university. Long-time head coach Lefty Driesell began the now nationwide tradition of "Midnight Madness" in 1971. Beginning in 1989, alumnus Gary Williams revived the program, which was struggling in the wake of Len Bias's death and NCAA rules infractions. Williams led Maryland basketball to national prominence with two Final Four appearances, and in 2002, a national championship. Maryland men's lacrosse remains one of the sport's top programs since its beginnings as a squad in 1865. The team most recently won the national championship in 2022, completing an undefeated season. The men's soccer team has won four NCAA Division I College Cup national championships, most recently in 2018.

Notable Alumni

Notable alumni include House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer; Google co-founder Sergey Brin; The Muppets creator Jim Henson; The Wire creator David Simon; former NFL Quarterback Norman "Boomer" Esiason; CBS host Gayle King; journalist Connie Chung; and Seinfeld co-creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David. Prominent alumni in business include Ed Snider, former chairman of Comcast Spectacor and former owner of the Philadelphia Flyers; journalist Jim Walton, former president and CEO of CNN; Kevin Plank, founder and executive chairman of the athletic apparel company Under Armour; Chris Kubasik, former president of Lockheed Martin; and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Attendees within the fields of science and mathematics are Nobel laureates Raymond Davis Jr., 2002 winner in Physics; Herbert Hauptman, 1985 winner in Chemistry, and Fields Medal winner Charles Fefferman. Other alumni include George Dantzig, considered the father of linear programming; late NASA astronaut Judith Resnik, who died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger during the launch of mission STS-51-L; and NASA Administrator Michael D.

Philanthropy

Several donors have distinguished themselves for their sizable gifts to the university. Businessman Robert H. Smith, who graduated from the university in 1950 with a degree in accounting, gave over $45 million to the business school that now bears his name and to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, which bears his wife's name. Construction entrepreneur A. James Clark, who graduated with an engineering degree in 1950, donated over $45 million to the college of engineering, which also bears his name. Another engineering donor, Jeong H. Kim, earned his Ph.D. from the university in 1991 and gave $5 million for the construction of a state-of-the-art engineering building. Philip Merrill, a media figure, donated $10 million to the College of Journalism. Robert E. and foreign medical patents donated $30 million to the A. James Clark School of Engineering, establishing the Fischell Department of Bioengineering.

University of Maryland Global Campus

Pursuing your bachelor’s degree is a big step in your educational, working, and life experience. University of Maryland Global Campus is here to help you earn your degree as easily as possible. Choose from more than 30 bachelor’s degrees, many in high-demand subject areas. Compare programs online: Evaluate up to three degrees, concentrations, and certificates side by side. Explore program descriptions, cost, transfer credit, program formats, course content, and more. Estimate your costs: Found your program? Take a specially-designed set of core courses for business-related bachelor’s degree programs.

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