UMass iCons Program Expands to Propel Next-Gen Innovation
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Launched in 2010, the UMass Integrated Concentration in STEM (iCons) program offers a unique integrative education for undergraduates studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), public health, policy, and business.
Responding to steadily growing interest by UMass Amherst students, iCons is now expanding its unique, experiential learning program in which students across campus work in interdisciplinary teams to address real-world problems. iCons received a record 336 undergraduate applicants in Fall 2024, more than three times the number of students admitted to this year’s cohort.
"The iCons Program is one of UMass Amherst's most important educational innovations, because it fosters the skills needed to tackle real-world challenges through science. Like our students, the iCons program grows and adapts to recognize the emerging problems we face—including challenges associated with biomedicine, energy, food, water, environmental resilience, and artificial intelligence."
— CNS Dean Michael Fox
Aimed at bringing iCons to even more undergraduate students at UMass, this 20-credit certificate program is doubling in size to offer two new tracks. The new Food-Water-Climate track launched in the Spring 2025 semester, and the inaugural AI-Future of Work cohort will enroll in Spring 2026—adding to the two long-established tracks in Biomedicine and Clean Energy.
The Food-Water-Climate track aims to prepare innovators who recognize that climate change is redistributing water across the globe, and most human use of water is for growing food. As such, climate change is putting food and water security at risk for billions of people. What’s worse, modern industrial agricultural practices like tilling soil exacerbate climate change, producing a vicious cycle that only interdisciplinary thinking can arrest.
The AI / Future of Work track aims to produce innovators who understand at some level what is under the hood of an AI algorithm and can anticipate the human impacts of AI. Problems to be considered by this iCons track include the impact of biased AI on health care and health outcomes, and the role of automation in human safety and employment trends.
From a radical idea first proposed in 2008, UMass iCons has flourished to emerge as a national leader in interdisciplinary education. The program has exceeded expectations for what undergraduate students can achieve when they work together across fields.
"I’m delighted to see UMass Amherst doubling the size of the iCons Program. It’s a real vote of confidence in its value and an encouragement for other universities to follow the strong iCons record at UMass."
— Richard Mahoney BS ’55
Richard Mahoney BS ‘55 stepped up to support iCons’ program development from the very beginning. The Mahoney family has recently renewed their support of iCons with an additional $1.375M gift that helps fuel the new expansion—doubling the size of the program and making UMass Amherst and CNS a national center of excellence in problem-based education.
Today, iCons students represent 45 majors across the university, with hundreds of students waiting in the pipeline. With a 95% first-year placement rate, iCons alumni enter the workforce as industry-ready problem solvers.
iCons Executive Director and Professor of Chemistry Scott Auerbach anticipates welcoming a growing number of next-generation innovators to the growing iCons program.
"From the beginning of iCons, we knew that tackling these big problems requires 'all hands on deck.' Doubling the size of our program is moving in this direction—towards a future where a greater number of UMass students benefit from iCons’ experiential learning and collaboration on global challenges."
— Scott Auerbach, iCons Executive Director
For current UMass Amherst undergraduates interested in applying to UMass iCons, the next application deadline is Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
To apply, support, or learn more about UMass iCons, please visit icons.cns.umass.edu.