College News

Charlton College of Business

U.S. News & World Report ranks Charlton in top 28% of undergraduate business programs

U.S. News & World Report recently announced their 2023 College Rankings, which showcased the Charlton College of Business's continued excellence and growing momentum, ranking it No. 144 for “Best Undergraduate Business Programs” among 515 programs. This places CCB in the top 28% of business programs in the U.S., and marks a 51-spot rise in rankings since 2020. Among public universities, Charlton ranks No. 89 in the U.S., and No. 2 in Massachusetts.

College of Engineering

University awarded $750,000 to support student learning experiences in hands-on offshore wind internships

UMass Dartmouth was awarded $373,048 by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and $375,000 in matching dollars from partners BankFive, BayCoast Bank, and Bristol County Savings Bank to offer career-relevant paid internship and experiential learning opportunities in the offshore wind industry through a new program, called Closing the Experience Gap. UMassD and Bristol Community College students will gain hands-on experience with offshore wind developers and supply chain partners. The funding will help accelerate talent pipeline development for the fast-growing offshore wind industry and provide financial support for senior capstone and other project-based learning opportunities.

Physics major named Goldwater Scholar

Physics major McKenzie Ferrari ’23 has been named a 2022 Goldwater Scholar, becoming the first recipient of the prestigious recognition in UMass Dartmouth’s history. The highly competitive scholarship was established by Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater and is awarded to sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise in becoming the nation’s next generation of natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering research leaders. Ferrari was also one of 60 students nationwide who participated in the Council on Undergraduate Research “Posters on the Hill” event and was recently accepted to the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Research Experience for Undergraduates.

College of Nursing & Health Sciences

College of Nursing & Health Sciences awarded $750,000 to diversify the life sciences

UMass Dartmouth received a $750,000 grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to connect students in one of the University's most diverse science programs, medical laboratory science, to resources that will further their careers in the life sciences. Funding will be used to add advanced technologies to the University's laboratory spaces, including microbiology testing stations, blood testing equipment, and cell manipulation hardware. Students in the program have a 100% employment rate and a 100% pass rate on professional certification.

College of Visual & Performing Arts

Interior architecture and design professor Stephanie McGoldrick earned the Interior Design Educators Council Community Service Award and the International Interior Design Association Impact Stipend for projects completed in the New Bedford community to revitalize park spaces and support small, minority-owned businesses and nonprofit organizations. McGoldrick’s projects completed with her students include lighting solutions for Wings Court park, interior and exterior enhancements for small, minority-owned businesses, space-planning and furniture recommendations for the Community Economic Development Center’s new office, and revitalizing a small pocket park in New Bedford.

Bhen Alan, BFA ’19 awarded Fulbright

Bhen Alan, BFA ’19 received the prestigious 2022-2023 Fulbright award to study indigenous mat weaving in the Philippines. Alan’s research and independent study will explore the rich banig weaving of the Philippines to understand the history and traditions of un-colonized weaving and consider its role in contemporary culture and art.

Honors College

Honors College names new director

Professor Amy Shapiro was named director of the two-year-old Honors College. Shapiro sees much potential for the Honors College and its students. “I want the college to serve as an engine of economic and social mobility for our students, especially those who have been traditionally underserved,” she said. Shapiro is a long-time faculty member in the psychology department and former associate and interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

School for Marine Science & Technology

SMAST & New Bedford High School partner to address diversity in field of marine science

UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology and New Bedford High School formed a partnership to offer a summer internship program. The four-week paid internship in marine sciences for New Bedford High School students creates the opportunity for students from underrepresented groups to gain exposure to the world of higher education and careers in the marine sciences. The goal is to diversify ethnicity in the field of marine science throughout the SouthCoast and beyond.

UMass Law

UMass Law sees increases in enrollment and welcomes its strongest class

UMass Law continues its upward trajectory of increased enrollment and academic quality, welcoming the strongest incoming class in its institutional history this year. The median LSAT among entering students increased to 152, and the median undergraduate GPA increased to 3.47, both records. The commonwealth’s only public law school also grew enrollment for the sixth consecutive year to 377 total students, up from 186 when it received full ABA accreditation in 2016. UMass Law ranks third in the nation among nearly 200 ABA-accredited law schools for enrollment growth yet offers the smallest first-year doctrinal course size among law schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Associate Professor Jeremiah Ho receives top prize for LGBTQ legal scholarship

Associate Professor Jeremiah Ho explored the divisive case of a Colorado same-sex couple who was turned away from ordering a wedding cake by a baker whose religious beliefs did not support their marriage in an article published in the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism. The article earned a top prize in the field of LGBTQ legal scholarship as one of four recipients of the Dukeminier Award from the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School. The Dukeminier Awards acknowledge the best of legal scholarship concerning sexual orientation and gender identity law.

New 3+3 program agreements added

UMass Law added two new 3+3 programs that will allow students at neighboring universities the opportunity to earn their undergraduate degree and a law degree in six years. In this accelerated degree program, students earn credits for their first year of law school during their final year of college, saving a year of tuition and associated expenses on the traditional seven-year pathway to a Juris Doctorate. Johnson & Wales University and Bridgewater State University are the two newest institutions to collaborate with UMass Law on the 3+3 program. Other partners include: Anna Maria College, Assumption University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Regis College, Salem State University, Springfield College, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell, Westfield State University, and Worcester State University.