Physics at the University of Maryland

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
1

Hi,

I’m a junior transfer student who’s deciding between Maryland and Colorado Boulder. Perhaps I’ve never seen two programs so similar–both have roughly 330 undergrad students, 80 current professors, rank very similar in (US News) grad school ranking and rank essentially the same in quantum (which I’m interested in).

I know about each university’s facilities, seminars, honors programs, etc, etc. My only concern is: Do the professors at Maryland put considerable emphasis on undergraduate education? I was wondering only because Maryland is an incredibly research-oriented university (Boulder is too, but they explicitly mention teaching as one of their priorities and they do extensive research on physics education), so they may put less emphasis on teaching newbies.

So, to current/previous physics students at College Park: in your and your friends’ experiences, were the professors willing to spend time with you? Do they seriously care about teaching—paying attention to how the students think, giving them meticulous feedback, or just simply willing to spread the excitement of physics?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

2

One thing that sets UMD apart from Boulder is Dr. Bill Dorland. The man truly is amazing. He is a brilliant physics professor, and more importantly, an incredible man. I hope you will take the time to look at the two articles below. Hopefully someone that is a physics student can answer your actual question. I just feel like you should be aware of him, if you aren’t already.
Best of luck on your decision!

http://btn.com/2014/12/30/btn-livebig-maryland-professor-offers-deep-perspective-on-life/

http://terp.umd.edu/the-things-he-carries/#.VU1PKIHD_qA

3

@terpmom7 ,

Thank you so, so much for your response. I read both articles. He’s a professor whom I would definitely like to meet up and talk for five minutes. I never expected to read that a physics expert who was on the verge of death would end up contributing to medical research… :slight_smile: