The Linehan Artist Scholars Program is a four-year scholarship, supported by a generous gift from Earl and Darielle Linehan, for students who enter UMBC as freshmen with a major in the arts. The Linehan Artist Scholars Program looks for students who distinguish themselves both academically and artistically.

Part of being a Linehan Scholar includes:

• A first-year seminar course with the Director, Doug Hamby. Activities include frequent attendance at performances and exhibits, workshops with UMBC arts faculty and professional artists at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, digital story telling workshops, grant writing and making artworks that investigate significant ideas in contemporary art.
• Fall and spring trips to performances and important museums in New York and Washington, DC.
• Living in the Visual and Performing Arts Living Learning Community in Harbor Hall, during freshmen and sophomore years. This community provides students with a deep sense of connection with each other and fosters a spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration between Scholars in the Linehan Program.
• Participation in faculty research with beautiful and stunning results. The UMBC arts faculty includes composers, choreographers, directors, designers, photographers, computer artists, painters, filmmakers, video artists, art historians and performers who are actively engaged in creative and analytical work.
• Research opportunities through the Linehan Summer Research and Study Award, the Undergraduate Research Award and the UMBC Study Abroad Program. These support Scholars who want to participate in research and study with leaders in the fields across the globe.

Performance and Exhibit Opportunities

Linehan Scholars find a wealth of opportunities to showcase their talents and creative work at UMBC.  The Dance Department produces seven full-length dance concerts each year and many Scholars perform with the Baltimore Dance Project. Music students can take part in many ensembles such as the UMBC Symphony Orchestra, New Music Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. Theatre students have opportunities to participate in main stage, laboratory and student-directed productions. Visual Art students exhibit their work in the UMBC Center for Visual Culture and Hallway Gallery and gain valuable professional experience through internships at area design companies and at  the UMBC Imaging Research Center (IRC), a state-of-the-art animation and computer visualization facility.