The Partners

The UMBC-BCPS STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Project is a partnership between the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS). The project focuses on closing the achievement gap in STEM areas for students in high poverty schools. Located in the suburban region around Baltimore, BCPS has an enrollment of 107,386 (2005-2006) school year. UMBC is located near Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Washington, D.C. It offers 37 majors and 32 minors or certificate programs, enrolling 11,650 full-time and part-time students (Fall 2004 enrollment). The County population is rapidly shifting in ethno-racial characteristics such that the most recent census indicates that White residents in the county have decreased from 84.9% in 1990 to 74.4% in 2000. Within BCPS, 33.7% of the students are African American, 59.7% are White, 4.0% are Asian American, and 2.0% are Hispanic.

The Principal Investigator of the UMBC-BCPS STEM Project is Anne Spence, Assistant Professor Mechanical Engineering at UMBC.