UMass Boston Fact Sheet
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Students - Faculty
- Budget
- Academic Programs & Research
- Alumni
- Distinctions
- Community Service
- Facilities
Established in 1964, the University of Massachusetts Boston provides the people of Greater Boston the opportunity for superior education at moderate cost. It undertakes research and outreach to benefit the City of Boston and the Commonwealth. Located on the Columbia Point peninsula surrounded by Boston Harbor, the university is nationally recognized as a model of excellence for urban institutions of higher learning. It is the most ethnically diverse university in New England.
Students
- In 2004-2005, UMass Boston enrolled 11,682 students: 8,832 undergraduate and 2,850 graduate students
- Median age of freshmen is 18. Median age of transfer students is 23.
- The average high school GPA of entering freshmen in fall 2004 was 3.03. The average college GPA of entering transfer students in fall 2004 was 3.05.
- Fifty-nine percent of undergraduates are first-generation college students. Approximately 400 are veterans.
- Students of color make up 33% of the total student body: 39% of undergraduate and 16% of graduate enrollment. International students make up approximately 6% of the total student body: 5% of undergraduate and 9% of graduate enrollment. June 2004 graduates reported speaking over 90 different languages?
- The Honors Program offers academically enriched courses and intensive personal advising to approximately 200 students. Honors courses foster rigorous critical thinking and challenge students to see interdisciplinary connections. Four Honors students have won Fulbright Fellowships: two in 2000 and two in 2002. In the last three years, the program has also produced a Marshall Scholar, two Marshall finalists, and two Rhodes scholarship semifinalists.
Faculty
- Of the 821 UMass Boston faculty members, 437 are full-time and 384 are part-time.
- Nine Fulbrights, one Atlantic Fellowship, one Guggenheim, and three American Academy for the Advancement of Science Fellowships have been awarded to faculty in the last five years. Other distinctions include fellowships from the American Psychology Association and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the Los Angeles Times’s “Best Books of 2002” Award, and a Pulitzer Prize.
- In 2004, 16% of faculty were people of color: 6% African-American, 4% Hispanic, and 6% Asian.
- The student-to-faculty ratio is 14:1.
Academic Programs and Research
- One graduate school and six colleges offer over 100 undergraduate majors, minors, and programs of study, and nearly 61 graduate programs, including 14 at the doctoral level. Certificate options include Microsoft-certified IT programs.
- UMass Boston’s 30 institutes and centers are involved in research and public service in the areas of public policy; gerontology; media; labor; women in politics; African-American, Latino, and Asian issues; and environmental concerns
- In 2004-05, UMass Boston received 280 awards for a total $35.6 million—a
new record of success. Comparing five-year averages shows the amount
awarded UMass Boston increased a remarkable 70% between 2001 and 2005.
Budget
- The university’s fiscal year 2005 operating budget was $ $200.9 million.
Alumni
- In 2005, 1,914 undergraduate and 876 graduate students joined the ranks of over 75,000 alumni.
- Of the university’s alumni, nearly 90% live in Massachusetts;
86% live in Greater Boston.
Distinctions:
- Princeton Review’s Best Colleges: Region by Region (2004) named UMass Boston one of the colleges and universities in the Northeast “well worth considering” by prospective applicants. The review noted: “The school has a multicultural and diverse atmosphere that many students consider the school's greatest asset.”
- In October 2003, UMass Boston received praise from Massachusetts business leaders in a new survey ranking the reputations of the Commonwealth’s leading private and public organizations. The Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey (MCRS) ranked UMass Boston 18th out of 144 Massachusetts companies and institutions.
- UMass Boston was the only public university included in an April 2003 study of the economic and social impact of Boston's eight research universities on the metropolitan Boston area. In assessing the $8 billion annual impact of research universities, Engines of Economic Growth recognized UMass Boston for the activities of its faculty, centers, and institutes; for the work of the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership; for new collaborations such as the New England Regional Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence; and for its contributions to the Boston Public Schools and the field of green chemistry.
- In 2002, Kiplinger’s rated UMass Boston among the top 100
“best buys” in higher education across the country.
Community Service:
- Each year, UMass Boston welcomes over 130,000 people from the community to use campus athletic facilities. For the past four years, the National Consortium for Academics and Sports has named the Department of Athletics at UMass Boston as # 1 in the country for community service.
- In July 2004, the campus welcomed 12,500 members of the community to events related to the Democratic National Convention, including the spectacular Pops on the Bay concert and fireworks display. The university also hosted the 2002 Gubernatorial Candidates Forum on Issues of Concern to Women. UMass Boston was proud to co-host, with the John F. Kennedy Library, the first presidential debate of 2000.
- UMass Boston has maintained a long-standing partnership with the nearby Dorchester Educational Complex and was instrumental in founding, and continues to partner with, Boston’s Harbor School. The university also sponsors four professional development schools. They are, in Boston: Condon Elementary School, the Harbor Middle School, and the Dorchester Educational Complex; and, in Somerville: Somerville High School.
- Each year, UMass Boston offers numerous full-tuition-and-fees scholarships to incoming students, meeting 92% of students’ financial need.
- UMass Boston’s public radio station, WUMB—91.9 on the FM dial—airs folk music, jazz, and news to nearby communities. It is also home to the award-winning show Commonwealth Journal.
- The university offers professional consulting services to the community.
In one case, a geographic information systems professor and his students
lent their environmental monitoring, modeling, and management skills
to local business owners.
Facilities
- In spring 2004, UMass Boston’s new 331,000-square-foot Campus Center opened with a gala celebration. The new building centralizes student services and activities and provides the campus with a new front entrance.
- The university is the only educational institution in the Northeast
that shares its campus with a presidential library.
The John F. Kennedy Library shares its archival resources with UMass Boston students and instructors. - The Beacon Fitness Center is equipped with more than 25 cardiovascular machines, a universal weight machine, 16 Nautilus stations, and free weights, plus two racquetball courts, a squash court, an aerobics room, a walking track, and a two-level lounge. The Catherine Forbes Clark Athletic Center houses a gymnasium that seats 3,500; a hockey rink that seats 1,000; and a swimming and diving pool equipped for intercollegiate competition.
- The Biology Department’s three greenhouses shelter plant species native to tropical, desert, and temperate climates.
- The Instructional Technology Center,
a professional development and technology facility for faculty and
staff, offers courses and workshops on technology, learning and teaching,
and professional development.
For more information, please visit the UMass Boston website at www.umb.edu
02/06