About Maryland Smith

Inspired Business Education

In the global economy, business success requires knowledge and skills that are nothing short of inspired.

At the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, inspired business education is our business. Our faculty is world class. Our research is cutting edge. Our learning is experiential and rooted in the real world. And our students learn to think like entrepreneurs.

One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland in College Park, the Smith School is plugged into the business, government, nonprofit and professional networks of the Washington, D.C., metroplex.

Our community of scholars and practitioners is deeply supportive of learning while equipping students to succeed in an often contentious marketplace.

Our broad range of programs, certificates and degrees are designed to prepare working professionals to hit the ground running in a world economy that is in flux, with technology and global competition accelerating the pace of change.

To do that, we offer undergraduate, online and on-campus business master's, full-time, part-time, online and executive MBA, and PhD degree programs, and non-degree and executive education programs.

The world economy is in flux. Technology and global competition are accelerating the pace of change.  Entrepreneurs are working relentlessly to find the next big ideas and take them to market and to scale.  The future is uncertain but filled with boundless opportunity.

Smith Leadership

Dean Prabhudev Konana

Prabhudev Konana became Dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business on January 2, 2021. In this role, he leads Maryland Smith in its mission to promote research excellence, sustainable innovative programs, and an inclusive learning environment that fosters intellectual discovery, and equip current and future leaders to assess complex problems and deliver innovative solutions. Dean Konana previously served as Associate Dean of Instructional Innovation at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. The school recognized him for championing innovative specialty programs, technology-enabled instruction, and experiential learning, and for promoting strategic partnerships with businesses to support transformative research and learning experiences for students. 

Administrative Offices

Smith is a large and complex organization, with more than 5,000 students across five campuses – in College Park, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Md., Rockville, Md., and Beijing, China. To serve the needs of all of those students, Smith has 200 faculty and 155 staff members.

Location

If you want to connect to the forces that are transforming the way the world does business, the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland is your gateway.

Located in College Park, Md., eight miles from The White House, The Smith School is plugged into a metroplex that is wired to the circuitry of government, corporate and international power.

The region is rich in unparalleled professional opportunity, smart people and jobs, and diverse cultural and recreational resources.

One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, The Smith School is a short drive or metro ride to the nerve center of leaders and policymakers who shape the national economy and drive the global marketplace.

Learn More: Location

Global Community

Our more than 69,000 alums across the globe weave together a bright and accomplished tapestry that spans all facets and levels of business. Our faculty is complemented by many international professors, whose global lens bring a different and refreshing perspective to the classroom and their renowned research. This sprawling community of Smith School graduates and faculty means that, no matter where you find yourself, you’ll have a connection.

Learn More: Global Community

Meet Bob Smith

Robert H. SmithRobert H. Smith walked through the corridors of Van Munching Hall more often than most students realized. Trim and silver-haired, the man who named the Smith School was unassuming, genial and genuinely interested in everyone he met. His enormous natural talents took him to the top of his profession. His passionate beliefs in the goodness of our country, the potential of every person and the importance of investing in excellence made him one of the most influential philanthropists the Washington, D.C., region has ever known.

Learn More: Robert H. Smith

Silver Jubilee

2023 will mark the 25th anniversary of the official naming of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. During this landmark year, the school will celebrate the life and legacy of Robert H. Smith and reflect on the impact of his philanthropic investment in the school.

Learn More: Silver Jubilee

Mission and Values

Mission

The Smith School's mission is to create knowledge, promote an inclusive learning environment that fosters intellectual discovery, and equip current and future leaders to assess complex problems and deliver innovative solutions. 

Values

  • We act with integrity and practice intellectual honesty
  • We treat each other with respect, embracing diversity of viewpoints and values
  • We see beyond our own interests and seek to have a lasting impact on those around us
  • We advocate for equity for all members of our community
  • We’re passionate about the pursuit of new insights in research
  • We’re fearless about incorporating new methods and ideas into our classrooms
  • We champion intelligent risk-taking and learn from our failures
  • We fearlessly communicate around issues of inclusion to create a welcoming environment for all
  • We make decisions based on rigorous examination of the evidence
  • We practice what we teach in all areas of management
  • We collaborate to create long-term value for our students, our university, our communities and our state
  • We value diverse teams as critical assets that drive business excellence

Civility Statement

We as OneSmith promote academic freedom, DEI and civility. True to our common values, we expect our community to deliver -- and receive - communication in a courteous and open-minded manner. Mutual respect, politeness and civil behavior are vital to our shared success, and we will hold ourselves accountable to this standard.

Maryland Smith

  • A premier, global business school.
  • The flagship home of business education in Maryland.
  • A recognized leader in education and research.
  • With a rich mix of innovative programs.
  • Serving students, employers, alumni, business, government, nonprofits.

Where We Are

  • Campuses: In Maryland, in College Park, Baltimore and Rockville; in Washington, D.C., and in Beijing, China.
  • 10 minutes from Washington, D.C., the seat of the U.S. government and home to international consulting firms, global advocacy and nonprofit firms, financial institutions, hospitality headquarters and technology businesses. There’s no better place to be.

What Distinguishes Us

  • Our analytics-focused curriculum;
  • Our world-renowned faculty; and
  • Our thriving and diverse community.

Our People

Faculty: 246 faculty members

Staff: 196 staffers

Students: 47% out-of-state, 53% in-state; from 38 states, 86 countries

  • 2,898 undergraduate students
  • 139 full-time MBA students
  • 492 part-time MBA students
  • 345 online MBA students
  • 764 specialty master's students
  • 80 PhD candidates
  • 39 executive MBA students

Alumni: 65,800+ worldwide, 35,000+ in metro D.C.

  • Robert H. Smith ’50, prolific real estate developer and the visionary behind the interconnected underground Crystal City complex in Arlington, Va. The namesake of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
  • Leo Van Munching ’50, former CEO of Heineken, North America
  • Allen J. Krowe ’54, former CFO, EVP of IBM; former CFO, Vice-Chairman of Texaco
  • Ed Snider ’55, former chairman of Comcast-Spectacor and owner of the Philadelphia Flyers
  • William Mayer ’66, MBA ’67, founder of Park Avenue Equity Partners and former CEO of First Boston Corporation, now Credit Suisse
  • Gary Williams ’68, Former Head Coach of University of Maryland Men’s Basketball
  • Robert "Bob" Basham ’70, co-founder of Outback Steakhouse
  • Michael J. Ward ’72, former chairman, president and CEO of CSX Corporation
  • Eric Billings ’77Chairman/Founder of FBR Capital Markets, Chairman and CEO of Arlington Asset Investment Corp
  • Carly Fiorina, MBA ’80, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
  • Rob McGovern ’83, founder of CareerBuilder.com
  • Brenda Freeman, ’87, MBA ’91, CEO of Arteza
  • Andrea Brody ’87, CMO at Riskonnect
  • Richard Dickson ’90, president/COO of Mattel
  • Beatriz Perez ’91, SVP, chief communications, public affairs, sustainability and marketing assets officer at Coca-Cola
  • Marguerita M. Cheng ’93, founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth
  • Lisa Anders, MBA ’95, vice president of business development at MCN Build
  • Kristen Welch ’90, MBA ’96, Chief Financial Officer at Illustrative Mathematics
  • Kevin Plank ’96, founder and executive chairman of Under Armour
  • Roy Schwartz ’98, MBA ’01, Axios co-founder
  • Jigar Shah, MBA ’01, President and Co-Founder of Generate Capital, founder and former CEO of SunEdison
  • David Quattrone, MBA ’05, co-founder and CTO of Cvent Inc.
  • Sherika Ekpo, MBA ’09, global diversity and inclusion lead at Google AI
  • Donna Blackman, MBA ’10, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer for K12

MBA

Deloitte

Citi

IBM

Northrop Grumman

Amazon.com

PepsiCo

Specialty Master’s

PwC

EY

KPMG

Deloitte

Capital One

Amazon Web Services

Undergraduate

Accenture

Capital One

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

Northrop Grumman

PwC

MBA

Technology

Consulting

Financial Services

Consumer Packaged Goods

Specialty Master’s

Technology

Financial Services

Consulting

Undergraduate

Professional Services

Financial Services

Technology

Consulting

  • 1921: Business curriculum launched by Department of Economics and Business Administration, University of Maryland.
  • 1938: Department becomes College of Commerce.
  • 1942: College renamed College of Business and Public Administration.
  • 1966: Doctoral program established.
  • 1973: College’s business administration department becomes College of Business and Management.
  • 1995: College becomes Maryland Business School.
  • 1998: Robert H. Smith, ’50, pledges $15 million; school renamed Robert H. Smith School of Business.
  • 1999: Leo Van Munching Jr. ’50 donates $6 million to help finance the expansion and renovation of Van Munching Hall, which will give Smith the most advanced information technology infrastructure and learning environment in the nation.
  • 1999: The Smith School launches a Baltimore-based, part-time evening MBA program.
  • 2000: The Smith School launches a part-time, evening MBA program in Washington, D.C.
  • 2003: The 18-month executive MBA (EMBA) program is launched.
  • 2005: Smith launches the Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS).
  • 2005: Smith launches its Undergraduate Fellows Program.
  • 2006: In response to a critical shortage of auditors after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Smith launches its Master of Business in Accounting program. It will become the first of several new MS programs.
  • 2006: A $1.4 million grant from the Department of Education allows the Smith School to launch the Center for International Business Education and Research. It would later be called the Center for Global Business.
  • 2009: The Smith School launches the Center for Social Value Creation.
  • 2009: The Center for Financial Policy is launched.
  • 2010: The Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change is launched.
  • 2013: The school’s first online degree program, the online MBA, is launched.
  • 2014: The Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets launches with a $5 million gift from the Snider Foundation and $1 million from the Charles Koch Foundation.
  • 2015: The Smith School receives a $10 million gift from the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation to support MBA scholarships, undergraduate leadership programs and facility enhancements.
  • 2021: Prabhudev Konana appointed as dean of the Smith School. New programs launched: Online MS in Business Analytics, Graduate Certificate in Technology Management, Business Honors program and Smith Business Leadership Fellows.
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