Bachelor of Arts in Communication

at Shorelight Group - University of Massachusetts - Boston USA

Welcome to the Department Of Mathematics!
The Department of Mathematics supports the mission of the University by:

• Providing mathematics majors with high-quality programs
• Offering high-quality courses to majors in the sciences and to others who need mathematics in their field of study and research
• Educating those students whose primary interest is not in a field requiring the highest level of mathematics
• Working on the frontier of mathematical research in fields of interest to our faculty

The Bachelor of Science (BS) degree offered by the Mathematics Department has two possible concentrations:

• Applied and Pure Mathematics - The Applied and Pure Mathematics Concentration is the most “traditional” concentration and students pursuing it will have a solid foundation for various math careers ahead of them. Students interested in going to graduate school in fields like mathematics or physics or working on mathematical modeling in industry or research laboratories, might want to consider the Applied and Pure Mathematics Concentration.
• Computational Mathematics - The Computational Mathematics Concentration provides broad math education with an emphasis on computer and mathematical models as tools to solve real-world problems. Students graduating in this concentration would be qualified to look for jobs, for example, in actuarial companies, finance, machine learning industry or apply to grad schools in computational and data-driven sciences, like computer science, engineering or medical research.

An option to earn a General BS degree is also available.

General BS Degree
For those students who need flexibility in their course work like double majors, major/minor students and transfer students, the Mathematics Department also offers an option to earn a General BS degree in Mathematics. Students who want to pursue this option should get an approval from the department first. To initiate the approval, they need to submit a rationale to the department explaining why they want to pursue the general option.

The Sociology major helps students understand the world around them and the social forces that impact us every day. Sociology provides a lens to study a wide range of topics, from housing inequality to families to social media. The Sociology curriculum advances your knowledge in core areas and helps focus your interest, while providing experience in a related work environment and ultimately helping you select a career path.

Community development is a multi-disciplinary field based in the social sciences. In UMass Boston's Community Development program students can customize their focus of study drawing on a breadth of disciplines to focus on issues at the intersection of the environment and economic development, community health, and planning.After completing your requirements in the BA in community development you will have a firm grounding in the multiple fields that contribute to empowering communities through environmentally sound and sustainable economic development and programming that ensures community health and prosperity. You will have the critical thinking skills necessary to develop and manage community programs and the analytical skills required to advance new strategies and actions in support of a sustainable and just future.

The Bachelor of Science in Chemistry is an ACS-approved degree. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is the largest scientific society in the world. The American Chemical Society (ACS) organizes national and regional chemistry conferences, publishes a variety of chemical journals and other publications and offers a variety of additional services to its members. The American Chemical Society also promotes quality in chemistry education by approving undergraduate programs. The American Chemical Society recognizes ACS-approved programs as providing a high-quality undergraduate chemistry program.

Students completing a degree in chemistry will:

• Learn the basic canon of chemistry, covering the five fundamental sub-fields as recommended by the American Chemical Society: inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, biochemistry.
• Conduct original chemical research and report their results orally and in writing to scientific audiences.
• Learn and apply the principles of scientific ethics with regard to use of sources, generating and reporting of data, and collaboration with colleagues.
• Develop an understanding of green chemistry and environmental responsibility.
• Upon graduation, be prepared to practice as a professional chemist, whether in further study or in the workforce.

The Information Technology major offered through UMass Boston's College of Management is designed to offer pathways to highly-demanded careers in IT for both high school graduates and students of Massachusetts community colleges. Our small classes ensure personalized attention from IT faculty while our ties to the Greater Boston business and technical communities add an extra dimension of learning to our program of business information technology education. The IT major offers an “applications-path” format for students which includes a core of technical knowledge (nine courses), an area of specialization or track within IT (four or five courses, depending on track selection), three professional electives in an application or domain area (preferably outside of IT but within business), and two wrap-up courses (project management and IT capstone), in addition to general education requirements.

The IT major is project-based.  Every exercise assigned throughout the BSIT is designed to be of the kind that a student might encounter in his or her work: collaboration, competence, and outcomes assessment are the hallmark characteristics of the program.  Students will learn how to use IT to solve real-world problems within the context of a field in which they wish to work. Graduates will be familiar with, and be able to apply, the following core information technologies to solve business problems:

• Programming
• Networking
• Databases
• Web technologies

System Administration Track
The Information Technology (IT) major is a jointly offered program between the College of Management (CM) and the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The BSIT consists of a common core of ten courses, a track of four to six courses in a particular area of specialization (the system administration track requires four courses), a common capstone course, and three professional electives.

The human services field continues to be one of the fastest-growing in Massachusetts and the nation. Human service providers work in diverse settings, from state agencies to nonprofit organizations. Within these settings they carry out different roles, including advocate, case manager, educator, mediator, and provider of support services for individuals, families, and groups.

The BA Program in Human Services at UMass Boston’s College of Liberal Arts (CLA) prepares students for purposeful careers in human services and graduate education. It provides a theoretical framework, and hands-on experience working with individuals, families, and their communities. In this major, students learn to see people and systems ecologically, envisioning the individual in constant interaction with his or her environment. We examine how individuals and small groups affect and are affected by larger systems, including those that are socioeconomic and political.

Our curriculum provides knowledge and skills that are essential for the delivery of human services, with an emphasis on direct service. We offer service-learning opportunities that allow students to engage in local communities, working on mutually defined issues for the purpose of using one’s education to make a difference.

UMass Boston's MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) is a 10 course, 30 credit degree program. To receive the MSBA, students must complete a minimum of 10 courses: Analytical Core, MSBA Electives, and the MSBA Capstone. One (1) prerequisite course must be satisfied or waived through prior relevant coursework, based on a review of transcripts.*

The MSBA program is designed to prepare students for utilizing analytical techniques, methods, and applications for data-driven practices in diverse organizations and enterprises of all sizes.

As businesses become more and more reliant on data-driven strategies, the needs and opportunities for graduates in Business Analytics have grown rapidly. Breakthroughs in data collection, storage, and analysis to uncover and capture business value have fueled this growth, and post-recession companies have recognized this potential and increasingly emphasize data-driven decision-making in their business strategies. The current annual rate of job growth in this area is approximately 11.8%, a rate that is only expected to accelerate in the future.

This program covers theories of powerful techniques and quantitative methods in Business Analytics and how they are applied in the real world. The program focuses on using current software tools to study effective techniques of problem formulation, developing solutions with mathematical and algorithmic techniques, and methods for implementing those solutions with technology.

The MSBA program offers students a choice of two specializations, Big Data Analytics and Supply Chain Analytics. Each includes a core of analytical courses, elective courses in that specialization, and a capstone course.

Supply Chain Analytics
The Supply Chain Analytics specialization focuses on data analytics and decision-making in the context of a major functional area in businesses-- supply chains. The specialization offers courses on analytics in service operation. The objective is to use data and data modeling to optimize activities within the supply chain and consequently maximize the organization’s competitive advantage.

UMass Boston's MBA is a streamlined 12-course, AACSB-accredited, immersive business program. focused on equipping you with the knowledge and skills you need to succeed as a business leader. The program is designed for professionals who want to gain a deeper understanding of the ever-changing business world to advance their career, change careers, or start their own business. Explore foundational business theories, gain experience with emerging technologies, and develop your analytical skills.

Our award winning, nationally recognized BS in Environmental Science program is grounded in the natural sciences integrating biology, chemistry, physics, and geology with the social sciences to prepare the next generation of innovators and knowledge creators. Students gain essential skills in ecology, geology, hydrology, and marine science and apply these skills to critical challenges facing coastal marine systems in the Boston metropolitan area. Through coursework, our senior capstone course, internships, research, and cooperative education programs, students apply their knowledge to real-world problems in collaboration with our many public and private partners. Majors can focus their studies on the earth systems (Earth and Hydrologic Science Track), coastal oceans (Marine Science Track), or on the science-policy interface (Policy and Management Track).

• Students will be able to apply the scientific method and design appropriate experiments to answer environmental science questions.  
• Students will understand the contributions of laboratory, field, and survey data collection and analysis for approaching environmental science problems.
• Students will be able to analyze and critique environmental questions across multiple natural and social science perspectives and research approaches.
• Students will demonstrate analytical and quantitative proficiencies to analyze environmental and/or social science data.
• Students will understand the system interactions and feedbacks between human activities and social institutions and the natural environment.
• Students will be experienced in communicating their learnings both in writing, visually, and orally, and for specific and general audiences.

The Information Technology major offered through UMass Boston's College of Management is designed to offer pathways to highly-demanded careers in IT for both high school graduates and students of Massachusetts community colleges. Our small classes ensure personalized attention from IT faculty while our ties to the Greater Boston business and technical communities add an extra dimension of learning to our program of business information technology education. The IT major offers an “applications-path” format for students which includes a core of technical knowledge (nine courses), an area of specialization or track within IT (four or five courses, depending on track selection), three professional electives in an application or domain area (preferably outside of IT but within business), and two wrap-up courses (project management and IT capstone), in addition to general education requirements.

The IT major is project-based.  Every exercise assigned throughout the BSIT is designed to be of the kind that a student might encounter in his or her work: collaboration, competence, and outcomes assessment are the hallmark characteristics of the program.  Students will learn how to use IT to solve real-world problems within the context of a field in which they wish to work. Graduates will be familiar with, and be able to apply, the following core information technologies to solve business problems:

• Programming
• Networking
• Databases
• Web technologies

Business Intelligence (BI) is the technology that companies such as Amazon.com and Google use to take advantage of the enormous amount of data they collect and analyze. It is the technology with which Amazon.com knows what book to recommend you every time you login, Google knows how to rank the pages you are searching for, and banks decide whether to approve loan applications almost instantly.