Educating the Next Generation of Labor Leaders

Theory, Politics, and Practice

The UMass Labor Center offers Master's Degrees in Labor Studies with a focus at the intersection of Theory, Politics and Practice. Our program combines rigorous study of labor history and current issues.  Our students dig in to real data and learn research techniques to inform any campaign. Our professors seat current labor struggles in an intersectional historical context inseparable from race, gender, and class politics.

For over fifty years, we have built one of the premiere graduate programs in labor studies in the United States. With a near 100% placement record, our graduates are in high demand to join our over 1,000 alumni in key position in the labor movement and social justice organizations.

Organized Labor is surging in a way we haven't seen in a generation. New units are certifying every week and we want you to have the degree that offers the skills to fuel this movement. These new units have also combined efforts with a wide variety of alt-labor organizations, building strong connections with new social movements in broad-based coalitions for justice. Become one of our graduates who are at the forefront of many of these new and exciting developments to build justice and dignity in the workplace and the community, here and abroad.

Three Graduate Degree Options

• 1.5 Year Accelerated Residential Program 
• 2.5 Year Union Leadership and Activism Partial Residency Program
• 2.5 to 3 Year Union Leadership and Activism Partial Residency for Education Workers