How the ULA Program Works

The ULA program is based around ten-day residencies held in January and July at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students must attend five residencies to complete the program. During each residency participants take two three-credit courses, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Books and materials are sent out in advance of each residency. Included in the ten days are a reasonable amount of reading, writing, and other participatory exercises. A paper is assigned at the end of each course to be completed after returning home.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst, the major campus of the state university, is located in the western part of the state, midway between Boston, MA and Albany, NY - a two-hour drive from each. It is also one hour north of Hartford, CT, and forty-five minutes from Bradley Airport, which serves Hartford and Springfield, MA. Participants are housed in a hotel on the campus, which is a unionized facility. The remainder of the campus is organized, with professional, faculty, clerical, service and maintenance, and graduate assistant units all covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Below is a list of dates for upcoming sessions. Students should plan to arrive Sunday afternoon, with classes beginning Monday morning and running ten days consecutively through Wednesday.

Winter 2007  1/7-1/17
Summer 2007  7/15-7/25
Winter 2008  1/6-1/16
Summer 2008  7/13-7/23
Winter 2009  1/4-1/14
Summer 2009  7/12-7/22
Winter 2010  1/3-1/13
Summer 2010  7/11-7/21