Applied Physics Laboratory

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), located in Howard County, Maryland, near Laurel and Columbia, is a not-for-profit, university-affiliated research center employing 5,300 people. APL is primarily a defense contractor. It serves as a technical resource for the Department of Defense, NASA, and other government agencies. The Lab is an engineering research and development organization rather than an academic division of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering offers part-time graduate programs through its Engineering for Professionals program] Courses are taught at seven locations in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, including the APL Education Center.