This is UMass Lowell

Throughout its 100 year history, the University of Massachusetts Lowell has excelled at providing innovative, responsive programs that meet both the needs of its students for a quality education and the needs of regional businesses for skilled practitioners and managers.

Formed through the merger of a technical institute and a teacher’s college, the University is part of the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The academic experience at UMass Lowell offers students comprehensive, broad-based programs characterized by a continuing effort to break down traditional barriers between disciplines, and between the classroom and the "real world."

Courses typically involve a practical component which can range from the political science team that competed nationally in a United Nations Model Assembly; to the music business majors who went to a recording industry conference in California; to the civil engineering students who helped the city of Lowell inventory and replace all of its street signs.

Members of the faculty are respected researchers who value their commitment to teaching and extend the learning experience beyond the classroom. Undergraduates participate in funded research and college policy committees, and senior faculty are involved in student projects such as building and racing a solar-powered car. Strong links with local businesses, educational systems, and health care providers benefit students through an increasing number of internships, part-time jobs, and grants. In short, students graduate with the hands-on experience and practical problem-solving skills for which employers are looking.

UMass Lowell offers 82 different undergraduate concentrations, including recent popular choices like meteorology, sound recording technology, exercise physiology, criminal justice, and plastics engineering. Most courses incorporate some kind of practical component that gives students hands-on experience in their field. Support services ranging from the University-wide Honors Program to multimedia computer labs to academic tutoring ensure that all students have access to the programs and services that help them succeed. The Graduate School enrolls nearly 3,000 students in 30 master’s degree and 11 doctoral programs.

UMass Lowell’s 6,000 undergraduate students are ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse. Students are active in a wide variety of community service activities, including athletics-based programs for local high school students; the Assistive Technology Program in which students create and modify devices for the disabled; and volunteer work at local shelters and community programs. There are more than 100 campus organizations to choose from: academic, recreational, and special interest groups; the women’s center; marching band; the student newspaper; an FM radio station covering a 20-mile radius; and the Off-Broadway Players. Campus-wide events include University Week and Spring Carnival, and resident hall associations sponsor social and recreational events.

The University’s three campuses, spread over 100 acres on both sides of the Merrimack River, include classroom and laboratory buildings, two libraries, a student center, two gymnasiums, multiple dining halls, a Center for the Performing Arts, an art gallery, and numerous residence halls. State-of-the-art laboratories include such special-interest facilities as the six Sound Recording Technology Program studios; an interactive video lab (one of three in the country) that enables nursing students to simulate medical emergencies; and a manufacturing lab where engineering and management students team up to produce microelectronic components.

In 1998, the University’s collaborative relationship with the city of Lowell resulted in the completion of the nearby Paul E. Tsongas Hockey Arena and the on-campus Edward A. LeLacheur Baseball Stadium. Both facilities are shared by UMass Lowell and the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Lowell Spinners, a class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

These projects and the University’s Campus Recreation Center, which opened in the Fall of 2002, are located in the city’s Northern Canal area where campus and community meet. Other collaborative projects in this area include a three-mile river walk/canal walk system, and the mixed-use renovation of the 18-acre Lawrence Mills complex.