Here are the most affordable colleges and universities in Maryland. Our list will help you find the right kind of school for you, at a price you can afford.
The Old Line State has 46 colleges and universities, 30 of which are public and 16 of which are private. The United States Naval Academy offers programs in physical sciences, aeronautical engineering, and naval architecture. The largest private institution, Johns Hopkins University, has just over 24,000 students and a tuition rate of $54,000. Located in Baltimore, this research university is known for its science and medical discoveries.
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The University of Maryland in College Park boasts over 35,000 students with a price tag of $11,000. The school has 15 campuses, and students can choose from areas of study like criminal justice, communications, physics, and sociology. The most affordable school in the state, Baltimore City Community College comes in at $3,000 and has 37 associate degree programs to choose from. Maryland also provides loan forgiveness programs for its residents, including those for dentists and public servants. Students can also check out the Maryland SmartBuy Home Buyer Assistance and Forgiveness Program, where eligible applicants can receive up to 15% of the home purchase price toward outstanding student loan, to be paid off as part of closing.
Maryland is a state bursting with history, from its numerous museums to its historic battlegrounds. Students who attend school in Maryland can explore the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Park and walk the same streets as many influential Marylanders, including Francis Scott Key, Babe Ruth, Billie Holiday, and Thurgood Marshall.
Whether you’re looking to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Maryland offers its students history, legacy, and numerous degree paths.
We’ve identified 12 affordable colleges and universities in Maryland with stated tuitions and fees below the national average of $16,000/year.
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
18%
Student body
35K
University of Maryland Global Campus’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
46%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
705/18
Morgan State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
43%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
945/18
Bowie State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
62%
Graduation
41%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
940/17
University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
40%
Graduation
30%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
895/18
Coppin State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
34%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1052/20
University of Baltimore’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
53%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/20
Frostburg State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
69%
Student body
8K
Salisbury University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
73%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/22
Towson University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
87%
Student body
37K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
University of Maryland, College Park’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
70%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1270/26
University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
72%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1175/25
St. Mary's College of Maryland’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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