No.  FIRE is an opportunity for first-year UMD students that do not require on-campus residency or impact dorm assignment in any way.

Yes, with FIRE Semesters 1 & 3 earning a total of 6 credits of your General Education course requirements.  FIRE Semesters 1 & 3 are 3 credits, FIRE Semester 2 is 2 credits and you register for these courses in addition to your other courses during your first three semesters at UMD.  Because FIRE helps you get an important part of your General Education completed (the Scholarship in Practice requirement), FIRE courses support the completion of your degree in addition to giving you immersive research experience and faculty relationships.

No.  While the vast majority of students who begin with FIRE complete the three-course sequence and earn their FIRE transcript citation, we also have a small minority of students who discover that either research experience is not right for them or that they have other interests they wish to pursue.  You can opt out of FIRE at any time.

No.  We have a holistic stream preferencing process by which students are matched with FIRE streams during FIRE Semester 1.  We have found that greater than 90% of our students are matched with one of their top two choices. ​

We keep a list of additional FAQs at this location.