UMass Boston

Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements in addition to the following program-specific requirements:

• Undergraduate Transcripts: The CCT program looks for a generally distinguished undergraduate transcript with an average of at least 3.0 in advanced undergraduate work. For students with a strong record of accomplishment in other areas, the admissions committee will recommend provisional admission with the stipulation that the student completes two courses in the program with a course grade of B+ or better. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the program, we do not require that you come from any specific program of study.
• Letters of Recommendation: Three letters are required from people who have worked closely with you and who have direct knowledge of your abilities. The people you ask to recommend you should be able to comment in detail about your academic strengths, work experience, or life experience.
• Statement of Interest and Intent: The program’s admissions requirements call for an essay of at least 1200 words in which you explain your intellectual, artistic, professional or personal reasons for wanting to pursue a degree in critical thinking, creative thinking, and reflective practice. Your essay should include specific accounts of your past work and current direction. You should provide a detailed discussion of your specific interests and priorities as a student, the projects you have completed in the past, the problems and topics you want to focus on in future study, and how and why you believe the CCT degree can help you accomplish your goals. The admissions committee will read your essay as a demonstration of how you write and how you think about issues, as well as determine if your interests and goals match those of the program.
• Test Scores: GRE scores are optional.

Accelerated BA/BS-MA program: This follows the established model of starting graduate courses as a 2nd semester junior, approval of a regular application for graduate program admission, completion of all undergraduate requirements in fewer credits (107 instead of 120), and a 5th year of graduate courses only. Applications welcome from all undergraduate majors in Honors and College of Liberal Arts. Learn more about the Accelerated Master's Program.

Deadlines: July 1 for fall, December 1 for spring

Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.

Program Cost Information: Bursar's website

Foundation Courses (12 Credits)

Complete four courses from the regular foundation, liberal and interdisciplinary studies, or transformative education concentration below.

Regular Foundation Courses

• CRCRTH 601 - Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 602 - Creative Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 603L - Foundations of Philosophical Thought 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 651L - Advanced Cognitive Psychology 3 Credit(s)

Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies Concentration

Complete one course from each of the four focus areas.

Arts and Humanities Focus

• CRCRTH 603L - Foundations of Philosophical Thought 3 Credit(s)

Social and Behavioral Sciences Focus

• CRCRTH 649L - Scientific & Political Change 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 651L - Advanced Cognitive Psychology 3 Credit(s)

Natural Sciences Focus

• CRCRTH 645L - Biology in Society: Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 650 - Mathematical Thinking 3 Credit(s)

Educational Studies Focus

• CRCRTH 601 - Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 602 - Creative Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 655 - Metacognition 3 Credit(s)

Transformative Education Concentration

Complete one course from each of the four focus areas below.

Curriculum Organization and Innovation

• CRCRTH 601 - Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 602 - Creative Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 615 - Holistic & Transformative Teaching 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 630 - Criticism and Creativity in Literature and the Arts 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 645L - Biology in Society: Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 650 - Mathematical Thinking 3 Credit(s)

Mediation, Dialogue, and Collaboration

• CRCRTH 616 - Dialogue Processes& 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 618 - Creative Thinking, Collaboration, and Organizational Change 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 670 - Thinking, Learning, and Computers 3 Credit(s)

Urban and Social Justice Education

• CRCRTH 627 - Issues and Controversies in Antiracist and Multicultural Education 3 Credit(s)

Cognitive and Developmental Psychology

• CRCRTH 651L - Advanced Cognitive Psychology 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 655 - Metacognition 3 Credit(s)

Electives (12 Credits)

Complete four additional CRCRTH courses. Courses from other graduate programs may be used with advisor permission.

With approval of the graduate program director, up to two undergraduate courses at the 300-level or higher may be applied toward the requirement.

Research and Writing Courses (9 Credits)

• CRCRTH 692 - Processes of Research and Engagement 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 693 - Action Research for Educational, Professional & Personal change 3 Credit(s)
• CRCRTH 694 - Synthesis of Theory and Practice Seminar 3 Credit(s)

Complete 33 credits from eleven courses including four foundation courses, four electives, and three research and writing courses.

Concentration: Students may choose a concentration in liberal and interdisciplinary studies or transformative education for their foundation courses.
Mid-program check-in: A brief interview with the Graduate Program Director and another faculty member is held at the mid-point of one’s progress through the MA program.
Capstone: Completion of a synthesis of one’s insight, learning, and preparedness for change and ongoing development as a result of the program. Abstracts and selected full text syntheses are published on Scholarworks.
Exit self-assessment: Completion of a written self-assessment documenting the broad impact of the program on their personal, professional, and educational development by identifying areas of achievement and challenges in relation to two sets of goals: 1) completion of the synthesis project itself, and 2) developing as a “reflective practitioner”. Students may wish to review these goals periodically throughout the program as a prompt in thinking about how to approach upcoming courses as well as reflect upon recent ones. The exit self-assessment goals also provide some framework for thinking about how to write the narrative parts of the Reflective Practice Portfolio.
Reflective practice portfolio: Completion of an electronic portfolio of academic work completed over the course of the program. The two main components of the portfolio are the exhibits and the narrative. The exhibits are representative assignments of parts of assignments from all courses taken in the program, and the narrative is a written work that conveys a reflection of one’s development of the exhibits over the long term of the program.

Residency: With the approval of the Graduate Program Director, the university allows graduate students to transfer up to 6 credits of graduate work from outside UMass Boston and up to 6 credits of UMass Boston courses taken before matriculating into the program. Grades must be a B or higher, and an official transcript is needed for courses taken outside UMass Boston. Students starting their coursework in the summer do not matriculate until the fall but may submit a pre-matriculation waiver so that all credits taken in the summer count.
Statute of limitations: Five years.

Graduate Program Director Jeremy Szteiter
jeremy.szteiter [at] umb.edu
(617) 287-7636

Critical & Creative Thinking Graduate Programs
cct [at] umb.edu
(617) 287-6523