Continuing and Professional Education

Degree: Bachelor of General Studies

Contact: Information Desk
Office: 100 Venture Way, Suite 201, Hadley, Mass. 01035-9430
Phone: 545-2414
E-mail: info@contined.umass.edu

Website: www.umassulearn.net

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 online courses.

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. Admission to a degree program (matriculation) follows general University admissions guidelines.

Online Degree and Certificate Programs

Undergraduate- and graduate-level courses are offered online at the University’s virtual campus, accessed at www.UMassULearn.net. Twenty to thirty courses are offered each semester, as well as during summer and winter sessions.

Three graduate degree programs are also offered online. The Professional M.B.A. program is designed for professionals who want to continue their education in the management field. The Master of Science (Nursing) in Community/School Health prepares advanced-practice nurses as expert clinicians in the care of children, adolescents, and their families in diverse community and school health settings. The Master of Public Health provides graduate education for practicing professionals with relevant public health-related experience. The Master of Science in Nursing/Master of Public Health Dual Degree Program Online builds on previous nursing education and clinical experience, and prepares graduates for leadership positions in public health.

The online bachelor of science in Hospitality and Tourism Management is for working adults, both international and domestic, who are unable to pursue a residential degree program on the Amherst campus. The program integrates a variety of courses in the humanities and social and physical sciences, with a heavy concentration of business and hospitality/tourism courses. Transfer credit for courses completed at another institution will be considered.

The RN to BS in Nursing Track provides working RNs with the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree while continuing to work and meet other life responsibilities. Self-paced modules, lectures, seminars, simulated laboratory, independent study, and clinical practice are all used.

An Online Bachelor of Business Administration degree program is offered by the Isenbeg School of Management as a part-time program designed for working adults who have already completed sixty credits of college-level work.

The University Without Walls (UWW) offers “Weekends@UWW,” a hybrid of live Saturday and online classes. UWW is a self-paced bachelor’s degree completion program offering students the opportunity to individualize their degrees using a combination of previous academic credits and credit for their life and work experience done through a portfolio writing process.

The Criminal Justice Studies program is offered to online students throughout the United States. It is designed to provide students a solid foundation in the field of criminal justice and attracts men and women planning or in the midst of careers ranging from law enforcement to probation to the courts to corrections.

The Arts Management Online Certificate Program teaches problem-solving techniques, management skills, and principles for the workplace. Successful completion of four of the five online courses is required to earn the certificate. The courses may also be taken for undergraduate credit.

The Certificate of Business Studies is a credit-based program intended for students who want to broaden their academic background with business courses without completing a bachelor’s degree program.

The Online Certificate Program in Basics in Exercise and Nutrition for Health and Human Performance for a Healthy Lifestyle provides participants with a body of knowledge in exercise physiology and nutrition as it applies to fitness, health, and human performance.

The Certificate of Online Journalism program accepts students from any discipline, and equips them with skills in reporting, writing, research, analysis, and the ability to assess the state of online journalism as a new area of vast job opportunities.

Online courses are developed and taught by resident University faculty and meet the same academic requirements as traditional on-campus courses.

In-Person Degree and Certificate Programs

The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) is a University of Massachusetts Amherst degree available to part-time students through 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.

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.

In collaboration with academic departments, Continuing Education 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.

Continuing Education also provides access to the School of Education’s postbaccalaureate teacher certification program. The University Without Walls (UWW) offers live weeknight programs in Amherst, Springfield, and Worcester. UWW is a self-paced bachelor’s degree completion program offering students the opportunity to individualize their degree using previous academic credits, and awarding 15-30 credits for life and work experiences through portfolio writing. Four additional UWW Bachelor Degree concentrations are Early Care and Education: HeadStart, Child Care, and Pre-K; Human Services; MassMutal Program in Business Leadership (on-site in Springfield for MassMutual employees only); and the Early Education Teachers Licensure Program.

Ongoing Continuing Education 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.