As a public research university, UMass has a dynamic relationship with the innovation economy of Massachusetts. With more than 300,000 graduates living and working in the state, UMass is the largest producer of the highly skilled workers that lead and fuel the state’s economy. In fact, UMass educates nearly three times as many Massachusetts residents as the top eight Massachusetts private universities combined, graduating nearly 20,000 students in 2023.
The university’s enduring commitment to supporting the Massachusetts economy means that its academic programs and research are designed with the needs of Massachusetts industry and companies in mind.
Not only that, but research at UMass is conducted in the areas most critical to today’s companies, from life sciences, data science, and climate science to advanced manufacturing and financial technology, providing a strong undercurrent of academic support to the established and emerging industries in Massachusetts.
In addition to providing its students with a world-class education and conducting groundbreaking research, UMass generates billions of dollars for the Massachusetts economy, supporting more than 49,000 jobs each year in the state. In total, the university contributes more than $7.5 billion into the Massachusetts economy every single year, helping to ensure a brighter and stronger future for its citizens.
2018 Economic Contribution Analysis for University of Massachusetts
Home to many of the world’s leading scientific minds, UMass has a vibrant and dedicated community of faculty, researchers and students who develop world-changing technologies in diverse fields like engineering, life sciences, and health care. The university is committed to bringing these new ideas to life through patents and startup businesses based on inventions developed by students and faculty.
In 2019 alone, UMass researchers filed 206 invention disclosures, launched 7 start-up companies and executed 26 licensing deals. Faculty and researchers at UMass were awarded 73 patents, placing 37th in the world and third in New England.
At UMass, our students, faculty and researchers all have access to the university’s incubators and centers, where teams of experts with vast knowledge in their disciplines can collaborate and provide hands-on experience testing innovations and creating start-ups in the fields of engineering, life sciences and technology.
UMass is the largest contributor to the state’s workforce, with nearly 18,000 graduates each year, and more than 300,000 alumni living and working in Massachusetts.
The University of Massachusetts is one of two university systems in the country to have each one of its campuses recognized by the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement Classification, the gold standard for measuring the service that universities provide to their local communities.
Service and engagement are cemented in the university’s mission, and each UMass campus is dedicated to inspiring social activity and civic engagement that shape and energizes our state. In total, UMass students provide 700,000 hours of community service each year in their communities.
Each UMass campus has a tangible and intangible impact on its host region, through economic development, hiring, student and employee spending, and service and engagement activities, UMass is a key thread in the cultural and economic fabric of Massachusetts. Today, one of every 22 Massachusetts residents has attended UMass -- becoming business founders, job creators, and community leaders. UMass's annual economic impact on Massachusetts is more than $7 billion every year.
The UMass Innovation Institute was created to ensure that knowledge and technology developed at UMass Amherst rapidly and broadly move from campus labs into mainstream society. Being responsive, agile, flexible and timely in dealing with sponsors, collaborators, faculty and external stakeholders have enabled UMass Amherst to expand the impact of its research and contribute $2.5 billion to the economy in 2018.
With a focus on urban and global engagement, UMass Boston partners with local institutions, business leaders and local, state and federal governments to strengthen contributions to state, national and global cultural and economic development. The total economic impact UMass Boston created in 2018 was $1.2 billion.
Through the SouthCoast Development Partnership, UMass Dartmouth is helping to shape the blue economy across the region. The partnership’s focus is on expanding the commuter rail to the Suncoast, developing the waterfront in New Bedford and Fall River, developing renewable energy and performing economic cluster analysis. In 2018, UMass Dartmouth created a total economic impact of $549.7 million.
Research activity by faculty and students is one of the major drivers of economic impact at UMass Lowell. As research expenditures continue to grow through a mix of grants, private funding and university investment, the campus has developed a variety of partnerships that exchange knowledge and resources between the university and public, private and non-profit sectors. These community-engaged activities include teaching, learning, service and research, resulting in a total economic impact of $1.1 billion for 2018.
From providing flu shots to seniors and schoolchildren to promoting participation in the 2017 Greater Worcester Community Health Improvement Plan, the mission of UMass Chan Medical School is to engage with the Greater Worcester and Central Massachusetts communities. The total economic impact of this engagement for 2018 was $1.8 billion.