About UMBC

Founded in 1966 by Dr. Albin O. Kuhn, UMBC is one of the fastest growing universities in the country. The spacious five-hundred acre campus is located fifteen minutes away from Baltimore's Inner Harbor, thirty minutes away from Downtown Washington DC, and ten minutes away from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Originally a commuter campus with non-traditional academic "divisions", UMBC now features six residential halls and four apartment communities, plus the school offers 37 undergraduate programs in various fields of science, engineering, as well as arts and humanities. Currently, UMBC is considered one of the nation's highly selective public universities.

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President of UMBC, has stated a commitment to the community to make us one of the top institutions in the nation.  This commitment to excellence is unmistakable, as UMBC ranks in the top tier of the nation's research universities and was named one of the 50 Best Colleges for Women in 2004 by CosmoGIRL! Magazine.

Further progress towards UMBC's growth can be seen across campus ranging from an increased enrollment and an increased resident population to the construction of two new residence halls, a brand new three-building apartment community, a new Information Technology building, a new Public Policy building, and the most recent and largest improvement to the UMBC Campus: is the new state of the art student center, The Commons.  This new facility houses several dining restaurants and coffee shops, a Game Room on its Main Street, a branch of the Chevy Chase Bank, as well as our illustrious UMBC Bookstore.

UMBC is a place that values excellence and achievement. We are an exciting campus with a bold vision and entrepreneurial spirit. Our campus has shown fast improvements over the past 40 years and is fully committed to continuing our growth for years to come.

About UMBC's Resident Student Association (RSA)

UMBC's Resident Student Association is a student-run organization supported by the Office of Residential Life that works to promote a safe and clean living environment for everyone and to represent the rights and interests of resident students living on campus.  Growing rapidly over the past six years, RSA has gone from an organization with only five active members to one with now over 40 members.  RSA is one of the top student organizations on the UMBC campus. This is evident through programs like Midnight Breakfast, Doggapolooza, Block Party, which are organized by RSA and are successful in bringing the UMBC resident community together for a good time.  The organization also co-sponsors many yearly events including Welcome Week, Homecoming, and Quad-mania.  RSA plays a significant role as the resident student voice on the UMBC campus.  This is accomplished by becoming an active members in campus-wide committees such as the Commons Advisory Council, Food Service Committee, and the Presidents Student Advisory Council.  Through this, administrative offices, student groups and faculty departments have also called upon RSA looking for input on decisions that directly affect the resident students.  Finally, RSA members are distinctly seen as strong leaders at UMBC.  This can be seen through the positions held by current and former members of RSA like President and Student Senator in the Student Government Association as well as through awards from the Student Life Office such as Emerging Leader on the UMBC campus.

UMBC and NACURH

UMBC has been a good standing member of the NACURH organization since 1989.  UMBC has had the privilege of hosting the CAACURH regional conference in 1995 and the CAACURH No-Frills Conference in both 1993 and 2003. In the last few years, members of UMBC's RSA have held seven positions on the CAACURH Regional Board of Directors, and five positions on the NACURH National Board of Directors.