The University of Maryland has developed several programs and resources for federal workers who are facing job uncertainty, workplace layoffs and funding reductions.
Thousands of federal employees were fired after President Donald Trump’s administration slashed funding for federal departments and eliminated positions, according to the Associated Press. Ten percent of Maryland workers are employed by the federal government.
Here’s a look at some of the ways this university is supporting the state’s federal workers.
AI certificate program
This university’s business school launched a free online certificate program in artificial intelligence and career empowerment on Friday.
While the course is available to anyone, the certificate’s primary purpose is to support federal workers, according to the program’s main developer and this university’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business director Balaji Padmanabhan.
“We are the biggest state university in this area, and our job is to help,” Padmanabahn said.
The certificate program consists of 10 modules with material focusing on how job-seekers can leverage AI skills in a business undergo a mid-career transformation, according to Padmanabhan.
[Maryland expected to lose more than 28,000 federal jobs due to Trump administration]
Business school professor and director of the masters in management studies program Rellie Derfler-Rozin helped create a career-empowerment focused module about job negotiations for the certificate.
“There’s always anxiety around negotiations,” Derfler-Rozin said. “We tried in this module … to empower people to think about negotiation as a positive challenge rather than a hindrance.”
The module helps federal workers use their unique value, knowledge and leadership skills during negotiations, Derfler-Rozin said. It also helps job-seekers think creatively about negotiations and to advocate for benefits beyond a salary.
Resource hub
This university launched a website — the “Pathways Forward Resource Hub” — for displaced Maryland federal workers that includes career development support and information about educational programs.
“This initiative is an excellent reflection of our continued commitment to invest in people and communities — both inside our campus and beyond,” university president Darryll Pines wrote in a March 27 email announcing the website.
The hub was launched in March, aligning with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s efforts to support federal workers. The hub has a chatbot that connects users to information about career readiness, upskilling and growth and other resources.
[UMD launches resource hub to help laid-off federal workers]
Former federal workers can use the hub to access this university’s online courses and to explore opportunities for career transitions, including through graduate programs and specialized professional certificates.
The site also compiles information about pathways to careers in AI, quantum, teaching, business and more.
Business school tuition discount
This university’s business school announced it is expanding the criteria of people eligible for tuition discounts from those actively employed by the federal government to those who were employed by the federal government at the start of 2025.
The business school is offering a 30 percent discounted tuition for the first year of “any eligible graduate business degree program,” according to a news release.
The news release also announced that alumni of this university who retired or were laid off from the federal government in 2025 now qualify for free enrollment in the business school’s online certificate programs.
“The Smith School is ready to welcome members of the federal civil service who did not enter 2025 expecting to transition, but are seeking to upskill, re-skill and improve their career prospects through graduate management education,” the news release read.
