University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)

A public research university celebrating its 40th anniversary this fall, UMBC has built a national reputation for academic innovation and excellence. UMBC's 9,406 undergraduate and 2,244 graduate students pursue studies in information technology, engineering, biological and physical sciences, humanities, social sciences and public policy and visual and performing arts. UMBC currently has 651 full-time faculty and 314 part-time faculty to lead this student body. 2005-2006 tuition for part-time students, per credit hour, is $270 plus $85 per credit hour for student fees.

UMBC faculty and students work closely with many of the region's top employers, including Black and Decker, Constellation Energy, IBM, Lockheed Martin, NASA, the National Security Agency, Northrop Grumman, the Social Security Administration, T. Rowe Price and other major regional corporations. UMBC's on-campus research park, bwtech@UMBC, and business incubator, techcenter@UMBC, are home to more than 40 established and growing companies in fields ranging from information technology to bioscience.

The Kaplan/Newsweek How to Get Into College guide named UMBC to its select list of "Hot Schools" in 2003. UMBC also ranks 16th nationally in NASA research funding. In 2003, the Princeton Review recognized UMBC as having one of the nation's most diverse student bodies.

UMBC has a championship Chess Team that has won the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship six times (the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship was established after the merger of the Intercollegiate Chess League and the Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth League). UMBC offers scholarships to exceptional student chess players (e.g., Chess-Player Scholar Awards, Special Merit Scholarships for Chess, Tournament-Based Chess Scholarships, and UMBC Coca-Cola Chess Fellows).

UMBC is considered an honors university. An honors university is an institution that attracts motivated students and rewards them with all the resources and attention they need to succeed. It is a public institution with affordable tuition but has the high caliber of curriculum, research opportunities, and internships of a private honors university. Some examples of programs available at UMBC include:

Enrollment:

Fall 2005 Enrollment 11,650
Undergraduate: 9,406, Graduate: 2,244

Full-time enrollment: 8861, Part-time enrollment: 2,789

Minority Enrollment 35%
    African American 14%
    Asian American 17%
    Hispanic & Native American 3%

Undergraduate Student Organizations:

Phi Beta Kappa - Considered the nation's most prestigious honor society.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Awards (URAs) - URAs provide up to $1,500 for recipients to work with a UMBC faculty member on an original project.

The Honors College at UMBC - A highly selective program, it involves honors courses that have more in-depth treatment of materials than regular courses. Class sizes are small which allows a closer working relationship between students and faculty.

The Scholars Program at UMBC - Learning communities that offer innovative approaches to study, including internships, research and study abroad experiences.

First-Year Seminars - New freshmen and transfer students have the opportunity to be taught by a full-time, tenure-track professor in a small group setting while exploring a topic that is of particular interest to the faculty member.

Living Learning Communities - Provides a range of academic and social activities with like-minded colleagues.