UMD Among Top 5 Doctorate Producers in 5 Critical Tech Areas, Including Quantum

The University of Maryland is a top five American producer of doctorates in several technology areas that are key to national security and science-driven innovation—including quantum science—according to a new study.

The working paper, released in June by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that UMD ranked in the top five universities in the number of Ph.D. graduates trained in each of five critical areas from 2000 to 2022: quantum science, artificial intelligence (AI), space technology, networked sensing, and data privacy and cybersecurity. UMD sits alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley in these rankings.

The study counted 258 quantum science dissertations at UMD, for the No. 5 spot, noting that Maryland, like other universities on the list, was linked with a quantum science center. The study named the Joint Quantum Institute, along with the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, both longtime partnerships between UMD and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (UMD now has 10 quantum research centers, including the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, which in addition to cut-edge research, is active in workforce development efforts related to quantum.) The study also tallied 474 dissertations in networked sensing (No. 4), 201 in space technology (No. 5), and 124 in data privacy and cybersecurity (No. 2). 

UMD’s rankings reflect investments that the university and the state have made in turning College Park into the Capital of Quantum and a hub of computer science and AI research.

In January, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced the public-private Capital of Quantum initiative, which aims to pour $1 billion into efforts to recruit top quantum scientists and engineers, expand access to the National Quantum Laboratory, construct a new building for UMD’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security and support quantum startup development at UMD.

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