Template:USM taxobox The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) is part of the University System of Maryland and located in southwest Baltimore County, straddling the boundary of Catonsville and Arbutus. It was founded in 1966 and specializes in the natural sciences and engineering.
Academics
UMBC offers 37 majors and 32 minors or certificate programs in the physical and biological sciences, social and behavioral sciences, engineering, mathematics, information technology, humanities and visual and performing arts. New degree programs include environmental science, financial economics and a B.F.A. in acting.
UMBC's Graduate School offers 27 master's degree programs, 21 doctoral degree programs and seven graduate certificate programs. Programs are offered in education, engineering, imaging and digital arts, information technology, life sciences, psychology, public policy and a host of other areas of interest. A new gerontology Ph.D. program is one of only six in the United States.
The Carnegie Foundation's new classification of American colleges and universities places UMBC alongside other extensive doctoral/research universities. UMBC is one of only two public universities in Maryland to hold this position, the other being University of Maryland, College Park. Only 152 universities are part of this category nationwide.
Centers, Institutes, and Laboratories
- Bioinformatics Research Center
- Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research
- Center for Health Program Development and Management
- Center for History Education
- Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education
- Center for Women and Information Technology
- Center on Research and Teaching in Social Work
- Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UMBC
- Imaging Research Center
- Institute for Global Electronic Commerce
- Interactive Systems Research Center
- Joint Center for Astrophysics
- Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology
- Laboratory for Healthcare Informatics
- Maryland Center for Telecommunications Research
- Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research
- Student Support Services
- The Mosaic: Culture and Diversity Center
- Women's Center
Finances and scholarships
UMBC is home to the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, a program focused on the cultivation of underrepresented minority scholarship and awareness in the math, science, and engineering disciplines.
Other scholarship programs include the CWIT Scholars Program, the Humanities Scholars Program, the Linehan Artist Scholars Program, and the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program.
Major businesses in the Baltimore-Washington area recruit using scholarships and internship opportunities.
Departments
Computer Science
Computer science is one of the largest majors on the campus, and takes the undergraduate through a series of courses starting with basic C programming at the 100 level all the way to theoretical analysis of algorithms at the 400 level. The upper level faculty in this department has generally gotten good ratings from the students, and several undergraduates a year choose to remain with the department for their graduate studies.
Information Systems
Information systems is another important department with large graduate and undergraduate programs. Specializations include human-computer interactions, data and knowledge management, decision support systems, software engineering and management information systems.
Computer Engineering
Although relatively new, computer engineering is a rapidly growing program with nearly 400 undergraduate majors and a solid core of graduate students. The program recently expanded to contain both a VLSI and communications track.
Mathematics
The mathematics program at UMBC is almost exclusively focused on applied (as opposed to pure) mathematics, with every full time faculty member working in the former field. Faculty specialties include ordinary and partial differential equations, probability and Markov theory, numerical computation, functional analysis, optimization, and linear algebra. Part time faculty from the nearby National Security Agency also teach courses in pure mathematics including combinatorics, coding theory, algebra, and number theory.
Public Policy
The Department of Public Policy at UMBC offers the M.P.P. (Masters in Public Policy), the Ph.D. degree, and advanced graduate certificates in five policy areas. The Department received national recognition in 2002 when it produced 20 Ph.D.s, making it one of the most active departments in the nation. The mission is to provide quality education for a diverse range of high quality students (both full-time and part-time) with a variety of aspirations and career goals related to public policy. These include: students who have recently completed their undergraduate education and are interested in pursuing careers in policy analysis, management, or research; in-service (mid-career) professionals who want to improve their abilities and qualifications; students who have already completed a master’s degree in public policy, public administration, planning, or a related discipline and wish to pursue additional education; and individuals who are interested in teaching or research positions in public policy related fields at academic institutions. The graduate program includes, as an integral part of its operation, the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR), which is also UMBC's premier applied social science research institute.
Political Science
The Department of Political Science offers a wide assortment of classes for students seeking to study the field of political science. The program allows students to acquire a single subfield or dual subfield concentration in American government and politics, comparative politics and area studies, international relations/foreign policy, political philosophy, public administration and policy, or public law. In addition, the department sponsors several student organizations including the Political Science Council of Majors and the Mock Trial team.
Visual Arts
UMBC's Visual Arts program is presented to students as being pre-professional, since this reflects the bias of the student body (and as a consequence, style of education, at least in theory). The Visual Arts major includes a variety of areas of study including Art History & Theory, Graphic Design, Photography, Print Media, Film & Video, Animation, and Interactivity. The department's emphases serve as funnels into particular industries, while the overall education is that of fine arts, including courses in art history, and topics in art or media, which is designed to produce graduates that are educated in fine art, rather than simply possessing a skill set. Prospective students are required to undergo the portfolio review process in order to gain formal acceptance into the department and its resources. The Visual Arts program is a growing major at UMBC. Despite the apparent lack of resources and funding, the Visual Arts is poised to take recognition at a school that has historically been known as a school for sciences.
Biological Sciences
The Department of Biological Sciences, one of UMBC's largest academic departments, has 28 tenured and tenure-track faculty members and seven instructors and lecturers. The department encompasses a wide breadth of research and teaching with foci in molecular, cellular and developmental biology; neurobiology; physiology; and evolution, ecology and environmental biology. The department offers a full complement of baccalaureate and graduate programs leading to B.A., B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees, which are recognized widely for their strength because of the emphasis on research, scientific approach, faculty contact, and extensive lab offerings. These programs serve to train a broad spectrum of future biologists and researchers and to prepare students for graduate and professional schools.
Emergency Health Services
The Department of Emergency Health Services offers a unique perspective for the education of future EMS professionals. This is accomplished by providing a broad liberal-arts and sciences education, which enhances the graduates' employment opportunities as pre-hospital providers and managers.
The Department of Emergency Health Servies also prepares graduates for advancement to graduate and professional studies.
The program is one of only about 14 in the United States to offer a four year bachelors degree in the emergency medical services field.
Psychology
The psychology department is a one of the larger departments on campus with 29 full-time faculty members. The department focuses on preparing students to be proficient in research. Students must take two semesters of experimental psychology, which prepares them for a required independent research project. The department offers programs leading to B.A., B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees.
The department’s graduate program offers degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied developmental psychology, and human services psychology. The graduate program also offers concentrations in behavioral medicine, clinical psychology, and community social psychology.
The undergraduate program offers concentrations in personnel and industrial psychology, biopsychology, development psychology, and human-services psychology. Undergraduate students also have the opportunity to earn credit while working in research labs with faculty. After graduating, many students go on to graduate and professionals programs across the country.
Notable Buildings
Public Policy Building
Completed in 2003 at an estimated cost of $18,700,000, the Public Policy Building houses the Shriver Center and related departments.
The Hillcrest Building
Built in 1921 and completed in 1922, it was designed specifically for the containment and rehabilitation of criminally insane patients, and one of the first of its kind. After several decades of use, the building eventually became outdated and unable to compete with newer facilities in the area. In 1965 the land UMBC currently occupies was sold to its proprietors, which included the Hillcrest Building. In this period it functioned as an administration building, with rooms for student organizations and clubs and housed the Residential Life office. The basement of the building was renovated into a club known as "The Rattskeller". The building hasn't been used by the university since 2000, and future plans to demolish it have been announced. Some students have taken an interest in trying to preserve the building on the grounds of its historical significance.
The building is located between the West Hill and Terrace Apartment complexes surrounded by trees and visible from various parts of the loop.
Trevor Blank, a graduate student at UMBC, has led a historic preservation effort to save administrative efforts to raze the structure. He is the foremost authority on the history of the Hillcrest Building and is currently beginning work on a publication detailing Hillcrest's past.
Lecture Halls
- Lecture Hall I
- Located between the Biology Building and the Commons (may be accessed through the basement of the Biology Building in addition to two dedicated entrances )
- Lecture Hall II
- Located in the Chemistry Building
- The largest lecture hall on campus with a capacity of 340 students
- Lecture Hall III
- Located on the first floor of the Administration Building
- Lecture Hall IV
- Located on the ground level of ACIV (Academic Four)
- Lecture Hall V
- Located on the ground level of the Engineering Building
- Lecture Hall VI
- Located on the first floor of the Physics Building
- Lecture Hall VII
- Located on the first floor of the ITE (Information, Technology, and Engineering) Building
- Lecture Hall VIII
- Located on the first floor of the ITE (Information, Technology, and Engineering) Building
- Lecture Hall IX
- Located on the first floor of the Public Policy Building
Other locations
Drainage Tunnels
A system of drainage tunnels lies underneath the campus at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Unknown to most of the student body, it is most accessible through a sizeable entrance near the Commons' Garage and the Grassy Knoll. It traverses through much of the campus, the main shaft ending at the artificial lake near the Albin O. Kuhn Library. Multiple secondary tunnels deviate from the main tunnel, branching off towards points scattered about the campus. Many students and fraternities have explored and made their mark (often with graffiti) within the system, often with offensive and racist remarks. The condition of the tunnel system is not satisfactory for exploration by the public, so caution should be taken if entered, both in safety and being aware of possible repercussions from the campus authorities.
Steam Tunnels
The steam tunnels are a series of maintenance tunnels that connect almost all major buildings on campus. The main tunnel runs directly under the "main concourse" that leads from the library to the administration building, and is about 1/2 a mile in length. They carry all heating, water, electrical, and data lines within them. They are only accessible from secured entrances within the buildings themselves.
Grassy knoll
The "Grassy Knoll" is a landmark in a somewhat hidden clearing in the woods between the Administration Drive and the Commons Garage. It is accessible via a path near the drainage tunnel.
Notable Professors
Political Science
- Nabil Mikhail - Expert in the field of Middle Eastern Relations.
- Thomas Schaller - Talk show host and political commentator.
- Geoffrey Vaughan - Expert in the field of political philosophy with a focus on Thomas Hobbes.
Campus life
Approximately 75% of freshman students live on campus. With the completion of Erickson Hall, Harbor Hall, and the Walker Avenue Apartments, UMBC is making the transition from a commuter school to a residential school. As more students move onto campus, organization such as the Resident Student Association (RSA) and Student Events Board (SEB) are continually creating more activities for students to become involved in. In addition to events created and sponsored by the University, hundreds of university-sanctioned clubs and organizations are present on campus to build a sense of community. These clubs and organizations range from Greek life to academic and cultural clubs, to activity-based clubs including sky diving, sailing, and the martial arts. The school is known for the ethnically diverse student body and remains in the top 5 most diverse schools in the country.
Clubs, Organizations, and Events
UMBC Chess
The UMBC chess team, which has won Pan-American Championships against fields with dozens of teams, including Ivy League institutions and other top competitors, has received substantial recognition for its record of success. Through 2002, the team had proven dominant in winning the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship six out of seven years. However, in the two following years it was upset in the tournament by its chief rival in chess, UT-Dallas. In 2005, UMBC defeated UT-Dallas en route to its third consecutive Final Four of College Chess. However, with this success certain aspects of the program have also drawn scrutiny. It has been reported that UMBC is only one of two schools (along with UT-Dallas) in the United States to offer major scholarship packages for chess proficiency, and was cited as a potential motivator in a WSJ article discussing the potential for firmer guidelines on eligibilty for collegiate chess. The university will be hosting the 2006 Pan American Chess Championships, to be held at the Washington, DC Renaissance Hotel in late December.
The Graduate Student Association represents all graduate students at UMBC and is a member of the University of Maryland Graduate School. The association serves as a bridge between the graduate student body and the larger campus community. Its focus is to enhance and enrich not only the academic but also the social and community aspects of graduate student life. The association supports graduate student research by providing students with grants for travel and conference presentation. As one of five governing bodies at the University, GSA plays an integral role in the shared governance of UMBC. Current goals and tasks include: 1) promote and support research and teaching at the University; 2) strengthen communication channels among the graduate student body; 3) create organizational legacy; and 4) implement strategic planning. Working closely with the Student Government Association (SGA), GSA strives to improve the UMBC experience for students and the greater campus community.
The Student Events Board (SEB)
The Student Events Board (SEB) is UMBC's major event-planning organization. The organization consists of 14-15 students, with the assistance of an advisor and a graduate assistant advisor. SEB provides UMBC with various events, including major concerts, weekly movies, karaoke nights, trivia nights, freestyle battles, game nights, dances and parties, and other events.
Every spring, the SEB hosts a festival called Quadmania, comprised of outdoor music performances, activity booths, and an outdoor carnival atmosphere. Past headliners for this event have included Sugar Ray(1999); Me'Shell Ndegéocello(2000); Our Lady Peace and American Hi-Fi(2001); Busta Rhymes(2002); Third Eye Blind(2003); Kanye West, N*E*R*D and the Clipse(2004); The Violent Femmes and Talib Kwali(2005).
The Freedom Alliance
The Freedom Alliance is UMBC's student organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, queer, questioning, and ally people. The organization was created in 1995, recently celebrating its 10th anniversary. The Freedom Alliance is the only non-chartered student organization with its own office, given the necessity of a confidential, safe space for meetings. Throughout the year, the organization has weekly meetings, alternating between business meetings and "safespace" discussions. Also, the Freedom Alliance provides various events, including dances, discussions, movies, cookouts, and other events. The two major times of year for the organization are National Coming Out Day Week, held during the month of October, and Pride Week, held during the month of April.
With the increasing number of gender variant, transgender, transsexual, and intersexed students, the Freedom Alliance created the Gender Variance Support Group in 2004. This group meets weekly for safe, confidential discussions related to gender and gender variance. The group has begun holding social and educational events for its members, as well as the rest of UMBC.
The UMBC Anime Society
The UMBC Anime Society, together with new and old fans alike, forms a close-knit community introducing and celebrating the diverse range of Japanese animation. UAS was formed to promote Japanese animation on the UMBC campus, as well as its surrounding area. While its exact founding date is unknown, UAS has enjoyed many years of success. UAS meets every Friday in Lecture Hall 3 from 6-11. Every semester UAS holds a continuous 24 hour anime marathon free to the public.
SPIN@UMBC
A unique on-campus organization. The Student Political Involvment Network (SPIN@UMBC) serves a twofold purpose, first to increase campus political awareness and involvment through events such as Political Action Week, SPINBowl and Voter Registration drives, and secondly to petition the Maryland General Assembly for lower tuition and fees.
Famous Alumni
Brian Dannelly , Co-writer and director of critically acclaimed movie Saved!
Jay Witasik , Major League Baseball player, Pitcher for the Oakland Athletics