UMD

UMD is an acronym that can refer to several distinct institutions and technologies. In higher education, it most commonly denotes the University of Maryland, College Park, the flagship campus of the University System of Maryland. Located in College Park, near Washington, D.C., UMD is a large public research university established in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College and later expanded into a comprehensive university. It competes athletically as a member of the Big Ten Conference and is known for programs across the sciences, engineering, and the humanities.

Another widely used meaning is the University of Minnesota Duluth, a public research university in Duluth, Minnesota, that is part of the University of Minnesota system. UMD serves as a regional center for education and research in the northern Great Lakes region and offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across multiple fields.

UMD is also the name of the Universal Media Disc, a proprietary optical disc format developed by Sony for the PlayStation Portable. The UMD stores about 1.8 GB of data and was used for games, movies, and other media on the PSP, with production waning after the platform's later years.

Because UMD is an acronym with several widely recognized meanings, its interpretation depends on context. Other organizations or concepts may also use the initials, so additional clarification is often required when the term is encountered.