Diversity at UMass Boston
As described on the page providing an overview of the University's General Education Requirements, the University of Massachusetts at Boston has adopted the set of principles shown below as the foundation on which its general education program for undergraduates has been built:
- Critical Analysis and Logical Thought (Objectives 1 and 2)
- Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning (Objective 3)
- Human Diversity (Objective 4)
- Principal Approaches to Knowledge (Objectives 5-8)
Focusing on the principal of human diversity, we find the following:
Objective 4: Students will learn about human diversity, including how different patterns of behavior and thought evolve and how development of cultures is influenced by interactions among different social groups.
UMass Boston believes that explicit study of the diversity of the world’s peoples is an essential component of an undergraduate education. The university defines diversity broadly to include race, gender, culture (national origin, ethnicity, religion), social class, age, sexual origin, and disability. Attention to cultural and social groups previously ignored or marginalized in curricula helps students acquire analytical tools and knowledge with which they can understand human diversity in our complex and changing world, and strengthens their academic preparation by exposing them to a rich body of scholarship from a wide range of disciplines. All undergraduates at UMass Boston must therefore take courses that address human diversity as a major theme.
* If you are in the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Science and Mathematics, there are two groups of courses to choose from. The courses in one group focus on diversity in the United States, those in the other have an international focus. If you enter UMass Boston with fewer than 60 credits, you must take one course from each group. If you enter UMass Boston with 60 or more credits, you must take one course, which can be drawn from either group.
* If you are in the College of Management, you must complete one diversity course. The course can have either a US focus or an international focus. Please note that the College of Management requires you to complete an “international management” course as well.
* If you are studying nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, you will meet the diversity requirement automatically by taking courses required for the major.
* If you are studying exercise science and/or physical education in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, you must take ESPE 220 and one other course. That second course can be ESPE 180 or a course designated as a diversity course by the College of Liberal Arts or College of Science and Mathematics.
* If you are in the College of Public and Community Service, you will meet the diversity requirement automatically as you meet other college requirements.A list of current diversity courses can be found here.