Expand your knowledge through cutting-edge research and enrich your community through creative enterprise.

UML student, Jordan Knight, Janson Borowko and Clark Lacossade by Phil Vassar's piano during sound check before the concert.

World-Ready Education

Through effective classroom engagement, research opportunities working with our distinguished faculty and a range of other experiential learning opportunities, students emerge from our degree programs equipped with the skills, insights and perspective needed to achieve success in their careers and improve their communities.

Qurat Ann writes on a whiteboard with a blue marker

Advanced Study Opportunities

Our graduate degree and certificate programs give students the skills and knowledge to assume leadership roles in business, research, education, government and community organizations. Through our accelerated “bachelor's to master's” programs, students may earn dual credits that can be applied to both undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees.

A group of students designing for a 3D printer in the UMass Lowell Fabrication Lab.

Cutting-edge Research and Creative Activity

Our faculty includes nationally and internationally recognized researchers, scholars and creative artists engaged in developing new knowledge and contributing to the cultural fabric of our world. Our college’s research and cultural centers serve as hubs for scholarship and creative activity, and provide ample opportunities for student engagement.

By the Numbers

  • $4.6M
    in external research funding for 2022.
  • 84.4%
    Freshmen Retention Rate.
  • 70+
    Music concerts throughout the year.
  • 11
    Research and Engagement Centers
  • 230
    Full-time Faculty
  • 12
    Academic Departments
  • 32
    Percentage of degrees awarded to FAHSS students in 2014-15
  • 30
    Musical ensembles
  • 2
    Campus art galleries

Student Profiles

Fahad Alden holding a director's clapperboard.
Fahad Alden '25
Digital Media and English (Theatre Arts concentration)

Fahad Alden says college is about finding where your passions and skills align.

I’m just so excited to see what next year brings.
Read More About Fahad Alden 
Lisa Thompson presents her criminology research to two men at a research symposium at UMass Lowell.
Lisa Thompson '21
Criminology

Her Ph.D. research at UMass Lowell won Lisa Thompson a rare research assistantship at the National Institute of Justice.

Prof. Harris is so awesome; he literally changed my life.
Read More About Lisa Thompson 
Karina Alves singing with a microphone
Karina Alves 2023
Bachelor of Liberal Arts: Criminal Justice and Legal Studies

Karina “K45” Alves wants to combine music with criminal justice reform.

I was always drawn to do what I can about inequality
Read More About Karina Alves 
Deirdre standing holding poster of project
Deirdre Hutchison '23
History

Deirdre Hutchison was ‘terrified’ when she began college at 47.

UMass Lowell gave me all these amazing opportunities, including study abroad.
Read More About Deirdre Hutchison 
Sarah Golding sits in a colorful cafe at a table with her laptop
Sarah Golding '19
Public Administration

Sarah Golding works with young people transitioning to adulthood while coping with mental illness. She says the Master of Public Administration program is giving her the right balance of core administrative skills and deep knowledge to help her advocate for her clients.

There’s so much flexibility and it’s so interdisciplinary that you can take the classes that will best serve your needs.
Read More About Sarah Golding 

Connect with the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

What questions do you have for the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in regard to our programs or undergraduate admissions at UMass Lowell? We're ready to talk about your future.

FAHSS News

  • Two women standing in bookstore.

    Alumni-owned Lowell Bookstore Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

    Laura and Greg Lamarre Anderson and their daughter Thea, all River Hawk alumni, are celebrating the fifth anniversary of their independent bookstore lala books, which has become a hub of literature and community in the heart of downtown Lowell.
    Featured Story
  • Lewis Tseng standing between two education Ph.D. students and research assistants, Youlim Lee and Negin Yazdani Motlagh.

    Professors Awarded $500,000 to Help Researchers Share Big Data

    As technology allows scientists to generate huge datasets that increasingly require artificial intelligence to analyze, the complementary technology to share their work is lagging. Two associate professors have won a nearly $500,000 NSF grant to lead a team that will co-design a national framework for sharing data and collaborating on scientific discoveries.
    Featured Story
  • Students march along a highway bridge in Nairobi, Kenya in 2024

    Professors Study Gen Z Protest Movements Across Countries

    As youth-led “Cockroach Janta Party” protests spread across India this summer, two professors in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies have been awarded a pair of university seed grants to study Gen Z protests in Kenya, India and other countries.
    Featured Story

Support the College

Gifts at any level make a direct impact on thousands of UMass Lowell students and faculty every day.