University of Maryland University College

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is the second largest university in Maryland. The University in its entirety has one focus: the educational needs of the non-traditional student.

History

UMUC is an outgrowth of the University of Maryland's evening program for adults that began in the 1920s. In 1947, the College of Special and Continuation Studies (CSCS) was established. In 1959, The CSCS became the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). In 1970, UMUC became an independent institution, but in 1988, it became a part of the University System of Maryland.

UMUC formally had an international campus in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany (near Stuttgart) until 2001, and a residential 2-year campus in Mannheim, Germany, until 2005.

Students

UMUC's non-traditional students include the military (both stateside and overseas), working adults pursuing first or second degrees, students taking additional coursework in preparation for graduate school, and students holding non-accredited degrees from foreign universities.

Academic Programs

Courses are delivered in traditional classroom settings as well as online. Even before the advent of online education via the Internet, UMUC offered distance learning via dial-up (using Web Tycho) and via television and correspondence courses.

The School of Undergraduate Studies offers 23 bachelor's degree programs and 43 undergraduate certificates. Undergraduate students can earn credit through classroom-based and online courses or through the Cooperative Education and Prior Learning Programs.

The Graduate School offers 18 master's degree programs, 38 graduate certificates, and a Doctor of Management. Most graduate programs are available in both classroom and online formats. Several master's degrees are available in an accelerated Executive format.

Facilities

UMUC does not have its own campus. It is a global institution that offers on-site classes in the Washington metropolitan area as well as in 23 countries throughout the world (through its European and Asian Divisions). In Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., daytime, evening, and weekend classes are held at 16 locations. Some sites feature academic advising, computing facilities, and library services. In Europe and Asia, UMUC delivers undergraduate classes on military sites for active-duty servicemembers, government employees, and their families.

Until sometime in the late 1990s, UMUC's headquarters address was in College Park, Maryland. In an attempt to have its own identity and move away from the common notion of UMUC being the "Night School", its address was changed to Adelphi, Maryland (which borders College Park). The address changed with the Postal Service (there was no physical move). The marketing decision was just one of many to establish UMUC as one of the largest distance-education centers, with over 100,000 students enrolled world-wide.

Name

To those who feel "University" is synonymous with "College," the school's name perhaps seems needlessly redundant. It is, however, a college in the traditional American use of the word, albeit one associated with a university. Hence, "University College." The "University of Maryland" prefix indicates who owns it.

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