University of Maryland
MD · AI Readiness #16 of 227
AIREDEX™ Score: 9.1 /10
Maryland committed $100 million over ten years to its new AI institute, built a campus-wide AI chatbot for every student, and will launch two undergraduate AI degrees in fall 2027.
UM undergrads can take PHIL211, AI and Ethics, a philosophy course open to any student who enrolls, and they can use the Zaratan computing cluster, which runs on a mix of A100 and H100 processors. The Terps have strong AI partners in Capital One, which endowed three faculty chairs inside the computer science department, and the National Science Foundation, which put $20 million behind the TRAILS research center, led by professor Hal Daumé III. UM has become one of the nation's leaders in AI, and with more programs launching, it will likely remain near the top of the rankings.
Pillar grades
- Commitment: A
- Curriculum: A-
- Partnerships: A+
- Research: A+
A(I)ttitude™: leading edge
Selected Highlights
- Jeffrey K. Hollingsworth, VP for IT and CIO, is named as the senior executive with explicit institutional AI responsibility at UMCP per both the Office of the President and Office of the Provost AI pages — scored as secondary assignment layered onto CIO title, not primary AI role, yielding partial credit.
- President's Commission on Artificial Intelligence established November 2023 with named co-chairs Jen Golbeck and Axel Persaud, cross-campus membership, and published final report with recommendations.
- UMD Generative AI Guidelines published campus-wide, addressing goals, governance, ethical guidelines, and named programs — meets 2+ criteria threshold for full credit.
- AIM $100M+ 10-year commitment confirmed in multiple official press releases; additional named state investment ($65M ARLIS facility) and Smith School gift ($150K) documented.
- AIM (Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland) launched April 2024 with named director Hal Daumé III, named associate directors, 12-college involvement, and active seed grant programming in 2025 and 2026.