Student Life
The Terp Experience
Life at UMD extends beyond classrooms, labs and studios. It's also about dining halls, clubs and sports, fraternities and sororities, and campus events and performances.
UMD has one of the nation’s most successful athletics programs: Terps have racked up 47 national championships overall and 49 conference titles over the past decade in the Big Ten. Fear the Turtle!
UMD is home to a vibrant arts community where students, faculty, alums and visiting artists transform ideas into exciting and thought-provoking experiences and invite audiences to take part in the creative process.
Terps play, explore, train and compete and support one another. University Recreation & Wellness, aka RecWell, offers lots of options for having fun and being active at sites across campus.
800+
student clubs, fraternities/sororities and sports
52
fraternities and sororities
99
intramural and club sports
Housing & Dining
More than 90% of first-year students live in one of our 39 residence halls, while College Park counts a huge variety of appealing off-campus options for Terps at any stage of their academic journey.
Students also appreciate the convenience and tastinessof the healthy food at UMD. Our award-winning dining program is recognized for its nutrition, sustainability focus and facility design.
Adele H. Stamp Student Union
The heart of student activity on campus, the Stamp houses the University Book Center, food court, Hoff Theater, TerpZone entertainment hub and much more.
Wherever students live or need to go, the Department of Transportation Services provides safe, affordable, sustainable and innovative options.
Our broad range of high-quality, cost-effective health care and wellness programs support physical and mental health and academic success.
Landmarks
The "M"
The giant floral “M” on Campus Drive brightly welcomes visitors and is a popular backdrop for Terp graduation photos. More than 850 flowers are planted there twice a year.
McKeldin Mall
The 16.28-acre area from the Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Main Administration Building to McKeldin Library is one of the largest academic malls in the country and a hangout for students on sunny days.
Frederick Douglass Square at Hornbake Plaza
A memorial featuring a striking 8-foot-tall bronze statue honors the Maryland native and famed abolitionist, orator and advocate for women’s rights.
Testudo statue in front of McKeldin Library
Rubbing the nose on this bronze statue for good luck is one of UMD’s best-known traditions. Six other bronze statues like it are perched across campus.
SECU Stadium
Nearly 52,000 fans can come together at the home of Maryland’s football and men’s lacrosse teams. It features a high-tech turf field, and the new video board is one of the nation’s biggest.
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
The Clarice features UMD’s School of Music and School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, and its own artistic platform, Clarice Presents. Together, they host hundreds of performances annually by student, faculty and independent artists.
Eppley Recreation Center
This lively facility houses indoor and outdoor swimming pools, fitness machines, squash courts, a running track, and an outdoor climbing wall and ropes course.
Campus Farm
Harkening back to UMD’s founding in 1856, this small working farm with sheep, cattle, horses and poultry provides hands-on training to students in the animal sciences.