University of Maryland at College Park, is an educational public research university located in College Park, Maryland. This is a flagship campus of the University System of Maryland and prestigious members of the Association of American Universities (AAU). The university was chartered as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856, and awarded its first degree in 1862. The college was used as a preparatory institution for boys during the end of the Civil War. After the war, the college was partially controlled by the State of Maryland, and was reopened for students in 1867. The college has gained the reputation as a research institution over the years. By 1916, the college was fully controlled by the state and renamed as the Maryland State College. It merged with the pre-established professional schools in Baltimore and formed the University of Maryland in 1920. During the restructuring of the state higher education system in 1988, the institution became the flagship campus of the newly formed University System of Maryland. After this the UM was formally named University of Maryland at College Park. University of Maryland at College Park, awards a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and other certificate and multi-disciplinary programs. It encompasses the A. James Clark School of Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Arts and Humanities, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, College of Chemical and Life Sciences, College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, College of Education, College of Health and Human Performance, College of Information Studies, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, Robert H. Smith School of Business, the School of Public Policy, and the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. The university’s library is the largest public research library in the state. It holds more than 3 million volumes, about 50,000 journal titles, numerous special collections, and the latest in technical resources. The library system is inclusive of the Architecture Library, the Art Library, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Library, a Hornbake Library, the Theodore R. McKeldin Library, the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, the Shady Grove Library and Media Center, the White Memorial (Chemistry) Library, the Lucille Maurer Leadership Library, and the Paul Wasserman Library. The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, at the university, offers a wide range of programs which helps in learning and exploring artistic talents of the students. This center houses a school of music, department of theatre, department of dance, and the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. University of Maryland, College Park has been ranked as a top institution by the U.S. News & World Report, Black Issues in Higher Education, and the United Kingdom's Financial Times.