Admissions

Why choose the College of Chemical and Life Sciences?

The University of Maryland graduates more life scientists than any other academic institution (public or private) in the State.

• We offer four exciting majors  in the chemical and life sciences
• Close to 50% of CLFS undergraduates are non-white, including many students from groups historically under-represented in the sciences.
• In May 2007, 58% of CLFS undergraduate degrees were awarded to women.
• Each year, about 90% of Maryland students admitted to medical school graduate with CLFS degrees.
• About 25% of our students participate in an international course, study abroad semester, or international research or service learning experience during their undergraduate study.

Our top-notch faculty and new science facilities are second-to-none.

• Faculty members teach our undergraduate lecture courses. Check out our faculty members.
• Want to learn about hot topics? Our courses include:
  • Biology of Cancer
  • Diseases of the Nervous System
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Microbial Pathogenesis
  • Physical Biochemistry
  • Bioinformatics
  • Mathematical Biology
  • Our course catalog lists all classes offered in Biological Sciences (BSCI), Chemistry (CHEM), and Biochemistry (BCHM).
• Our $69M Bioscience Research Building holds 33 faculty labs and opened for classes in Fall 2007.
• Our $23M Organic Chemistry wing is home to state-of-the-art teaching labs.

Our students gain "hands on" experience through research and internships.

• Over 70% of graduating seniors engage in at least one internship or research experience during their time at Maryland, including research on campus and work at area hospitals, dentist, veterinarian, or doctor’s offices, NIH, USDA, FDA, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Aquarium, and Children’s National Medical Center.
• We’ve been awarded $6.7M in Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grants to support undergraduate research fellowships and curriculum enhancements.
• Our current research areas of emphasis are comparative and functional genomics, ecological sustainability, host-pathogen interactions, nanoscience and biomaterials, computational biology and bioinformatics, and sensory neuroscience.
• Faculty members collaborate with institutions and government agencies across the Baltimore-Washington region. The University of Maryland is located in the 3rd largest biotechnology region in the country.  Our students pursue internships in labs at the NIH, Smithsonian Institution, the Food and Drug Administration and more.