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The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is a fitting choice for students who 鈥渨ant some research opportunities, but may also want more personal attention from professors. At this top-tier public research university, the STEM programs get a significant amount of the glory鈥攖he science labs are 鈥済orgeous, state-of-the-art facilities,鈥� and many students 鈥渃ome out of school working for Boeing and the NSA鈥� or, in the case of one scientist, developing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. But UMBC has strengths outside of science. As one student says, 鈥淚 have had superb instruction in modern languages...including fantastic German translation and modern French literature courses.鈥� In fact, UMBC 鈥渉as greatly expanded its support to the fine arts鈥濃�攐ne can earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Studio Art, and one student describes a 鈥渞eally close-knit Arts department that feels like a second family.鈥� Overall, the feeling toward the faculty is very positive, and students feel that 鈥減rofessors are able to gain a better and closer professor-student relationship than those at large academic institutions.鈥� One student remarks, 鈥淭hey helped me see my true potential as a student, and also helped me find my passions,鈥� and another insists, 鈥淭hey really make the school shine.鈥�

The abundance of 鈥渃ultures and backgrounds are celebrated,鈥� as is evidenced by the dozens of student-run cultural organizations and the echoed sentiment: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes UMBC so unique: the students are diverse and are not restricted by their appearances, personalities, religions, cultures, identities, etc. whatsoever.鈥� One student finds that the freedom to be oneself lays the foundation to thrive: 鈥淚 feel as though it鈥檚 a safe space and judgment-free zone. I鈥檝e never been in an environment where people are themselves out loud the way they are at UMBC.鈥�

Life at UMBC is never dull, and the 鈥渟mall and cozy鈥� campus feels like a connected community: 鈥淢ost people gather with their friends in the library to study together, then...grab food together in [the] Commons.鈥� It takes no time to get from the pond outside the library to the 鈥渉ighly impressive鈥� lab facilities: 鈥淎nything is within a 10鈥�15 [minute] walk. It鈥檚 quite convenient,鈥� especially since there are 鈥渁mple opportunities for students to engage on campus.鈥� For instance, students enjoy competition with tournaments of paintball or ping-pong, as well as putting their mental acuity to the test: 鈥淲e do also have a thriving intellectual sports scene including chess, mock trial, and ethics bowl.鈥� Clubs range from cultural to sports to career-building: 鈥淢y favorite one is the video game development club, as it combines my interests of programming and video games into an opportunity to showcase my work in a way that could lead to a future career.鈥� Students also delight in events hosted by the University, 鈥渓ike Homecoming...[where it is] so much fun to watch the Bonfire, attend the Carnival and even see the puppy parade!鈥�

Thanks to UMBC's amazing Career Center, undergrads here are able to enter the job market with confidence. Starting from freshman year, the office works to empower students and help them plot their career goals. Undergrads can take advantage of a plethora of recruiting and networking events held on campus each year. More specifically, students have the opportunity to meet with representatives from companies/organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency, The Hershey Company, Lockheed Martin and the Nielsen Company (among others). And they can help ensure those meetings go well by attending one of the Career Center's many interviewing workshops or resume (and cover letter) writing seminars.