Admissions Information

The University of Maryland (UMD) is a publicly-funded, land-grant institution and the flagship of the University System of Maryland. The university's mission statement expresses a commitment to achieving excellence as the state's primary center for research and graduate education and the institution of choice for undergraduate students of exceptional ability and promise. Consistent with this mission, UMD counts the diversity of its students among its greatest strengths and as an integral component of the educational process and a contributing factor to the academic excellence of the institution.

The undergraduate admission process, which reflects the university's educational mission, seeks to identify those applicants, who as individuals and as a group, will enrich and benefit from the campus learning environment, and thus benefit the entire student body. The process is structured to build entering classes of students whose varied backgrounds and experiences provide substantial evidence of their potential to:

  • meet UMD's requirements for academic success,
  • enrich the university as a diverse community,
  • add new perspectives to UMD's curriculum and scholarly pursuits,
  • develop personal skills, including leadership, self-confidence and intellectual engagement, and
  • contribute to the intellectual, cultural, social and political life of the university, state and nation.

As the university must make fine distinctions among large numbers of highly qualified applicants, the ability to assess all information presented in the application consistently becomes increasingly important. Therefore, the university employs a rigorous review process that engages the expertise of professional educators in performing individualized and holistic evaluations of each application. Each applicant is assessed on the basis of achievements and potential in a broad range of academic categories, viewed in the context of the opportunities and challenges the applicant has faced. These categories include, but are not limited to:

  • the strength of educational performance, as measured by the nature and rigor of high school curriculum and academic achievements,
  • the potential for college success, as evidenced by performance on nationally normed standardized tests (if the applicant should choose to submit these scores),
  • the potential to promote beneficial educational outcomes and to make a positive contribution to campus and community life, and
  • persistence and commitment to educational excellence, as evidenced by demonstrated success in facing adversity and overcoming obstacles.

Application Documents

In addition to the online application, a number of supporting materials are also required. This can include items such as letters of recommendation and official transcripts. For a complete list of required application materials and information on how to submit them, please visit http://go.umd.edu/AppChecklists/.