UMass Lowell is a Great University
Want to know what the evidence is? Read on.
UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff. A comprehensive, national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community, UMass Lowell helps students get ready for work, for life and for all the world offers.
UMass Lowell's affordable price enables our graduates, unburdened by high debt, to have more choice in their careers. UMass Lowell students are thoroughly tested here, so they are favored and trusted by employers and graduate schools alike.
High-Quality Educational Programs
- All programs are accredited by the most prestigious organizations in their field.
- The London Times ranks UMass 35th overall among the top 200 Universities in the world and 19th for academic and research reputation.
- U.S. News and World Report ranks UMass Lowell among the top 200 research universities in the country and among the top 100 public campuses.
- Funding for Academic Affairs has increased more than $6 million since 2007 to improve teaching, expand research, and recruit high-quality faculty.
- The Campus's Commonwealth Honors Program provides high achieving students the opportunity to excel through enrolling in honors sections and in developing independent honors projects and includes the option of living in Honors House, which features a faculty member in residence and a program of activities and events for honors students.
- The Leadership Honor Society (Omicron Delta Kappa), a Transfer Honor Society (Sigma Tau), and a Veteran's Honor Society (SALUTE) have all been established in recent years.
- Recently developed academic programs include:
- Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health -- the only program of its kind in the Northeast;
- Master of Science in Innovation and Technological Entrepreneurship teaches students to develop new products and establish new ventures, a mainstay of the Massachusetts economy;
- Ph.D. in criminal justice and criminology – the only such program at a public campus in New England; and
- Bachelor's and Master's programs in Peace and Conflict Studies.
- The campus continues to develop interdisciplinary programs such as the undergraduate options in robotics and forensics.
Our commitment to quality academics extends to our leadership in the Division of Online and Continuing Education, too:
- UMass Lowell is the largest academic program contributor to UMass Online, with the highest number of enrollees (16,900 in 2009-2010) in UMass system, with students all over the world.
- UMass Lowell delivers customized education and training programs for numerous companies, provided on-site.
- Helping with local and regional economic development while extending and solidifying our connections with key employers.
Hands-on Experiential Learning
- The University formalized its long-standing co-op program in 2009. Co-ops now include a professional development seminar that helps students hone interview skills and use social networking platforms for job searching and a post-co-op assessment class.
- Undergraduates learn through experience in community service projects related to their coursework. Service learning in integrated into curricula across the University.
- Students learn through research, participating as members of funded research teams developing new products and processes in a wide range of specialties.
- Students are encouraged to participate in the acclaimed Undergraduate Research Conference, the results of which can become immediately attractive to your future employers.
- The Deans have launched a Research and Community Co-Op program that places high-achieving students into substantive research and service projects from as early as the fall of their freshman year.
- Professional Science Master's Programs, unique two-year degrees combining academics with business fundamentals, teamwork, and effective communication, include a cooperative learning component.
- Each engineering discipline offers a Leadership Option similar to a Professional Science Master's Degree, combining business skills, teamwork, effective communications and a cooperative experience.
- UMass Lowell is the location for the World Association of Cooperative Education Center, an international organization dedicated to developing educational coop placements around the world.
- The campus's location provides students with impressive access to Routes 495 and 128 and the co-op opportunities and jobs they represent.
Personal Attention From Top Faculty and Staff- Faculty are the cornerstone of your career readiness: You will collaborate with them in designing your own success.
- They're eager to apply their scholarship to serve your needs: Our senior faculty teach undergraduates.
- UMass Lowell's 14:1 student/faculty ratio is best in the UMass system and, according to Mass Inc., the best value in Massachusetts for student-to-faculty ratio.
- 94 percent of faculty hold the highest degree available in their field.
- Half of all undergraduate classes have fewer than 20 students, meaning you'll receive the personal attention you deserve.
- There are targeted academic programs such as Calculus Camp to shore up foundations where needed.
- You'll find the right major with faculty and staff who are willing and able advisers.
A Comprehensive, National Research University- UMass Lowell offers its 15,000 students 120 bachelor's, 32 master's and 16 doctoral degree programs and more than 70 graduate certificate programs in Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Health and Environment, Humanities, Management, Sciences and Social Sciences.
- UMass Lowell is a comprehensive, national research university:
- Between 2007 and 2011, research expenditures increased 64 percent, to $59.3 million.
- Recent major grants include:
- A 10-year, $25 million grant from the National Science Foundation for the Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) – one of only four such centers in the U.S. With Northeastern and the University of New Hampshire, we are conducting research that has the potential to revolutionize nanotechnology-based manufacturing processes in virtually every industry.
- A five-year, $25 million Army grant for the Sub-millimeter Wave Technology Lab (STL). New medical imaging breakthroughs for patients could result from research conducted under the STL's auspices.
- A 10-year, $10 million federal grant for the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace, one of only three Work Life Centers for Excellence in the U.S.
- More than $2.3 million from various federal and state agencies, as well as industry, for projects related to clean energy and clean technology – such as solar, wind turbines, healthy homes and workforce development.
- UMass Lowell has more than two dozen national research centers that greatly enrich academic quality, from a Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence to a Center for Electric Car and Energy Conversion and even a Major League Baseball Research Center.
- In 2012, the University will open the Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, an 84,000-square-foot building designed to support work in biomedical, nanomanufacturing, plastics and electro-optics research.
Located on a High-Energy Campus
- The campus is in the midst of a spectacular physical transformation with acquisitions, new construction and millions of dollars in improvements to existing facilities.
- UMass Lowell:
- Acquired and renovated The UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center in downtown Lowell and now houses 500 students, as well as beautiful conference and hotel facilities and a new restaurant.
- Purchased the 6,500-seat Tsongas Arena, and renamed it the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. Following extensive renovations, the facility is home to: Division I River Hawks ice hockey; the team competes in the prestigious Hockey East league, and a wide array of concerts and events which included, in its first year, performers such as Drake, Kid Rock, Jay-Z and Green Day.
- Acquired and is now managing the Bellegarde Boathouse, a beautifully upgraded building that serves as home to UML rowing as well as local and community rowing programs.
- Acquired and is renovating St. Joseph's Hospital, now named University Crossing, a multi use facility that will house a new bookstore and Student Service offices.
- Began construction on a new $70 million state-of-the-art Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center.
- Began construction on a $40 million academic building on South Campus for the Nursing, Criminal Justice and Psychology Programs.
- Since 2007, the campus population has grown 30 percent and now stands at nearly 15,000.
- In that same period of time, the diversity of the student body has increased almost 75 percent.
- 75 percent of freshmen live on campus.
- More than 3,000 students overall live in University housing.
- There are more than 120 active student organizations.
- An Office of Multicultural Affairs develops programming and initiatives to integrate historically underrepresented peoples and ideas.
- River Hawks ice hockey plays in Hockey East, the most competitive league in the country.
- The women's field hockey team won the 2010 NCAA Div. II national championship; Sammy Macy was named Div. II athlete of the year for the country.
- Lowell is one of New England's emerging "renaissance cities," resurging like Portland, Portsmouth and Providence.
- A global crossroads of cultures and languages, the city is our classroom and a living laboratory for service learning.
- Innovation has long been central to Lowell's character; this is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.
- The University and the City have a long history of successful partnerships which resulted in the construction of such facilities as LeLacheur Ball Park and the River Walk.
- For two consecutive years, the campus was named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll – the second year With Distinction -- the highest federal recognition for commitment to volunteerism and service learning.
- Established in 2009, the Center for Arts & Ideas helps the campus coordinate cultural affairs with the City of Lowell and maintain positive relationships with key civic and cultural players.
Students Get Ready for Work, for Life and for All the World Offers- UMass Lowell graduated its largest number of students ever in 2011: 2,571.
- A recent report by the Chronicle of Higher Education found that UMass Lowell had the largest increase in graduation rates for students from 2003 to 2008 among public research institutions in the region. The increase also placed UMass Lowell at No. 24 in the nation among more than 150 colleges and universities included in the report.
- For two of the last three years, Payscale.com reported that UMass Lowell graduates command the highest mid-career median salary among public institutions in New England. In that same timeframe, the campus moved into second place for the highest starting salaries among the same group.
- A 2010 National Association of Colleges and Employers survey cites a 31 percent higher entry-level salary for students who graduated with co-op experience.
- UML students participated in international educational experiences in 23 countries last year.
Affordable Price- In fiscal year 2012, the campus is projected to get approximately 25 percent of its operating budget from the state.
- In spite of declining state support, UMass Lowell has sought to keep tuition and fees affordable. An in-state undergraduate pays just over $20,000 a year for tuition, fees, room and board, compared to comparable private institutions charging $50,000.
- Any increase in tuition and fees has been accompanied by an increase in financial aid, to offset the increase. In 2011, approximately $119 million in financial aid (a 56 percent increase over two years) was awarded to students, $58 million in need-based and $61 million non-need based.
- On average, about 79 percent of undergrads receive some form of financial aid.
- UMass Lowell offers special tuition discounts to New England students in qualifying programs, to New Hampshire students who live within 20 miles of the campus, and to Associates Degree students transferring from a Massachusetts public community college.
- Fund-raising revenue has increased 84 percent in the last four years, to bring in $15.2 million in 2011.
- The 2011 Commencement Eve Gala broke a fund-raising record, yielding more than $670,000 for student scholarships.
- An Auxiliary Enterprises Division has been created to maximize all revenue generation opportunities such as food services, bookstores, the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell and the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center.
UMass Lowell Graduates … Are Favored and Trusted by Employers and Graduate Schools Alike- In a spring 2011 survey, one-third of the graduating seniors who responded had jobs before graduation.
- 100 percent of the co-op employers ranked our undergraduate students as good to outstanding on a scale of 1-10 for overall job performance.
- 100 percent of co-op employers ranked students as commendable to exceptional in exhibiting self-motivation and a constructive approach to their work.
- Employers think highly of their UMass Lowell employees and interns:
- Aaron Dupont '04, Tooling Engineer, Nypro Inc.: "Co-op was the foundation of my career. I have a co-op student working for me now and she is a credit to the UML co-op program – bright, driven, with an excellent work ethic. Keep them coming!"
- Mark Yates, General Manager, New England Keyboard, Fitchburg, MA: "We could not have been more pleased with our co-op student's performance at New England Keyboard. He did all tasks asked of him very well and took ownership of several projects."
- Some of their employers are:
- Aeropoint Security
- American Red Cross
- AmTrust North America
- Analog Devices Inc.
- BAE Systems
- Baltimore City Police Department
- Boston Capitol
- Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Charles River Laboratories
- Children's Hospital
- Childs & Halligan
- Citizens Bank
- Constant Contact
- Deloite Touche Tomatsu
- Delta Energy group
- EMC Corporation
- Fidelity Investments
- Harwin Inc.
- InfoSpace Inc.
- Insulet Corp.
- KPMG LLP
- Lawrence Police Department
- Lowell General Hospital
- Lowell Public Schools
- Manas Consultants
- Mayo Clinic
- MetLife
- Monarch Instruments
- Novartis
- Nypro Inc.
- Oracle
- Partners Healthcare
- Pegasus Management
- Raytheon IDS
- Sierra Nevada Corp.
- State of New Hampshire
- Symantec
- TESco Associates
- The MITRE Corporation
- The Shaw Group
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- UMass Memorial Medical Center
- Vanderweil Engineers
- These are some of the graduate schools recent grads will be attending:
- Boston College
- Boston Conservatory of Music
- Boston University
- Caltech
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Cornell
- Goddard College
- Harvard
- MIT
- Northeastern
- Northwestern
- Princeton University
- Simmons
- Stanford
- Suffolk Law School
- Tufts
- University of Denver
- University of California Berkeley
- University of Connecticut
- UMass Medical School
- University of Pennsylvania
- Yale