Graduate Catalog — Graduate School Mission Statement

UMass Boston's commitment to public higher education and its aspirations for future progress are reflected officially in the university's Mission Statement:

The University of Massachusetts Boston, one of five campuses of the University of Massachusetts, is nationally recognized as a model of excellence for urban universities. A comprehensive, doctoral degree-granting campus, we provide challenging teaching, distinguished research, and extensive service which particularly respond to the academic and economic needs of the state's urban areas and their diverse populations.

The mission and goals of the campus derive from and reflect the six components of the Vision Statement of the University system as expressed in the Trustees' document T91-107:

Access

The University of Massachusetts Boston offers liberal arts and professional programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels, with doctoral programs addressing issues of particular importance to urban environments and people. Our curricula, the way we teach, and our financial and academic support services address the needs of both traditional and nontraditional students, who come to the university from varied social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, who may have a variety of previous educational experiences, and who characteristically combine university education with work and family responsibilities.

Excellence

The University of Massachusetts Boston addresses the intellectual and professional needs of individual students through class and other educational experiences that encourage dialogue with faculty who are active scholars, performers, and /or practitioners. Our programs reflect contemporary thinking about the disciplines and professions, while honoring the disciplines' and professions' historical contexts. Students benefit from rigorous, specially tailored approaches to fostering gains in abilities and understanding. We seek to distinguish ourselves in four areas of inquiry: the physical environment; critical social and public policy issues; leadership in health, education, and human services; and high-technology manpower needs.

Public Service

Extending the land grant tradition, the University of Massachusetts Boston forges linkages between research and service, and is forming partnerships with communities, the private sector, government, other colleges and universities, and other sectors of public education. These linkages bring the intellectual, technical, and human resources of the university community to bear on the economic and social needs of metropolitan regions—for example, through public policy analysis and applied problem solving in areas such as environmental quality, city planning, tax policy, the schools, and economic development, especially in ethnic and minority communities.

Innovation

The University of Massachusetts Boston pursues research and offers programs serving current and emerging needs of urban populations, institutions, and environments—for example, in gerontology, public policy, and environmental sciences. Programs incorporate new knowledge developed through research, new methods yielded by emerging technologies, and insights and opportunities afforded by interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and other collaborative enterprises.

Economic Development

The University of Massachusetts Boston works cooperatively with metropolitan businesses, major public- and private-sector employers, representatives of state and local governments, and neighborhoods and communities to develop programs to link Massachusetts with economic communities around the world. We offer professional education in areas critical to regional employers, assist state executives in policy analysis and development, and work to strengthen all businesses and local governments through the application of knowledge and expertise and by providing an effectively educated workforce. We conduct research on critical economic issues, e.g., the environment, especially but not solely harbor and coastal aspects thereof; and social, public, and fiscal policy. And we offer programs to enhance Massachusetts' participation in the global economic community.

Quality of Life

The University of Massachusetts Boston sponsors and supports cultural diversity by helping ethnic and international communities to articulate and celebrate their cultural values and identities, and by recognizing the contributions and achievements of members of these communities. We educate artists, performing artists, writers, archivists, teachers, environmentalists, and others whose lifelong contributions will enrich the culture and environment of the urban populace. By the nature of our enterprise and through our normal activity, we contribute to the rich and diverse cultural life of a major American city.