University of Maryland

The University of Maryland has a clear vision of its future as a nationally distinguished public research university. To achieve this goal, the University expects to perform and be funded at the level of the public research institutions that have historically been the very best. Five such AAU members serve as the University's peers: the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, the University of California-Los Angeles, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. With increasing numbers of nationally- ranked graduate programs, a distinguished faculty, and research leading to the discovery of knowledge, the University is in a position to provide graduate education at the forefront of research and scholarship, which will attract the most highly qualified graduate students. The University also provides enriched and challenging undergraduate educational experiences, including a core arts and sciences curriculum, opportunities for undergraduate research, living-learning communities such as College Park Scholars and the nationally renowned Honors Program, and other unique, intensive, and innovative programs such as Gemstone and Civicus.

The University of Maryland shares its research, educational and technological strengths with businesses, government and other educational institutions. With productive scholars and researchers of the highest caliber, the University will continue to raise the entire level of business and commerce throughout the State. Because of the depth of knowledge possessed by the faculty across many disciplines, the University of Maryland is uniquely positioned to forge relationships with corporations, non-profit organizations, other educational institutions, local school districts, and major federal agencies, laboratories, and departments. Because of the breadth of strength in many disciplines, the University of Maryland is at the forefront in advancing knowledge in areas that increasingly depend on multi-disciplinary approaches. The University of Maryland serves as a hub of knowledge from which flow cultural, intellectual, and economic benefits to the State and region. University of Maryland faculty share with many segments of society the fruits of knowledge and foster and participate in an entrepreneurial culture that is essential to the development of new industries based on knowledge. Faculty are a resource for federal, state, and local governments in shaping public policies on a variety of social concerns. They are leaders in the preservation and interpretation of history and culture, innovators in the creative and performing arts, and major contributors to the advancement of knowledge in biology, mathematics, computer and physical sciences, information science and technology, and engineering. The University of Maryland is a leader in research on teaching and learning that contributes to educational reform in the State and the nation, provides future administrators and teachers with up-to-date knowledge of the best pedagogical methods in all disciplines in an increasingly diverse educational system, and is innovative in providing pathways to teacher certification.