UMBC Institute of Politics brings state and local government to campus—and gives students opportunities to showcase leadership

When UMBC founded the Institute of Politics (IoP) in fall 2024, the new politics research center housed in the College of Arts, Humanities, and the Social Science outlined a clear mandate: to produce public-facing and community-engaged research and events on political, policy, and social issues for the betterment of Maryland, and to include UMBC students every step of the way.  Two years on, the IoP and its signature research product, the UMBC Poll, have already become indispensable to poli