UMass Boston

Build Your CSM Community

a group of happy CSM students

Welcome to the UMass Boston of College of Science and Mathematics! By choosing a STEM degree you’re on a path to becoming one of the most employable people on the planet!In addition to your academics, there are many wonderful ways to connect with your CSM community. As a CSM student, you have access to STEM-related clubs, exciting special events, peer mentoring, research opportunities, and more. Discover how you can build meaningful relationships with other students, faculty members, and staff and contribute to a supportive community dedicated to STEM learning and research.

Other exciting ways for first year students to build their CSM Community is by enrolling in either a Gateway Seminar Course or a one credit student success transition course.  

A Gateway course satisfies the University's First Year Seminar requirement.  These are typically courses with a catalog number of 187S such as Chem 187S, Biol, 187S, or CS, 187S.  Unlike a traditional four-credit first year seminar, the FSC Gateway Seminar is split across a full academic year; fall and spring semesters, with each section providing two credits.  

The one-credit Success Transition course are taught by professional CSM Student Success Advisors.  These are INTR-D 120 & 121 which focus on academic transition skills and an introduction to career exploration opportunities while providing personalized peer mentoring and support.  Students who take one of these INTR_D 120 & 121 sections will still need to complete a traditional four-credit First Year Seminar. 

All First Year Seminars (both the traditional four-credit, one semester courses, as well FSC Gateway Seminar courses) contain the following curriculum learning outcomes:

  1. Careful Reading: Students should develop effective reading strategies to demystify “careful reading” at the college level. For example, in class-practice should teach ways to find “main arguments” at the college level.
  2. Clear Writing: In writing, students should be able to cite evidence appropriately,
  3. represent and attribute complex ideas accurately, and apply theoretical material to other situations.
  4. Verbal Reasoning (Critical Thinking): Students, in writing or speaking, should be able to cite evidence appropriately, represent and attribute complex ideas accurately, and apply theoretical material to other situations. They should also begin to assess the credibility of sources.
  5. Using the Library and Information Technology to Further Learning: Students should be able to locate and evaluate a variety of different kinds of sources in the Healey Library, including on-line sources.
  6. Collaborative Work: Students work on a team project involving a concrete and interesting project, typically reporting to the class as a whole.
  7. Speaking/Listening: Students should be able to cite evidence appropriately, represent and attribute complex ideas accurately, and apply theoretical material to other situations.
  8.  Academic Self-Assessment: Students should be able to review their progress based on a selection of assignments during a term.

More specifically, the FSC Gateway courses are organized along a theme of inquiry-based learning for students and faculty. As described in INTR-D 187S/188S;

Each participant has a role in understanding topics that are prevalent in the scientific community along with developing new information that might form the basic science investments of the future. This is a two-semester sequence, two credits each semester. Successful completion of the sequence will fulfill student's First-Year Seminar requirement.

Course content will vary with instructor, but will focus on discussion of topics with broad societal impact, and will have important scientific underpinnings, with a particular focus on science topics. Using this approach, students will become increasingly familiar with and experienced in scientific discourse, the scientific method, and important new scientific findings. This course will maximize students' potential for success in the university and the scientific community. 

Desired outcomes will focus on;

  1. Development of discovery skills.
  2. Becoming self-driven learners, learning to work in groups and being successful at the university.