|
Home > Courses
> Interdisciplinary Majors
> Continuing Education
Continuing Education
Degree: Bachelor of
General Studies
Contact: Information Desk
Office: 358 N. Pleasant
St.
Phone: 545-2414
E-mail: contined@admin.umass.edu
Website: www.umass.edu/contined
For over 25 years, the
Division of Continuing Education, a University Outreach unit, has provided
access to the academic resources of the University to those people of
the Commonwealth who are not full-time
degree students, to local and national business firms throughout
the state, and to the general community. An administrative arm of Academic
Affairs, the Division works closely with the various academic units in
planning and offering credit and noncredit programs to meet the needs
of nontraditional students.
Continuing Education meets the educational needs of
more than 15,000 people each year with a variety of programs that include
evening credit courses during the fall and spring semesters; University
summer and winter sessions courses; access to specialized on-campus and
off-campus undergraduate and graduate degree programs; professional development
programs and workshops; certificate programs; independent study courses
and internships; specialized courses designed to meet specific needs;
noncredit workshops in the areas of English as a Second Language, personal
enrichment, career and personal development, and recreation; and distance education courses. The Performing Arts Division
(PAD) provides music, theater, and dance instruction to students of all
ages and all levels of ability. PAD offers private and group instruction
and recital experience to students on campus and people in the community
who do not otherwise have the opportunity to study with resident faculty.
Any person who has graduated from high school or has
a certificate of General Educational Development (G.E.D.) may enroll in
un- dergraduate courses through the Division. Admission to a degree program
(matriculation) follows general University admissions guidelines.
Degree Programs
The Bachelor of General
Studies (B.G.S.) is a University of Massachusetts degree available to
part-time students through the Division of Continuing Education. The B.G.S.
is flexible and responsive to special needs that cannot be met in traditional
full-time day programs. It is specifically designed for people whose other
responsibilities-family, work, or other life circumstances-make full-time
work toward a degree difficult. The program of study is built around individual
goals and interests. Every B.G.S. student receives personalized academic
advising.
The B.G.S. with Individual Concentration allows students
to design a program of study combining courses in two or more academic
departments. Students work with an academic adviser and a faculty sponsor
in one of the relevant departments to plan an academically sound concentration
directed toward specific career goals or areas of interest.
Possible concentrations are almost unlimited. Past
concentrations have included such areas as environmental waste management,
arts administration, pre-law, human services administration, and horticultural
therapy. The B.G.S. degree has been used advantageously by three different
groups of Continuing Education students: 1) those who would like to orient
their degree more specifically toward a career area that demands interdisciplinary
study; 2) those who are already established in a career but would like
the benefits of a general liberal arts degree; and 3) those who are looking
for a specific match of disciplines not easily obtainable in a traditional
single academic major. Academic advisers are available to help students
with degree programs or courses related to their life and career objectives.
In collaboration with academic departments, the Division provides course access for several
University degree programs: two specialized programs leading to the B.S.
in Nursing (one for R.N.s without a B.S.N., and one for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree in a field other than
Nursing); the part-time, off-campus
professional M.B.A. offered by the Isenberg School of Mangement;
the M.S. in Labor Studies offered by the Labor Relations and Research
Center; the M.Mus. in Music Education offered by the Department of Music
and Dance; the Soil Science Certificate and the
M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences, and the M.P.H.
in Epidemiology, offered at the University of Massachusetts Medical
School in Worcester as part of the degree program of the School of Public
Health and Health Sciences.
The Division also provides access to the School of Education's postbaccalaureate teacher
certification program. In collaboration with the University of Rhode Island,
the Division provides some course access and administrative support on
the Amherst campus for a program leading to an M.S. in Library and Information
Studies at the University of Rhode
Island.
Ongoing Division
programs include the Arts Extension Service, which helps develop
self-sufficient community-based arts programs
and provides services and training for individual students, artists, and
artist groups. The University's Family Business Center assists family-owned
companies in recognizing their common problems and in finding solutions
to the unique challenges confronting them.
The center offers members an educational, interactive learning environment,
including presentations by experts from the fields of psychology, management
training and development, law, accounting, financial and estate planning,
and banking.
|
