Introduction
The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), in Adelphi, Maryland is the largest public university in the state. The university was founded in 1947 as the College of Special and Continuation Studies.
Known particularly for providing education to service members and their families, UMUC is one of the largest and best-known universities for distance education in the world. UMUC offers classes on more than 130 military installations worldwide, including classroom courses for deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. In recognition with their work with service members, UMUC won the Institution Award from the Council of College and Military Educators in 2011. Today, more than 90,000 students worldwide are enrolled at UMUC at any given time.
Campuses
Although UMUC has historically been based in College Park and has a mailing address in Adelphi, the main campus is actually located in Largo, Maryland. There are numerous satellite campuses, including 21 in the urban corridor of Baltimore/Maryland. There are also satellite campuses in Florida, California, Georgia, Hawaii, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.
Campuses throughout Asia include 8 in central Japan, 9 in Okinawa, 2 in Singapore, 2 in Thailand, 15 in South Korea, 2 in Guam, and one in Australia. Campuses throughout Europe include 3 in Belgium, 24 in Germany, one in Greece, 7 in Italy, 2 in The Netherlands, 2 in Portugal, one in Spain, 2 in Turkey, and 5 in the United Kingdom. Campuses in the Middle East include 7 in Afghanistan, one in Bahrain, one in Dijibouti, 2 in Egypt, 3 in Iraq, one in Kosovo, 5 in Kuwait, and 2 in Qatar.
UMUC moved their address to Adelphi in large part to avoid confusion between themselves and University of Maryland College Park, which is a separate and distinct public university in Maryland. That said, in many ways the two universities have a symbiotic relationship with complementary strengths and complementary groups of prospective students.
