·Public Research·Est. 1966
“Maryland's STEM-forward public research university — home to the Meyerhoff Scholars, a globally recognized chess powerhouse, and a campus culture that famously punches above its weight.”
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is one of the youngest and most distinctive public R1 research universities in the United States. Founded in 1966 just outside Baltimore — and within easy reach of Washington, D.C. — UMBC has spent the last three decades building a national reputation under former president Freeman A. Hrabowski III as one of the most successful U.S. universities at producing high-achieving STEM graduates, particularly among historically underrepresented groups. UMBC's flagship undergraduate program is the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, widely regarded as the most successful initiative in the country for preparing students for STEM PhDs. UMBC ranks among the top U.S. research universities in the production of computer-science, IT and chemistry/biochemistry degrees, and the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) feeds NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the booming Baltimore-DC cybersecurity corridor. UMBC's three undergraduate colleges — Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Engineering and Information Technology; and Natural and Mathematical Sciences — span 41 academic departments and over 60 majors. Life on UMBC's 530-acre suburban campus mixes academic intensity with one of the most uniquely UMBC traditions in America: a chess team with five Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships and multiple national titles. The Retrievers (UMBC's mascot) became a household name in 2018 when the men's basketball team became the first 16-seed in NCAA history to defeat a 1-seed (Virginia). The international student community is meaningful (~15-18% across the institution) and benefits from a strong International Education Services office, with particularly large cohorts in computer science, data science, information systems and engineering at the graduate level.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Top Public Schools
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Innovation (Most Innovative Schools)
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Undergraduate Teaching
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Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceThe deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$12,700 – $14,500
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$30,200 – $32,000
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
UMBC's flagship technical college — one of the top U.S. producers of computer-science, IT and information-systems graduates. Deep partnerships with NASA Goddard, NIH and the NSA.
Nationally recognized for biochemistry and molecular biology degree production; home of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program and a major undergraduate-research engine.
Houses UMBC's social-science strengths — Psychology, Political Science, Global Studies, Visual Arts, and Media & Communication Studies — with a notable creative-tech focus.
4 years
STEM-designated CS degree; UMBC ranks #4 nationally among research universities for IT degree production. Tracks include AI, cybersecurity and human-computer interaction.
4 years
Pre-PhD STEM pipeline ranked the #1 producer of underrepresented-minority MD-PhDs in the U.S.; cohort-based with intensive research mentoring from day one.
4 years
STEM-designated business-of-technology degree with concentrations in cybersecurity, business analytics, and software engineering — strong DC-area placement.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $31,275
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
