The Nation’s #1 Innovation Economy Demands Talent and Discovery:
UMass Amherst delivers both.
“Massachusetts stole a second straight victory in Bloomberg’s ranking of the most innovative U.S. states, a testament to how much the economy’s wheels are greased by investment in higher education and research.”
-The Bloomberg U.S. Innovation Index, December 2016
Bloomberg 2016 U.S. State Innovation Index – top 10 states
“Massachusetts has one of the fastest expanding innovation economies in the nation, and companies around the state have told us that they need more skilled workers in the STEM fields to keep up with demand.”
—Governor Charlie Baker, March 2017
*All 50 states scored on a 0–100 scale across six equally weighted metrics: R&D intensity; productivity; high tech density; concentration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment; science and engineering degree holders; and patent activity.
2016 Rank | 2015 Rank | State | Total Score* |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | #1 | Massachusetts | 94.82 |
2 | 2 | California | 93.80 |
3 | 3 | Washington | 92.73 |
4 | 4 | New Jersey | 80.17 |
5 | 7 | Maryland | 78.95 |
6 | 6 | Oregon | 78.22 |
7 | 5 | Connecticut | 78.17 |
8 | 8 | Colorado | 75.58 |
9 | 10 | Minnesota | 75 |
10 | 12 | New Hampshire | 74.75 |

Providing the STEM Talent
Awarding more undergraduate STEM degrees than any other college or university in the Commonwealth, public or private.
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STEM BS degrees awarded 2016–17
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STEM graduates remaining in state*
*Estimated by applying UMass Amherst percent of degree recipients remaining in state five years later, by residency, to IPEDS degree and residency data for other institutions.
Educating the Commonwealth
Educating more students from Massachusetts than the eight top-ranked private national universities in Massachusetts combined.
U.S. News & World Report’s top eight private universities in the state—combined—enroll fewer Massachusetts high school graduates than UMass Amherst alone. And since 1986, the number of Massachusetts residents they serve has fallen by 70 percent.
First-year undergraduate enrollment of Massachusetts students at top eight private universities in Massachusetts vs. UMass Amherst 2016*
*Most recent data available
First-year undergraduate enrollment of Massachusetts students at top eight private universities in Massachusetts (combined)
Fueling Innovation Through Discovery
Aligned with the Commonwealth’s innovation strategy
Collaborating with public and private partners, UMass Amherst drives scientific discovery in key innovation areas.
- Big Data and Computational Science
- Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
- Cybersecurity
- Applied Life Sciences and Health
- Climate Science
- Sustainability
A powerhouse research enterprise
Since 2005, research awards to UMass Amherst have increased 40 percent and total research and development expenditures have climbed to more than $210 million in FY2017.
Research and Development Expenditures
Massachusetts universities: technology licenses and options executed 2016
Ranked third among Massachusetts universities in reported technology licenses and options executed—UMass Amherst R&D is steadily increasing its contributions to the Innovation Economy.
Source: Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM)
Some of the top employers of UMass Amherst alumni
- Raytheon Company
- State Street Bank & Trust Company
- Fidelity Investments
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
- Dell EMC Corporation
- MassMutual
- IBM Corporation
- Baystate Health, Inc.
- Wayfair, Llc
- Partners Healthcare System Inc.
- Ernst & Young
