What is QUEST?

History

In 1992, IBM launched an exciting opportunity for college campuses nation wide, offering grant funding to execute a multidisciplinary program for undergraduate students. The University of Maryland designed a proposal and was granted the funds to run a program. The IBM/TQ launched in 1993 and was available to students at the business and engineering schools. The grant enabled five years worth of program events and projects for the students in the program.

Nearing the end of the five years, the program administration proposed to keep the program at Maryland as it was an undergraduate experience to be found only at College Park. The University agreed to support the program and QUEST was born. Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) became a University of Maryland special honors program.

Over the years the program has grown to include a larger student body and students from the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Each year, QUEST admits 75 students from all three disciplines, to participate in the three year program.

QUEST has become a mainstay at the University of Maryland campus, providing a unique opportunity for students who are interested in multidisciplinary, reality-based learning experiences.