The Graduate School Celebrates Its Centennial, From Ag to VR
by Colleen Crowley M.Jour. ’19 | Butter photo by Shutterstock; Butterfly in resin photo courtesy of EverythingInsects.com; Slide carousel by Shutterstock; Boy photo by Getty Images; All other collage images courtesy of University Archives
It’s March 14, 1919, and the Maryland State Board of Agriculture and the Board of Regents are looking at a barnburner of a meeting. On the agenda: quarterly statements, federal land purchases and the import and inspection of horses, mules and asses (the four-legged kind).
While we no longer see donkeys roaming the campus, the combined board took another action that’s still kicking and shaping the education of tens of thousands of Terps: approving the organization and creation of what is now UMD’s Graduate School.
A century later, more than 10,000 students are pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees with the support of the Graduate School, which supports a community of graduate students on campus and raises the prominence of graduate education at Maryland.
From the humorous to the humbling, read on to discover the history of the Graduate School.
