What truly defines the Smith experience is the many opportunities for learning, growing, and achieving that exist beyond the classroom. We've included some useful information below for Smith School graduate students, and will continue to expand these resources over the next few months.
Communication Within the Smith Community
The primary mode of communication within the Smith community is email.
In an effort to streamline the number of email messages and announcements that students receive, the Masters Program Office (MPO) and Office of Career Services (OCS) have created the below email accounts. The intention is to make it easier for students to recognize and prioritize emails so students can read those with the most importance first.
Masters Programs Office (MPO):
Messages directly from the Masters Programs Office that contain important information related to administrative issues impacting your academic program such as registration instructions and deadlines, graduation instructions and deadlines, financial aid reminders, schedule changes, etc. Weekly scheduled emails from the MPO will also include "Save the Date" or RSVP links for MPO sponsored (or supported) events such as community lunch/dinner; feedback lunch/dinner; roundtables; day trips, training opportunities and annual events, etc.
Office of Career Services (OCS):
Messages directly from the OCS that contain information related to the programs and services provided by the OCS.
Smith Announcements:
Announcements from sources external to the MPO or OCS. These may include social activities, speaker announcements, or other general items of interest to MBA/Business Master's students. In most cases notices and announcements sent via a Smith Announcement email will not be repeated via a separate MPO scheduled weekly email but may be repeated via a student association email.
MBA and Business Master's Program Student Associations:
Student Associations such as the MBA Association "MBAA", The Flex Part-Time MBA Association "PTMBAA" or the Smith Master Student Association "SMSA" will announce a variety of student group related events both academic (i.e., case competitions, speaker events, etc.) and extracurricular (i.e., sporting events, happy hours, etc.) sponsored (or supported) by the association(s).
University of Maryland Graduate Students may also receive emails sent to all graduate students from campus affiliates such as the Graduate School, the Department of Transportation (parking and traffic issues, etc.) and Graduate Student Services.
Student Leadership: The MBAA and the PTMBAA
The MBA Association (MBAA) and the Part-Time MBA Association (PTMBAA) are in place to serve as a representative, governing body for MBA students of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. The MBAA and PTMBAA speak as the coordinated voice of the students, serving as a liaison to the administration and faculty of the Smith School of Business. The MBAA and PTMBAA work on behalf of the students to improve and provide feedback on the quality of education, academic support, and professional offerings they receive. Additionally, the MBAA and PTMBAA work to foster a greater sense of community within the College Park and Flex/PT/Online MBA student bodies, respectively, and within the larger Smith family and alumni. Look for MBAA officers at Orientation or PTMBAA officers at Opening Residency to learn more about the organizations.
Track and Student Representatives
Each fall, a group of students is chosen from the incoming tracks/programs to represent their peers to the Faculty and Administration. These students are known as Track Representatives in the Full-Time MBA program and Student Representatives in the Flex and Online MBA programs and their role is to facilitate two-way communication between Faculty/Administration and the students. Issues of concern to MBA students are brought directly to the Faculty and/or Administration via these representatives. Likewise, information from the Masters Programs Office is shared with the MBA students on a regular basis as well. These representatives and the MBAA/PTMBAA officers work together to voice issues of concern involving students through weekly meetings and conference calls.
Graduate Student Clubs
A wonderful way to network with other MBA students with similar academic and career interests is to participate in the variety of Graduate Student clubs and activities. The MBAA and PTMBAA oversee the activities of all student clubs. The officers of the clubs and organizations are eager to see, meet, and welcome new students and encourage you to actively participate in student activities and clubs.
College Park MBA students interested in becoming involved are encouraged to email the MBAA at smith-club-mbaa@umd.edu.
Flex and Online MBA students can email the PTMBAA at smith-club-ptmbaa@umd.edu.
The Smith School
The best way to describe the culture at the Smith School is competitive, yet cooperative. Once students step inside the doors of Van Munching Hall and meet classmates for the first time, students will find themselves among a diverse group of some of the most talented minds anywhere in the world. Yet, there is the understanding that each mind has a unique and valuable contribution to make. Embracing this ideal lends itself to an attitude of respect among students and provides the foundation of our culture. Read more about the Smith School here.
Student Resources
Immunizations/University Health Center