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The flexibility of a UWW degree allows you to integrate more of your previous learning, such as workplace training programs, learning gained from experience, and specialized college courses that might not be acknowledged by traditional majors. More opportunities for credit lead to an accelerated degree program. How many credits will you be transferring in? What learning from experience will you bring? How many courses will you take each semester? UWW Advisors consider all these questions when estimating how long it will take individual students to complete the degree.
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Ways to Earn Credit at the University Without Walls

To graduate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, all UWW students must earn a minimum of 120 credits. Most enter with credits already on their transcripts, and many with creditable learning gained through experience or structured training programs. The degree planning process done in the first semester helps students put together credits earned through a variety of methods into the coherent pattern of a well-grounded degree. This degree plan must meet all the requirements of the University and the department. Here are the various ways UWW students can earn credit toward graduation:

• Transfer credit: Most students bring transfer credit from other schools on entering UWW. Up to 75 credits may be transferred to UMass Amherst on admission or while enrolled in the program.
• Prior Learning Credit: Most UWW students write a prior learning portfolio and have it evaluated for area of concentration or elective credit. Students typically earn up to 30 credits in this way, significantly accelerating their progress toward the degree. Learn more about the prior learning portfolio process...
• UMass Amherst Continuing & Professional Education courses: Most UWW students find evening, weekend, or online courses fit their schedules better. The UMass Amherst Continuing & Professional Education (CPE) offers courses considered resident credit on weekday evenings and online (see UMassOnline).
• Traditional UMass Amherst day division courses: UMass Amherst offers hundreds of "university-scheduled" courses through its day division, and many upper-division (numbered 300 and above) courses fall into this category. Some of the courses on the degree plan may need to be taken as university-scheduled courses, but registered and paid for through Continuing & Professional Education. The UMass Amherst course catalog and schedule for courses offered during the current or upcoming semester are available online through SPIRE (No log-in is needed; click on the course catalog and schedule link on the upper right.).
• Independent Studies and Internships: Independent learning projects can be developed to cover special areas of interest for students or possibly as substitutes for courses only available at inconvenient times. Students work with faculty members to outline what will be covered, how the project will be presented, when materials will be submitted, and how work will be evaluated. Independent studies registered as UMass Amherst courses carry resident credit.
• Special Transcript Evaluation: Learning gained through structured training programs (such as military training or other career-related training in banking or insurance) may be evaluated for college credit. Students work with advisors to present documentation of learning gained through training programs to appropriate faculty for review. Special transcript evaluations are considered transfer credit.
• College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams: CLEP exams are standardized tests offered through the College Board. Most Massachusetts community colleges are identified as CLEP test centers. College Algebra CLEP tests are NOT accepted by UMass Amherst, but the English writing test with essay option is accepted to meet the composition (College Writing—CW) requirement. Credits earned through CLEP exams are considered transfer credits. Learn more about CLEP exams through the College Board web site.