We reimagine learning

We reimagine learning and teaching as inclusive, experiential, publicly engaged, creative, integrative, holistic, and empowering.

Fearlessly Forward Initiatives

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Teaching and Learning Grants

In Spring 2022, UMD launched a competitive grant process to support innovative educational projects that focus on expanding active and experiential learning.

Teaching and Learning Grants

It funded 115 projects that will directly impact an estimated 19,171 students in 296 courses across 86 academic programs. Fifty projects will bring students out of the classroom, enabling them to apply their growing knowledge to real-world scenarios, and 46 projects will instill more experiential and project-based learning into general education courses.

Undergraduate Curricular Initiatives in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The university has launched two distinct but related changes in undergraduate education to continue forging an inclusive and diverse community committed to the pursuit of equity.

Undergraduate Curricular Initiatives in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The update to the General Education diversity requirement, which the University Senate approved in Spring 2022, specifies that undergraduate students will participate in classroom discussions of systemic racism, power and oppression, and will gain skills related to civic engagement, effective communication across differences and respectful conflict resolution.
The second initiative, approved by deans in Fall 2020, focuses on incorporating learning outcomes and experiences relevant to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all undergraduate degree programs. In the multi-year process, guided by the Provost’s Commission on Learning Outcome Assessment, faculty members in each department articulate, map and measure DEI learning outcomes relevant to their field or discipline.

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Arts for All

Artistic and creative thinking are vital to addressing grand challenges, prompting the launch of this initiative that leverages the combined power of the arts, technology and social justice.

Arts for All

Arts for All includes two new academic programs:

An undergraduate major in immersive media design, a partnership between the Department of Art and the Department of Computer Science, in which students learn to code, create and collaborate.
A minor in creative placemaking, a partnership between the College of Arts and Humanities and the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, which brings together art, culture and design to support vibrant and sustainable communities.

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Learning Environment Modernization

New changes to classrooms are expanding opportunities for instructors and students for active and engaged learning.

Learning Environment Modernization

New hybrid-flexible classrooms allow in-person and remote students to interact seamlessly.

Additional TERP classrooms support collaborative, student-centered, team-based modes of teaching and learning.

Computer labs were renovated and upgraded to include a new AV system and iMacs.

Classrooms in the School of Public Health Building, Jimenez Hall and the Chemistry Building have been upgraded with new technology and furnishings.

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New Honors College Programs

The Honors College expanded to eight living-learning programs with two Fall 2022 additions.

New Honors College Programs

Interdisciplinary Business Honors challenges students to imagine the future of work and business across fields and in connection with the grand challenges of our time.

In Honors Global Communities, students draw on social data science to critically examine a wide range of global problems, with the opportunity for policy internships in the Washington, D.C., area.

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Global and Federal Fellows

Global Fellows in Washington, D.C. and the Federal Fellows Program are expanding to equip more undergraduate students from all majors with the knowledge, skills, outlook and experience necessary to collaborate across disciplines and lead efforts to solve humanity’s grand challenges.

Global and Federal Fellows

These impactful programs combine a fall academic seminar on global leadership and policy related to a specific theme, backed by additional coursework, professional development activities and a spring semester internship. Placements include international organizations, federal agencies, foreign embassies, nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations in the Washington, D.C., area. The fellows programs are also adding partnerships across campus and the region while enhancing alumni mentorship activities.

Strategic Commitment Goals

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Goal 1

Lead in the development of innovative and inclusive approaches for teaching and learning.

Goal 1

Lead in the development of innovative and inclusive approaches for teaching and learning.

Objectives

Expand accessibility of our educational programs through equitable, flexible, inclusive approaches to instructional design and delivery.
Rethink and reconfigure our learning environments to balance, integrate, and leverage universal design, technology-rich education, and human connection.
Unlock the potential of our campus as a green, connected living-learning environment that is open and accessible to the global community.
Imagine new possibilities for advancing lifelong learning with technology and new forms of engagement for learners of all ages.

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Goal 2

Expand the use of high-impact experiential learning to ensure every student has the opportunity to learn through public service, civic engagement, internships, and project-based experiences.

Goal 2

Expand the use of high-impact experiential learning to ensure every student has the opportunity to learn through public service, civic engagement, internships, and project-based experiences.

Objectives

Provide opportunities throughout the educational journey for internships, research experiences, and other applied learning experiences.
Develop and coordinate volunteer and civic engagement opportunities and encourage undergraduate and graduate students to engage in work in support of the public good.
Grow events and programs that enable students to connect with local community members, organizations, and businesses for civic development, employment, and other forms of learning.

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Goal 3

Create opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration that fosters creative expression, discovery, and critical thinking.

Goal 3

Create opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration that fosters creative expression, discovery, and critical thinking.

Objectives

Build partnerships among the arts, humanities, science, technology, and other disciplines to develop new curricular and experiential offerings that nurture different ways of thinking to spark dialogue, understanding, problem solving, and action.
Support indoor and outdoor spaces on campus to advance learning, inspire discovery, and activate creativity.