Research at UMD
We are dedicated to producing researchers of the highest caliber. Our PhD program is designed so that full-time doctoral students will become engaged in research within their first year.
Whatever your research interests, you will be able to work with leaders in the field toward carving out your personal research identity. Our department is rather large and highly diverse, covering virtually every aspect of computer science, and leading the charge in new areas such as bioinformatics and augmented and virtual reality:
- Algorithms & Theory
- AI & Robotics
- Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
- Computer Vision & Machine Perception
- Cybersecurity & Cryptography
- Databases & Big Data
- Graphics, Visualization, and VR/AR
- High Performance & Scientific Computing
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Information Retrieval and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Machine Learning & Data Science
- Natural Language Processing
- Programming Languages & Software Engineering
- Quantum Computing
- Systems & Networking
The Computer Science Department has close ties to various research units on campus, providing faculty and students opportunities for collaborative research projects and access to specialized research facilities. Among these:
- Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2) brings together faculty, researchers, and students working in the field of cybersecurity from several schools and departments across campus.
- The Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL) is an international leader in research on the development and evaluation of advanced user interfaces technologies.
- The Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (CBCB) is an interdisciplinary center conducting research on computational analysis of DNA and protein sequences.
- The University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) fosters interdisciplinary research in computing throughout the University of Maryland System.
- Computer Vision Laboratory (CVL) is considered one of the three best vision groups in the world.
- The Institute for Systems Research (ISR) is a National Science Foundation Center of Excellence doing research in the areas of automation, communication, database management, and VLSI.
- The Center for Automation Research (CfAR) does research on advanced automation in business and industry.
- The Engineering Research Center (ERC) fosters cooperative research projects between industry and the University.
In addition, our students and faculty regularly collaborate with government and industry technology development organizations in the area, including: Federal Communications Commission (FCC), NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Army Research Labs, the National Security Agency, and many more.