University of Baltimore

Early history A "guard dragon" at the Liberal Arts and Policy building watches the southern entrance. Founded by a group of Baltimore business professionals, UBalt originally sought to provide educational opportunities for working men and women, meaning that the first classes were held not above the ornate dragons of the current liberal arts and policy building, but in a four-story rowhouse on St. Paul St. in 1925. In 1937, after the addition of day programs to augment the initial night courses, a full-scale junior college was added to the university's offerings. [ 8 ] Other changes in the following decades included the construction of the Langsdale Library in 1966, according to an administrative history of the school. [ 9 ] In the 1970s, UBalt merged with Eastern College, Mount Vernon School of Law , and Baltimore College of Commerce . During the presidency of Thomas Granville Pullen , the university became regionally accredited in 1971 with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and built the Langsdale Library. [ 10 ] For a three-decade period that started in 1975 and would eventually end in 2007, UBalt became an "upper division academic institution," offering only third and fourth year undergraduate and post-graduate course work. Also in 1975, ownership was assumed by the state of Maryland . In 1988, the state merged UBalt into the new statewide university system, the University of Maryland System, which was later renamed University System of Maryland . [ 11 ]

The Lower Division Initiative was a program that began in 2005 to extend the University of Baltimore's position to once again offer the first two years of the baccalaureate degree. In April 2005, the University System of Maryland 's board of regents approved plans that would allow UBalt to start accepting freshmen and sophomores. Under the original plan, freshmen and sophomore were to be admitted starting in the fall of 2006. In a unanimous vote on February 15, 2006, the Maryland Higher Education Commission approved a revised mission statement submitted by the University of Baltimore, thus enabling the university to return to four-year undergraduate status. This was the same initiative that had received approval from the board of regents in 2005; however, the plan was revised slightly, calling for freshmen to be admitted in the fall of 2007. The university stated that the new program better reflected the current focus and was designed to prepare students in business, pre-law, technology, public affairs, and applied liberal arts. It also said that it would offer freshmen "free" tuition for their first year, a benefit made possible by an anonymous private donor. An estimate stated that 140 freshmen were expected in the incoming class of fall of 2007. [ 12 ] Near the time of the change, the university also changed the school colors and adopted the new slogan, "Knowledge That Works". [ 7 ] Since beginning to accept freshmen again, UBalt has built a new, 12-story building for the university's law school along with the construction of additional residential capacity on campus. In May 2014, it was announced that Kurt L. Schmoke would become the university's eighth president, succeeding retired president Robert Bogomolny. [ 13 ] As of 2022, the renovation of Langsdale Library, which was renamed to Robert L. Bogomolny Library, was complete.

The renovation was designed by the German architectural firm Behnisch Architekten , which had also been responsible for the design of the 2013 law school structure at Charles St. and Mount Royal Ave. [ 14 ] Starting in 2005, the university's MBA program has been the target of nearby institutions' criticism regarding a supposed diversion of funds, with UB's status as a traditionally white institution bringing calls for a restructuring of state funding. As of early 2022, that criticism was ongoing.

The university offers numerous undergraduate, graduate, and professional as well as several certificate and joint degree programs. It offers 19 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs, spanning the arts and sciences, public affairs, and business. [ 15 ] At the master's level, UBalt offers a Master of Public Administration (MPA), a Master of Business Administration (previously offered jointly with Towson University ), and 13 Master of Science and 3 Master of Art degrees. The MPA program was the first in the state to be fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA); [ 16 ] it was also ranked #72 nationally in U.S. News & World Report's 2023-24 edition of "Best Grad Schools." Additionally, the university offers two Master of Fine Arts degrees. The Practitioner Specialization of the M.S. in Counseling Psychology program is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council, and both the undergraduate and graduate programs in Criminal Justice are certified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. The university's Masters degree in Applied Psychology, Counseling Psychology concentration, is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). The law school offers a Master of Laws degree. [ 15 ] At the doctoral level, UBalt offers a program leading to a research-based Doctor of Science degree in Information and Interaction Design. [ 17 ] UBalt also offers a Doctor of Public Administration . Through its law school , UBalt offers the Juris Doctor . Undergraduate admissions In 2024, the University of Baltimore accepted 85.5% of undergraduate applicants and is considered to have extremely easy admissions standards with applicant competition considered very low. Those enrolled had an average 2.89 high school GPA . The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, but they will be considered when submitted.