The Appalachian Laboratory began as the Appalachian Environmental Laboratory and received its present name in 1997. On the Frostburg State University campus, the Appalachian Laboratory studies the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including the ecology of lakes and streams, animal behavior and evolutionary biology, and forest ecology.

At Solomons Island on the Patuxent River, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory holds the Center's fleet of research vessels and conducts research on ecosystems, environmental chemistry and toxicology, environmental policy, and fisheries science.

The Horn Point Laboratory formerly was the Horn Point Environmental Laboratory. It received its present name in 1997. At the Horn Point Laboratory, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science has administrative offices and facilities on a 721-acre site by the Choptank River near Cambridge. This property originally was given to the City of Cambridge by the late Francis P. DuPont. In 1971, it was conveyed by Cambridge to the State for use by the University of Maryland. Here, hatcheries are maintained for shellfish and finfish propagation, and researchers examine biological and physical oceanography, aquaculture and seafood science, and wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation.

In 1977, the University of Maryland was selected as the site of a sea grant program by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In recognition of the program's accomplishments in estuarine research and public education, the Administration designated the program a national sea grant college in 1982. Affiliated with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in 1985, the College was transferred to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in 1999.

The Maryland Sea Grant College focuses its research and educational efforts on the health and productivity of the Chesapeake Bay, with particular emphasis on environmental studies and management, toxic contaminants, fisheries and aquaculture, and oyster disease research. Located at the University of Maryland, College Park, the College offers grant support to researchers at all academic institutions and research laboratories in Maryland.