Workforce Development

UMass plays a lead role in developing the Commonwealth's number one resource - talent. UMass helps Massachusetts companies be more competitive and innovative through the constant injection of new talent into the workforce.

With a student body of nearly 60,000 the five-campus UMass system educates more Massachusetts citizens than any other institution in the Commonwealth. Nearly nine out of ten UMass students are Massachusetts residents.

Currently, more than 215,000 alumni live and work in the state. They help run major enterprises such as Raytheon and RSA Security, start exciting new ventures such as Monster.com and Stacy's Pita Chip Company, and lead major government enterprises such as the City of Boston and the State Senate.

Recruitment

Each year, about 11,000 people graduate from UMass campuses with the skills and knowledge to strengthen the Commonwealth's workforce. Between seventy and eighty percent of UMass graduates remain in Massachusetts immediately after graduation. Over time, UMass students stay to live and work in the Commonwealth at almost twice the rate of students at Massachusetts' private universities.

How can organizations tap into this talent? Each UMass campus has a career services office that can help companies with recruitment and in organizing internship and co-op programs for students:

Economic Development

The Office of Economic Development in the UMass President's Office serves as a University-wide contact for addressing the workforce needs of major state-wide corporations and has developed system-wide partnerships with firms such as Fidelity and Raytheon. It has also helped develop and support system-wide workforce initiatives, such as the Amherst-led Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative (CITI) that promotes creative reform of IT curriculum.

Academics

UMass offers more than 450 academic programs across the state and online. Offerings include traditional undergraduate and graduate programs, cutting-edge distance learning offerings at UMassOnline, satellite continuing education centers, and customized corporate training programs.

Some of the nationally ranked signature programs at UMass campuses include polymers, computer science, and chemical engineering at UMass Amherst; environmental science at UMass Boston; marine science at UMass Dartmouth; advanced materials and plastics engineering at UMass Lowell; and a variety of biomedical specialties at UMass Medical School in Worcester.

For specific academic program offerings, visit:

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Workforce Development