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Accreditation

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (opens in a new tab) (MSCHE), 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The university’s accreditation status is reviewed every eight years, and UMCES first became accredited in 2016. The Statement of Accreditation Status (opens in a new tab) provides information about the university and MSCHE and is publicly available on the MSCHE website.

About the 2016 UMCES Accreditation

UMCES initiated an accreditation process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and submitted its Accreditation Readiness Report (opens in a new tab) (ARR) in August 2013. Acceptance of the ARR by MSCHE advanced UMCES to Candidacy for Accreditation, which allowed UMCES to award graduate degrees. The first MS and PhD degrees were jointly awarded with UMCP in May 2014. UMCES submitted its Self-Study Design (opens in a new tab) to MSCHE in October 2014. Its approval was followed by an initiation of a Self-Study (opens in a new tab) that was completed in August 2015. Final evaluation by MSCHE was completed in November 2015. UMCES became accredited (opens in a new tab) in March 2016. In April 2018, UMCES submitted a follow-up report to the MSCHE.

2022 Reaffirmation of Accreditation

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science accreditation was last reaffirmed by MSCHE in 2022. The 2021 UMCES Self-Study was submitted in fall 2021 with a subsequent MSCHE team visit.

2029 Reaffirmation of Accreditation

UMCES is currently undergoing its periodic reevaluation to have its accreditation reaffirmed. Drs. Carys Mitchelmore and Andrew Elmore were appointed by President Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm to co-chair the Steering Committee for this process.

Proposed Timeline:

  • April 2026: MSCHE Self-Study Institute SSI
  • June 2026: Meeting with MSCHE staff liaisons
  • August: Formation of Steering Committee (SC), Working Group Chairs and Working Group members
  • Sept 14, 2026: Self-Study Design draft due to MSCHE Liaison
  • Nov 9, 2026: MSCHE Liaison Visits UMCES
  • Jan 29, 2027: UMCES submits revised Self-Study Design
  • Feb 26, 2027: Approval letters sent to UMCES from MSCHE (assuming revised self-study design accepted)
  • Feb 2027-Dec 2028/Jan 2029: main working period for the seven WGs
  • Mar 1, 2028: MSCHE sends UMCES team chair nominations
  • Apr 1, 2028: MSCHE confirms team chair appointments
  • July 31, 2028: MSCHE identifies vice-chairs, confirms no COI with UMCES
  • July 31, 2028: MSCHE sends institutions evaluation team rosters
  • Nov 17, 2028: UMCES hosts Team Chair preliminary visits
  • 10 weeks prior to Evaluation Team Visit: UMCES upload FINAL Self-Study Report and all evidence
  • Apr 14, 2029: ALL Spring 2029 Evaluation Team Visits completed by this date
  • Apr-May: Team chair draft reports/reports, Institutional responses
  • June 2029: MSCHE meets to determine action.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amy Griffin (Accreditation Administrator).