“Historically Black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, part of the University System of Maryland”
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a historically Black, 1890 land-grant doctoral research university set on roughly 1,100 acres in the small town of Princess Anne on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1886, UMES is one of the original land-grant institutions created to serve Black students in the post-Civil-War era and today educates a diverse student body across bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs while holding its mission as an HBCU at the center of campus identity. A member of the University System of Maryland, it is the only public HBCU in the state that holds R2 doctoral research designation. UMES is known for a cluster of applied, professional, and coastal-science programs that take advantage of its unique setting near the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic shoreline. Its School of Pharmacy and Health Professions offers a PharmD program, and the university houses highly regarded undergraduate and graduate programs in agriculture, aviation science, hospitality and tourism management, engineering, marine science, and physical therapy. The Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology anchors STEM, while the School of Business and Technology and the School of Education, Social Sciences and the Arts round out its five academic schools. Research centers in marine-estuarine-environmental sciences and the NASA-supported Center for the Advanced Study of Weather and Climate give students meaningful research experience. Student life is close-knit and deeply rooted in HBCU culture: freshmen encounter a welcoming, highly residential campus organized around a historic quad, a nationally known marching band and step shows, NCAA Division I athletics in the MEAC, and Greek life anchored by the Divine Nine. With a majority-minority student body, strong alumni ties, and a cost structure that keeps in-state and international tuition relatively modest compared with flagship neighbors, UMES offers international students a combination of affordable access, career-oriented programs, and a genuinely supportive community far from the traffic and cost of the DC-Baltimore corridor but still just a few hours from either city.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceFall (International)
Six months before term start recommended for visa processing.
Spring (International)
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$9,076
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$20,122
/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.
Anchors UMES's 1890 land-grant mission, with programs in agriculture, food science, environmental science and marine-estuarine-environmental science.
Home to engineering, computer science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, aviation science and construction management.
AACSB-accredited business programs with distinctive concentrations in hospitality and tourism management and technology management.
Professional and graduate programs including PharmD, Physical Therapy (DPT), Physician Assistant (MMS) and Rehabilitation.
Teacher preparation, criminal justice, sociology, English and fine/performing arts programs with strong field and clinical components.
4 years
One of the few HBCU-based flight programs in the nation, preparing commercial pilots with a dedicated fleet and partnerships with regional and major airlines.
4 years
A nationally recognized hospitality program that pairs business coursework with coastal Maryland's tourism economy and strong industry internships.
4 years
UMES's flagship professional degree, housed in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, with clinical rotations across the Delmarva region.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $20,122
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.
