The A. James Clark School of Engineering is the engineering college of the University of Maryland, College Park. The school consists of fourteen buildings on the College Park campus that cover over . The school is near Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, as well as several technology-driven institutions. The Clark School hosts eight different departments including Aerospace engineering, Bioengineering, Chemical and Biomolecular engineering, Civil and Environmental engineering, Electrical and Computer engineering, Fire protection engineering, Materials Science and engineering, and Mechanical engineering. The Clark School also offers graduate programs where students can pursue Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The Clark School has over 4,000 undergraduate students, 2,000 graduate students, and nearly 200 faculty members. The school also hosts diversity initiatives such as a Women in Engineering Program and a Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering. History The Clark School was founded in 1894 as The College of Engineering at what was then known as the Maryland Agricultural College. In 1949, the school was renamed the Glenn L. Martin College of Engineering and Aeronautical Sciences. The name was changed for a second time in 1955 to the Glenn L. Martin Institute of Technology. In 1994, the college took its current name, the A. James Clark School of Engineering. A. James Clark was a 1950 engineering graduate of the university who was chairman and chief executive officer of Clark Enterprises, Inc. Clark's financial gifts to the university were honored, in return, with the name of the Engineering School. Early History Although no formal engineering program existed at the Maryland Agricultural College, the early curriculum included surveying, construction, mechanics, and electricity courses. During the early years of the University, much of the coursework centered around preparing students for a career in agriculture. A formal program in engineering was introduced in 1894 when the president of the University, Richard W. Silvester, requested that the secretary of the Navy detail Lieutenant John D. Ford of the U.S. Navy Engineering Corps to organize the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The first faculty member appointed to teach in the department was Harry Gwinner, and John Hanson Mitchell was the first student awarded a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1898. The Department of Mechanical Engineering was housed in what is now Taliaferro Hall. In 1908, the college created the Department of Civil Engineering, followed closely by the creation of the Department of Electrical Engineering.