Department Overview

Welcome to the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County!

We are located on the 500 acre main UMBC campus in the Baltimore suburbs just outside the Baltimore Beltway.

The department offers physics degrees at the BA, BS, MS and PhD levels, supported by over 20 tenure-track faculty. The department also maintains a robust and growing research portfolio, with concentrations in the following fields:

• Astrophysics
  (active galactic nuclei, relativistic jets, large scale structure of the universe)
• Atmospheric Physics
  (radiative transfer, Lidar, satellite remote sensing, dynamics)
• Condensed Matter Physics
  (THz science, molecular electronics, nanomaterials, organic-inorganic interfaces)
• Physics Education
  (secondary education, peer learning/guided inquiry)
• Quantum Optics and Information Science
  (quantum computing and imaging)

As one of the most rapidly growing physics departments in the country, UMBC’s Department of Physics has experienced great changes in the last 15 years:

• Number of tenure-track faculty has doubled
• Research faculty has grown significantly
• PhD and MS programs established in Physics and Atmospheric Physics
• Graduate population has exceeded 50 full-time students

Researchers in the department are funded by NASA, NSF, Department of Defense, Department of Energy and private industry. Due to the close proximity to many government labs, our students have opportunities, via internships and fellowships, to work closely with researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST), the Army and Naval Research Laboratories and the NSA’s Laboratory for Physical Sciences.

Mission
The mission of the UMBC Department of Physics is to perform world-class research; to provide undergraduate students with a strong foundational education in physics; to prepare graduate students to become leading independent scientists; and to serve the larger community through teaching non-major students, performing community outreach, and serving in professional leadership roles outside the university. The department shares the UMBC dedication to cultural and ethnic diversity, inclusive excellence, global engagement, social responsibility, and lifelong learning.

Vision
The vision of the UMBC Department of Physics is to establish a reputation for world-class, internationally visible, and globally engaged research in atmospheric physics, astrophysics, condensed-matter physics, and quantum physics; to provide an unsurpassed education to a growing and changing population of undergraduate and graduate students; and to provide a supportive community where people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to pursue truth and excellence.