UMBC earns national recognition for offering outstanding research opportunities for undergraduates

Date Posted: - 8/27/2009

The 2010 issue of U.S. News and World Report America’s Best Colleges Guide named UMBC in an unranked list of public and private universities that offer exceptional opportunities for student research at the undergraduate level. UMBC also joined Carnegie Mellon, Cal Tech, Duke University, MIT and others in an unranked list of schools that give students outstanding opportunities for undergraduate research and creative projects. The segment reports, “Independently or in small teams, and mentored by a faculty member, students do intensive and self-directed research or creative work that results in an original scholarly paper or product that can be formally presented on or off campus.”

Undergraduates in UMBC’s IS Department participate in such opportunities, taking part in a community where faculty and students create active learning environment inside and outside the classroom and making the most of the educational and business resources within the region and the country. Department Chair, Dr. Andrew Sears says, “Undergraduate research opportunities are highly beneficial. They heighten analytical skills, foster creativity, and provide opportunities for students to apply what they have learned to new and exciting projects. Students taking advantage of these opportunities find that they are well-prepared to pursue internships and careers in the IT industry or to continue their education through the pursuit of graduate studies.” Additionally, IS department undergraduates also participate in UMBC’s cooperative education program—the largest in the State of Maryland—more than any other major on campus.

Last year, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported independent findings from Academic Analytics where UMBC’s Department of Information Systems was ranked 8th in the nation for scholarly productivity in IT/IS.

More recently, the U.S. News and World Report America’s Best Colleges Guide also named UMBC as the #1 public national university in undergraduate teaching, tied with Stanford at 4th among all national universities and just behind Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale. Most notably, the report named UMBC the #1 “up-and-coming” college in the nation.

Read the complete report at www.umbc.edu/bestcolleges.