Schools – Maryland
The Old Line State might be small in comparison to many of the other states, but it is large on education. As it divides the north from the south along the Mason-Dixon line, Maryland offers a unique mixture of both urban and rural college settings, all within a very competitive educational framework. The colleges that call this state home range from low to upper tier, and the affordability of most schools is right around the national average. Several colleges and universities in the state are significantly cheaper to attend than the national average. The state is also home to many community colleges, private colleges and public schools that, while significantly spread out, offer a very wide variety of degree programs, several of which are similarly matched in national and regional rankings.
The University System of Maryland is the state’s well-established governing body for the public institutions, of which there are 12. Eleven of these institutions are independent, degree-granting universities, all of which offer degrees ranging from Bachelor’s to terminal Doctoral degrees, with several offering post-Doctoral work and study as well. One of the institutions, The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, offers degrees in cooperation with a few of the colleges in the state’s public university system. Within this public college and university system, prospective students will find the following schools: Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Frostburg University, Salisbury University, Towson University, University of Maryland-Baltimore, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, and the University of Maryland University College.
Alongside the 12 members of the state’s public institutions are 14 private colleges and universities as well. Among these are some of the most renowned colleges in the country, including Loyola University, Johns Hopkins University, and the historic St. John’s College, which was founded in 1696. The majority of Maryland’s post-secondary schools were founded prior to 1950, with most having their founding date in the 1800s. This makes Maryland one of the states with some of the oldest institutions for higher learning in the country. Maryland also has more Historically Black Colleges and Universities than most other states, with a total of 4: Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. Unlike many HBCUs, the majority of Maryland’s HBCUs are members of the state’s public university system. This means that those schools cost much less and have much less rigorous acceptance policies for prospective students.
Maryland is home to several different forms of educational institutions beyond just the public and private colleges and universities. The state houses one of the premier music schools in the country, the Peabody Conservatory. The Peabody Conservatory comes in the top 10 rankings for all U.S. music conservatories, and is directly affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, Maryland also has 16 community colleges (approximately one for each of the state’s counties) and is even home to the United States Naval Academy, the premier officer-training school for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines. For prospective students who desire a more technical focus to their education, there are two accredited schools to consider: TESST College of Technology in Beltsville, MD, and Lincoln College of Technology in Columbia, Maryland.
Maryland’s public and private institutions are highly ranked. While the state is not home to any Ivy-leagues like its northern neighbors, the flagship public school, University of Maryland, College Park, and the private Johns Hopkins University both rank nationally. In U.S. News and World Report’s college rankings, The University of Maryland, College Park comes in at #57 among national universities, and Johns Hopkins University comes in at #10.
Traditional Colleges In Maryland
Allegany College of Maryland
- Site – www.allegany.edu
- Phone – 301-784-5199
- Admissions – ckauffman@allegany.edu
- Financial Aid – financialaid@allegany.edu
Bowie State University
- Site – www.bowiestate.edu
- Phone – 877-77-BOWIE
- Admissions – Admissions-hransom@bowiestate.edu
- Financial Aid – driley@bowiestate.edu
Capitol College
- Site – www.captechu.edu
- Phone – 800-950-1992
- Admissions – admissions@capitol-college.edu
- Financial Aid – finaid@capitol-college.edu
College of Notre Dame of Maryland
- Site – www.ndm.edu
- Phone – 800-435-0200
- Admissions – admiss@ndm.edu
- Financial Aid – admiss@ndm.edu
Frostburg State University
- Site – www.frostburg.edu
- Phone – 301-687-4000
- Admissions – FSUadmissions@mail.frostburg.edu
- Financial Aid – www.frostburg.edu/ungrad/faid/faid.htm
Goucher College
- Site – www.goucher.edu
- Phone – 800-GOUCHER
- Admissions – admission@goucher.edu
- Financial Aid – FinAid@goucher.edu
Hood College
- Site – www.hood.edu
- Phone – 301-663-3131
- Admissions – gillece@nimue.hood.edu
- Financial Aid – finaid@hood.edu
Johns Hopkins University
- Site – apply.jhu.edu
- Phone – 410-516-8171
- Admissions – gotojhu@jhu.edu
- Financial Aid – fin_aid@jhu.edu
Maryland Institute College of Art
- Site – www.mica.edu
- Phone – 410-225-2222
- Admissions – admissions@mica.edu
- Financial Aid – admissions@mica.edu
McDaniel College
- Site – www.mcdaniel.edu
- Phone – 800-638-5005
- Admissions – admissions@mcdaniel.edu
- Financial Aid – egeiman@mcdaniel.edu
Mt. St. Mary’s College
- Site – www.msmary.edu
- Phone – 800-448-4347
- Admissions – admissions@msmary.edu
- Financial Aid – finaid@msmary.edu
St. John’s College
- Site – www.sjca.edu
- Phone – 800-727-9238
- Admissions – admissions@sjca.edu
- Financial Aid – gina.lee@sjca.edu
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
- Site – www.smcm.edu
- Phone – 800-492-7181 or 240-895-5000
- Admissions – admissions@smcm.edu
- Financial Aid – finaid@smcm.edu
Towson University
- Site – www.towson.edu
- Phone – 888-4TOWSON
- Admissions – admissions@towson.edu
- Financial Aid – finaid@towson.edu
University of Baltimore
- Site – www.ubalt.edu
- Phone – 877-ApplyUB
- Admissions – Admissions@ubmail.ubalt.edu
- Financial Aid – financial-aid@ubalt.edu
University of Maryland
- Site – www.umd.edu
- Phone – 800-422-5867
- Admissions – Aboyle@asnaam.aamu.edu
- Financial Aid – um-admit@uga.umd.edu
University of Maryland Baltimore County
- Site – www.umbc.edu
- Phone – 800-UMBC-4U2
- Admissions – admissions@umbc.edu
- Financial Aid – finaid@umbc.edu
Washington College
- Site – www.washcoll.edu
- Phone – 800-422-1782
- Admissions – adm.off@washcoll.edu
- Financial Aid – ntoy2@washcoll.edu
Community Colleges – Maryland
Allegany College of Maryland
Anne Arundel Community College
- Site – www.allegany.edu
- Address – 101 College Pkwy, Arnold, MD 21012
- Phone – (410) 777-2222
Baltimore City Community College
- Site – www.bccc.edu/baltimoreccc
- Address – 2901 Liberty Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215
- Phone – (410) 462-8300
Carroll Community College
- Site – www.carrollcc.edu
- Address – 1601 Washington Rd, Westminster, MD 21157
- Phone – (410) 840-8443
Cecil College
- Site – www.cecil.edu
- Address – 1 Seahawk Dr, North East, MD 21901
- Site – (410) 287-1000
Chesapeake College
- Site – www.chesapeake.edu
- Address – Todd Performing Arts Center, 1000 College Cir, Wye Mills, MD 21679
- Phone – (410) 822-5400
College of Southern Maryland
- Site – www.csmd.edu
- Address – 8730 Mitchell Rd, La Plata, MD 20646
- Phone – (301) 934-2251
Community College of Baltimore County
- Site – www.ccbcmd.edu
- Address – 800 S Rolling Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228
- Phone – (410) 402-0400
Frederick Community College
- Site – www.frederick.edu
- Address – 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702
- Phone – (301) 846-2400
Garrett College
- Site – www.garrettcollege.edu
- Address – 687 Mosser Rd, McHenry, MD 21541
- Phone – (301) 387-3000
Hagerstown Community College
- Site – www.hagerstowncc.edu
- Address – 11400 Robinwood Dr, Hagerstown, MD 21742
- Phone – (240) 500-2000
Harford Community College
- Site – www.harford.edu
- Address – 401 Thomas Run Rd, Bel Air, MD 21015
- Phone – (410) 836-4000
Howard Community College
- Site – www.howardcc.edu
- Address – 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044
- Phone – (443) 518-1000
Montgomery College
- Site – cms.montgomerycollege.edu
- Address – 900 Hungerford Dr #110, Rockville, MD 20850
- Phone – (301) 279-5000
Prince George’s Community College
- Site – www.pgcc.edu
- Address – 301 Largo Rd, Largo, MD 20774
- Phone – (301) 336-6000
Wor-Wic Community College
- Site – www.worwic.edu
- Address – 32000 Campus Dr, Salisbury, MD 21804
- Phone – (410) 334-2800
Career, Trade, & Vocational Colleges – Maryland
Aberdeen
University of Phoenix
Lincoln Technical Institute
Strayer University
University of Phoenix
Columbia
Hagerstown
Kaplan College
Glen Burnie
Fila Academy
TESST College of Technology
Beltsville
DeVry University
Keller Graduate School of Management
Bethesda
Anne Arundel
Strayer University
Baltimore
All-State Career-Medical
American Beauty Academy
Medix School
North American Trade Schools/Trucking
Strayer University
TESST College of Technology
Essington
All State Health
Millersville
Strayer University
Frederick
Kaplan College
University of Phoenix
Greenbelt
Strayer University
Montgomery
Strayer University
Owings Mills
Rockville
Strayer University
University of Phoenix
Silver Spring
Everest Institute
Strayer University
Suitland
Strayer University
Tacoma Park
Timonium
University of Phoenix
Medix School
TESST College of Technology
Towson
Wheaton
American Beauty Academy
American Career Institute
White Mash
Strayer University
Online Degrees and Programs In Maryland
Maryland is one of the few states that has a mostly-online college that is also a member institution of the state’s public university system. The University of Maryland, University College, while not the only online college in the state, is certainly the largest. It is also the primary provider of education to the U.S. military abroad, with several on-location colleges on military bases around the world. Students interested in online colleges in the state should start with UMUC first, before looking into other schools. UMUC offers an extremely wide range of degrees, ranging from Bachelor’s to Doctoral degrees. Students who choose to attend this school and live within the state will pay in-state tuition fees. Students who live outside of the state will pay out-of-state fees at competitive rates.
Maryland is also home to several other colleges and universities that offer online degree programs. And while the University of Maryland, University College is the state’s official “online” school, most of the other member institutions do offer some form of online classes that students can take. The top four schools in the state that offer online degrees are: Capital Technology University, University of Maryland-University College, Frostburg State University and the University of Baltimore. Three of these are University System of Maryland member institutions, and offer degrees at the fraction of the many other institutions.
In total, Maryland has 22 colleges and universities that offer online degree programs of various sorts. Most of these are public or not-for-profit private institutions. There are several for-profit private institutions: Strayer University, Kaplan University, Fortis Institute, ITT Technical Institute, University of Phoenix, Everest Institute and DeVry University. Due to the negative press recently received by for-profit institutions, prospective students should begin their search for online degrees with the public institutions. However, success can be found among the for-profit institutions, although these tend to come with much higher tuition and per-credit costs.
Prospective students should also note that while The University of Maryland, University College is a member of the University System of Maryland, and the premier online college in the state, it also has an extremely high acceptance rate: 100%. While this does not indicate that the college has lower standards or rigor, it does mean that the school accepts everyone who applies, making it much more susceptible to having low graduation rates. This is evidenced by the U.S. Department of Education’s college and university data, which shows a 4% graduation rate for the school. This should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as many students attend the school for individual coursework and not full degrees, and they may be getting counted as not having graduated. That said, the school’s tuition is well below the national average, and the average salary for students who have attended the school is above the national average, at just over $50,000.