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. UMCES is currently undergoing its periodic reevaluation to have its accreditation reaffirmed, starting with the Self-Study Design to be submitted in 2026.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amy Griffin (Accreditation Administrator).