University of Maryland

public research universit located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Founded in

1856, the University of Maryland is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland. With a fall 2010 enrollment of more than 37,000 students, over 100 undergraduate majors, and 120 

graduate programs, Maryland is the largest university in the state and the largest in the Washington Metropolitan Area.It is a member of the Association of American Universities and competes athletically as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

The University of Maryland's proximity to the nation's capital has resulted in strong research partnerships with the Federal government. Many members of t faculty receive research funding and   institutional support from agencies 

such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,  the In f and Technology, and the Department of Security

.

The operating budget of the University of Maryland during the 2009 fiscal year was projected to be approximately US$he same fiscal year, the University of Maryland 

received a total of $518 million in research funding, surpassing its 2008 mark by $118  of May 12012, the university's "Great Expectations" campaign had exceeded $950 million in private donations.

During the Civil War, financial problems forced the administrators to sell off 200 acres and the continuing decline in enrollment sent the Maryland Agricultural College into bankruptcy. For the next two years the campus was used as a boys preparatory school.the Civil War, in February 1866 the

Maryland legislature assumed half ownership of the school. The college thus became in part a state institution. By October 1867, the school reopened with 11 students. In the next six years, enrollment grew and the school's debt was paid off.

Twenty years later, the school's reputation as a research institution began, as the federally funded Agricultural Experiment Station was established there.

 During the same period, a number of state laws granted the college regulatory powers in several  farm disease, inspecting feed,

 establishing a state weather bureau and geological survey, and housing the board of forestryHall (the oldest instructional building still in use on cam was built the following yea