University of Maryland, Baltimore County

From the School

An Honors University with the teaching and student support traditions of a small liberal arts college. UMBC is also among the most rapidly developing and diverse research universities in the nation.

UMBC attracts creative and motivated students and rewards them with the resources and attention they need to succeed. We're a place where it's cool to be smart, and where students can be confident investing in their education.

UMBC is nationally recognized for professors who regularly involve students in research and creative collaboration. Cross-collaboration between fields of study (with both peers and faculty) results in active, interdisciplinary learning, which prepares students for multi-dimensional opportunities.

With an ideal proximity to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. students are interning, studying and working with industry leaders-and UMBC has built a reputation for getting students into jobs and graduate programs. In fact, 86% of UMBC class of 2017 is employed and/or in graduate school!

The on campus climate is friendly and energetic; undergraduates have enough ideas and interests to support more than 250 groups, including Greek organizations, recreational sports clubs, community outreach efforts, and campus events. Students enthusiastically follow UMBC NCAA Division I athletic teams and attend games in the UMBC Stadium, Retriever Activities Center, and the new UMBC Event Center, where they cheer on the Retrievers, who made history this year in men's NCAA basketball.

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, has been named "one of the 10 best college presidents" and "one of the 100 most influential people in the world" by Time Magazine.

Theatre students rank third nationally in invitations to perform at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. A new Performing Arts and Humanities building opened in 2014, providing state-of-the-art facilities for several arts and humanities departments and programs.

Approximately 70% of freshman students live on campus, with 14% from out of state. The undergraduate student population is 44% female, 26% Asian American, 17% African American, 7% Hispanic American and Native American. UMBC houses 4,000 students in UMBC's residence suites and apartment communities. Residential communities feature ten living-learning programs, including the Center for Women in Technology; Intercultural Living Exchange; Shriver Living Learning Center.