Recently the Washington Post described UMBC as, "one of the most dynamic and exciting campuses in the country." In the past decade alone, the university has invested over $300 million in new construction and renovations, including the addition of three new academic buildings, a new recreational sports facility, a new student commons building, and a major renewal of our chemistry facilities. A new Performing Arts and Humanities Building is on the drawing board, with the promise of major performance spaces that will draw members of the community to our campus for concerts, theater productions, and exhibitions.

Academically, the university delivers an undergraduate educational experience characterized by a strong liberal arts and sciences core, which attracts a high-quality student body. Average SAT scores for first time freshmen were 1216 in 2005, and the average high school GPA was 3.54; both well above the averages for Maryland and the United States. Top students from Maryland and other states participate in our Scholars programs in public policy, fine and performing arts, women in information technology, humanities, and the acclaimed Meyerhoff Scholars program for science and mathematics students aspiring to research careers. Over the past five years, UMBC students have earned nine Goldwater Scholarships for outstanding juniors and seniors in science, eight Fulbright Student Grants for research/teaching abroad after graduation, a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship, an NSEP Boren Award, NSF Graduate Research Scholarships, and many other prestigious, nationally competitive awards.

An emerging powerhouse in many technical fields, UMBC is one of the largest producers of undergraduate information technology degrees in America. The university also ranks 16th nationally in the amount of funding received from NASA. Over one-third of the bachelor's degrees and more than two-thirds of the doctorates awarded by UMBC are in the sciences, engineering, and technology. UMBC houses a number of research centers, including the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, the Imaging Research Center, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute laboratory. UMBC's Erickson School of Aging Studies will launch an undergraduate major in Management of Aging Services this fall. It will be the first program of its kind in the nation to integrate management science, public policy and the study of human aging.

At the graduate level UMBC has continued to perform at an exemplary level. Many new programs have been added across the disciplines-Imaging and Digital Arts, Emergency Health Services, Mechanical Engineering, Education, Public Policy, American Contemporary Music, etc. In the past five years, UMBC has awarded more than 312 Ph.D.s, 1,700 master's degrees, and many postgraduate certificates.

While maintaining impressive scholarly productivity in terms of refereed publications, books published, creative activities, and professional presentations, UMBC faculty also attract external support. Between 1996 and 2006, external grants and contracts increased from $36 million to $85 million. Growth in externally funded research has been accompanied by growth in interdisciplinary research centers and research faculty. Our faculty members are highly regarded by their academic peers and by government agencies and foundations. Recent examples include:

" a UMBC faculty member who was among just 3 U.S. biologists nominated by NSF to receive a Presidential Early Career Award, announced at a White House ceremony;

" a History faculty member who will be a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University during 2006-2007, helping to plan the commemoration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday.; and

" a faculty member in Chemistry who has recently been named to the State Department's Jefferson Science Fellows program.

Over the decades, UMBC has become successful both inside and outside the classroom. In 2006, the men's lacrosse team won the America East Conference tournament, earning a berth in the NCAA Division I tournament. Likewise, UMBC's legendary chess team has won the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship a record seven times, most recently in 2005, and in March 2006 the team won its fourth consecutive Final Four of College Chess. UMBC also participates in the mini-baja competition in which students build and race an all-terrain vehicle. Students from our theatre department have performed seven times at the finals of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Students have excelled in national mathematical competitions, at the Model United Nations International Conference, and in earning invitations to scientific and creative exhibitions.

Additional useful information and institutional statistics about UMBC can be obtained from the home page of the Office of Institutional Research. We appreciate your interest in UMBC.

Updated 8/10/2006