Bachelor of Arts, Major in Economics

at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth USA

The Management major prepares you to succeed in environments that require initiative, professionalism, and the ability to work independently. You'll develop your analytical and leadership skills and gain knowledge in how to supervise others, develop and implement strategies, and advance organizational goals.

UMass Dartmouth's Management degree offers 2 study options that enable you to refine your management skills in your area of interest:

Small Business and Entrepreneurship option
You'll focus on how to identify, plan, and start a new venture—either as a start-up or an as an initiative within an existing business.

You will complete 3 core courses in Management, and elective courses that cover topics such as the identification of new products and services and the development of comprehensive business plans.

Leadership option
Organizational leaders plan and coordinate the activities of others, as well as doing hands-on work themselves. As a general manager, you'll combine day-to-day operations with special projects, personnel decisions, customer relations, and budgeting.

You will complete 3 core courses in Management, and elective courses that cover topics such as career development and human resources management.

French is a language rich in literary and cultural traditions. An official language in 29 countries, for all United Nations agencies, and for the European Union, French remains one of the top three most useful languages for business.

As a French major at UMass Dartmouth, you'll study the culture, language, and literature of the French-speaking world. You'll develop proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and cross-cultural communication as you explore topics in areas such as linguistics, civilization, film, cultural diversity, equality, political rights, social justice, and the entertainment industry.

A degree in French will prepare you for careers, including digital media, entertainment, business, law, justice, communications, education, hospitality, travel, government service, international development and aid, journalism, publishing, linguistics, social services, translation and interpreting. We also offer teacher preparation for students who are interested in teaching French at the middle or high school level. Learn more about teacher preparation.

Students are strongly encouraged to consider combining the French major with another minor, double majoring, combining a French minor with another major, or choosing the French concentration as part of the Liberal Arts major.

The Mechanical Engineering department offers a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration in manufacturing: the transformation of raw materials into useful products through the use of the most effective methods.

Manufacturing engineers determine the equipment, tools, and processes required to convert the design of a product into reality. They apply analytical skills to discover the optimal combination of machinery, materials, and methods needed to keep production costs and time low.

Mechanical engineers design and develop anything that can be thought of as a machine, as well as the tools and processes necessary to make man-made products. Encompassing a wide range of fields, the discipline includes the study of energy transformations, manufacturing, mechanical systems, and material science.

With a degree in mechanical engineering, you'll have the ability to work in a diverse range of careers including scientific research, product manufacturing, product design, power generation, military analysis, and operations of complex systems such as nuclear reactors. Mechanical engineers are also increasingly finding opportunities in medical research fields and in biofuel applications.

The Health and Society bachelor's degree program explores multiple perspectives on health, health care, and related systems and policies. You will engage in a critical analysis of the factors that impact the health and health behaviors of diverse populations, the provision of health care, and the formulation of health-related policy.

Through the program, you will:

• Understand how systemic inequalities affect health outcomes
• Learn how theoretical frameworks and research from multiple disciplines can be used to find innovative solutions to health-related problems
• Demonstrate an understanding of the organization and efficacy of health care systems and policies
• Develop basic skills in qualitative and quantitative social scientific research methods
• Utilize effective oral and written modes of communicating health-related issues to diverse audiences

The BFA in Art + Design: Painting offers professional, studio-based training in the visual arts with all the advantages of a university education.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

As a painting student, you'll learn fundamental skills and contemporary practices through a wide spectrum of course offerings such as:

• Form
• Color & space
• The human figure
• Concept-development
• Mixed media
• Abstraction
• Time-based media
• Installation

You'll develop cross-disciplinary sensitivity—with the possibility of combining painting with printmaking, photography, digital media, textiles, and other disciplines in contemporary art making. You'll also be able to explore fields across the university, such as business, engineering, and science.

Fine artists are inherent problem-solvers, negotiators, collaborators, and team-players; they have excellent hand/eye coordination and can illustrate their ideas—often quickly—so that others can understand a concept beyond the written or spoken word. The skills of a fine artist can be applied in education, business, advertising, set design, and arts management (gallery directors, administrators), to name a few.

The Mechanical Engineering Department offers the MS degree in mechanical engineering. Course offerings and faculty interests span the entire range of the mechanical engineering field.

The MS program provides advanced education enabling students to solve complex engineering problems.

Program objectives
Through your master's level studies, you will gain:

• An advanced level of understanding in the general areas of mechanical engineering
• Depth of knowledge and an understanding of advanced topics in your chosen area of specialization

You will have the ability to:

• Identify and formulate complex engineering problems
• Develop solutions to complex engineering problems
• Communicate technical material effectively both orally and through technical reports and publications

The MA in Portuguese Studies gives graduates an in-depth understanding of literary and cultural history of Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world within a broad, interdisciplinary context of the humanities and social sciences.

Course offerings are complemented by a varied agenda of activities and publications sponsored by the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture.

• Guest lectures
• State-of-the-art colloquia
• Portuguese-American Archives
• International, peer-reviewed academic journal
• Portuguese Literary and Cultural Studies

Our program provides the knowledge required for teaching Portuguese in secondary schools and community and junior colleges, as well as to succeed professionally in a wide range of employment opportunities available in our region, nationally and internationally.

English is an exciting discipline that challenges you to explore both literature and writing. Pursue your interest in literature by choosing the literature and criticism option. You'll learn how to:

• Read and think critically
• Engage with literature—and the world—thoughtfully and analytically
• Identify and analyze formal literary genres and schools of literary criticism
• Communicate effectively through literary analysis, persuasive argument, critical exposition, and presentation

Our award-winning faculty members specialize in a wide and diverse range of fields such as creative nonfiction, drama, fiction, poetry, world and British literature, and many more.

The skills you'll develop as an English major are essential in today's competitive job market and can lead to rewarding careers in communications, editing, freelance writing, grants writing, journalism, public relations, publishing, teaching, technical writing, screenwriting, and many other fields. You'll also be prepared for graduate study across many disciplines, such as creative and professional writing, education, law, and library/information science.

The major in communication provides students with 21st century written, oral, and visual communication knowledge and skills grounded in rhetorical theory and critically engaged with diverse social, environmental, and technological perspectives.

Students develop important skills and gain experiences that will support their learning and professionalization during their time at UMass Dartmouth and beyond. Students will apply communication concepts and theories to real-world problems and issues within one or more communication industries.

Upon completing the degree, students will be able to:

• Create written texts using appropriate supporting materials and theories in communication and rhetoric
• Communicate ideas orally within multiple contexts
• Use information design principles to produce texts appropriate for an audience, purpose, and context
• Summarize and apply key concepts in communication and rhetorical theory
• Evaluate the historical and/or cultural contexts of communication practices and describe their ethical, social, or environmental implications
• Evaluate messages from a variety of media and technologies using methodologies in communication and rhetoric

Express yourself visually, learn fundamental techniques, and explore contemporary practices with a BFA in Art + Design: Printmaking.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

The program offers professional, studio-based training in printmaking through a wide spectrum of course offerings such as:

• Silkscreen
• Etching
• Lithography
• Relief
• Monotype
• Photo processes

You'll work in our large printmaking studios, with state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to the different printmaking processes. You'll develop cross-disciplinary sensitivity—with the opportunity to combine printmaking with painting, drawing, photography, digital media, textiles, and other disciplines in contemporary art making. You'll also be able to explore fields across the university, such as business, engineering, and science.