What We Do

Research and Engagement staff work across multiple units to collaboratively support new research, innovation, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship by providing expertise, counsel, oversight and connection to partners and supporters.

View the R&E Organizational Chart (PDF)

The University of Massachusetts Amherst–the Commonwealth’s flagship public research university–is one of the nation's top research universities as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations, and research funding. Our research expenditures of more than $200 million per year support the research and creative activity of more than 1,200 faculty, 6,000 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, and a large number of undergraduates engaged in research. The success of our research programs reflects the faculty's excellence in innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to research. We aim to continually increase the relevance of University research, creating new areas of study along the way, many of them important to the social and economic vitality of Massachusetts and the nation.

Research and Engagement has overall leadership and oversight responsibility for the University of Massachusetts Amherst research enterprise. We seek to foster innovation, collaboration, interdisciplinary approaches, and demonstrated impact in University research. UMass Amherst research strengths align with national, state, and regional priorities including advanced materials and manufacturing; applied life sciences and health; big data and computational science; cognitive science; the arts and creative economy; energy, climate science, and sustainability; and equity and inclusion.

Our UMass Innovation Institute and Technology Transfer Office are committed to working with industry partners and others to maximize the societal benefit of applied research. We also directly support creative scholarship through the University of Massachusetts Press, which produces scholarly work in the humanities and social sciences.