University of Maryland | College Park, United States

Rankings:

132 THE World University Rankings 2014-2015
122 QS World University Rankings 2014
108 THE World University Rankings 2013-2014
116 QS World University Rankings 2013
117 THE World University Rankings 2015-2016
129 QS World University Rankings 2018

Campus setting	Contact the university / college
Living cost	Contact the university / college
Student population	Large (More than 10,000)
International students	Contact the university / college
Institution type	Public

About University of Maryland

The University of Maryland, College Park (often referred to as The University of Maryland, UM, UMD, UMCP, or Maryland) is a public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, located outside Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1856, the University of Maryland, College Park is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland. With a fall 2010 enrollment of more than 37,000 students, Maryland is the largest university in the state and the largest in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is a member of the Association of American Universities and a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference athletic league.

The University of Maryland's proximity to the nation's capital has resulted in strong research partnerships with the Federal government. Many members of the faculty receive research funding and institutional support from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) , the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Homeland Security.

As of fiscal year 2009, the University of Maryland, College Park's operating budget was projected to be approximately $1.531 billion. For the same fiscal year, the University of Maryland received a total of $518 million in research funding, surpassing its 2008 mark by $117 million. As of February 28th, 2011, the university's "Great Expectations" campaign had exceeded $800 million in private donations.

Campus information

The campus of University of Maryland is noted for its red-brick Georgian buildings and its large central lawn, named McKeldin Mall. White columns decorate many buildings, with around 770 columns existing on campus. Spanning the university's 1,250 acres (5.1 km2) are over 7,500 documented trees and special garden plantings, leading the American Public Gardens Association to designate the campus the University of Maryland Arboretum & Botanical Garden in 2008. There are multiple arboretum tours, such as the centralized Tree Walking Tour which is based around McKeldin Mall and features 56 specimen trees.

There are nearly 400 acres (1.6 km2) of urban forest located on campus and the National Arbor Day Foundation has named the university to its 'Tree Campus USA' list. The recreational Paint Branch Trail, part of the Anacostia Tributary Trails system, cuts through campus, as does the Paint Branch stream, a tributary of the Northeast Branch Anacostia River.

McKeldin Mall serves as the center of campus. On the east and west ends of McKeldin Mall lie the Main Administration Building and McKeldin Library. Academic buildings surround McKeldin Mall on the north and south ends, and are the homes to many departments in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, College of Arts and Humanities, and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. West of McKeldin Mall is the North Hill Community, and south of McKeldin Mall lies Morrill Hall and the Morrill Quad, which was the original center of campus. South of the Morrill Quad are the South Hill and South Campus Commons Communities, and to the southwest is the Southwest Mall and the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Running parallel to McKeldin Mall to the north is Campus Drive, the main thoroughfare through campus. The Adele H. Stamp Student Union sits along Campus Drive near the center of campus, and serves as a transit center for campus, where Shuttle-UM (the university's bus service) and municipal buses pick up and drop off passengers. Hornbake Plaza home to Hornbake Library and several buildings housing academic departments also lies on Campus Drive, east of Stamp.

The university is served by the three airports which exist in the greater Washington metropolitan area. A small public airport in College Park, College Park Airport, lies nearly adjacent to campus, but operations are limited.
A free shuttle service, known as Shuttle-UM, is available for all UMD students, faculty, and staff. The university is served by an off-campus stop on the Washington DC Metro Green Line called College Park – University of Maryland. The station is also served by the Camden Line of the MARC train, which runs between Baltimore and Washington. A Shuttle-UM bus (Route 104) arrives at the metro station every five minutes during fall and spring semesters (every ten minutes during the summer) to bring all visitors to campus (currently stopping in front of the Stamp Student Union). The DC Metrobus and the Prince George's County TheBus bus services also stop on campus. There is an additional service called Nite Ride which is a curb-to-curb service offered every night from 5:30 pm to 7:30 am. This service is designed to serve the areas of campus that are not included on the evening service routes.