The College Park campus became part of the University of Maryland System when it was created in 1988 (Chapter 246, Acts of 1988). In 1997, when the System was renamed the University System of Maryland, the University was styled University of Maryland, College Park (Chapter 114, Acts of 1997).
At the University of Maryland, College Park, instruction in almost every discipline is offered. The College Park campus holds the Colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Arts and Humanities; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Education; Health and Human Performance; Journalism; Library and Information Services; and Life Sciences. It also includes the Schools of Architecture; Business; Engineering; and Public Affairs.
Under the College of Agriculture, the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service are centered at College Park. Among many other research and public service units on campus are the Center on Aging, Institute for Applied Agriculture, Survey Research Center, Engineering Research Center, Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, Transportation Technology Center, Urban Studies and Planning Program, and Water Resources Research Center.
The Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station was established in 1888 following passage of the federal Hatch Act in 1887. The Act made grants-in-aid available to the states for agricultural research. Now, both State and federal funds support this work, as well as research in food science, nutrition, aquaculture, rural sociology, and natural resources.
Within the University of Maryland System, the Agricultural Experiment Station was placed under the Maryland Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1990. When the Institute was abolished in 1993, the Station was transferred to the College of Agriculture of the University of Maryland College Park, reuniting the College with its traditional constituent parts, the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
At College Park, the Agricultural Experiment Station has laboratories for research in the animal and plant sciences, agricultural engineering, agricultural and resource economics, rural sociology, human ecology, and social sciences. Station scientists and and graduate students conduct research at three University of Maryland College Park colleges, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and other institutions within the University of Maryland System. The Station also conducts field research at eleven off-campus sites. They are organized into four regional research and education centers:
These research programs work to sustain competitive and profitable agriculture in Maryland; develop technology for new and changing agriculture, aquaculture, and related industries; and develop scientific criteria and knowledge for addressing environmental and natural resource issues.
The Cooperative extension Service of the University of Maryland was established by federal and State laws in 1914 and is supported by federal, State and county funds (Chapter 247, Acts of 1914). In 1990, the Service was placed under the Maryland Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources and, in 1993, under the College of Agriculture. Since 1995, the Service has been overseen by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland College Park.
The Service informs and educates Marylanders about agricultural matters and alerts scientists to the needs and problems of people for further research. As the statewide, out-of-the-classroom component of the University of Maryland System, the Service is based in every county and Baltimore City. Locally, Extension Service agents work to improve agricultural profitability, promote economic stability, foster marine and aquaculture industries, and expand urban benefits of agricultural technology. Faculty are supported by State program specialists at the University of Maryland College Park, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies, and four off-campus centers.
INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENTAL SERVICE
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
1201 Symons Hall
University of Maryland College Park
College Park, MD 20742
Western Maryland (Keedysville)
Central Maryland (Clarksville, Ellicott City, Cherry Hill, Beltsville, Upper Marlboro)
Upper Eastern Shore (Wye Mills, Chase)
Lower Eastern Shore (Salisbury, Princess Anne, Poplar Hill)COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE
1200 Symons Hall
University of Maryland College Park
College Park, MD 20742
Within the Cooperative Extension Service, the Institute for Governmental Service provides technical assistance, consulting, and applied research to governments and nonprofit organizations in Maryland. The Institute was established jointly in 1959 by the University of Maryland and the Maryland Municipal League. Then called the Maryland Technical Advisory Service, it focused on municipal government services. By 1965, it came to include county and State government services. The Service was renamed the Institute for Governmental Service in 1981 to reflect this increased scope of its work.
University System of Maryland
Maryland Independent Agencies
Maryland Manual On-Line