Course Offerings and Curriculum

Our Master's degree in Labor Studies consists of completing a number of required courses and choosing electives both from courses offered in the Labor Center and in other departments across the University. Students meet with their faculty advisor to tailor a course of study that fits their interests and career goals. Many of our students study with our affiliated faculty in Economics, Sociology, Geography, Political Science, Public Health, and other departments across the University. With thirty-five to forty full-time graduate students, the Labor Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst offers the intimacy of a small program while at the same time providing the flexibility and opportunities of a large university.

The Labor Center Master's degree requires forty-two (42) credits. Typically, full-time students complete the program in two years. Most students do an internship in the summer between their first and second years. Alternatively, students may elect to write a Master's thesis. The normal course of study is as follows:

First Year
Fall Semester 
Introduction to Labor
Labor Law
Labor Research

Spring Semester
U.S. Labor History
Labor in the U.S. Economy
Elective

Second Year
Fall Semester
Internship (six credit hours)
Organizing
Elective

Spring Semester
Collective Bargaining and Contract Administration
Elective
Elective
Elective

Electives taught regularly in the Labor Center include:

Advanced Research

Comparative Labor Movements

Labor and Community

Labor and Politics

Labor Education

Labor and Globalization

Women and Work

Race, Gender, Immigration and Labor