Graduate Catalog — Facilities and Services
A University with Impressive Facilities
UMass Boston offers excellent facilities for learning, in a setting that combines the special quality of its location on Boston Harbor with proximity to the rich resources of the city.
The Healey Library
The university's Joseph P. Healey Library is the virtual heart of the campus, easily accessible from the enclosed walkway connecting all campus buildings or through the library's Internet home page–www.lib.umb.edu. Graduate students can draw upon more than 100 online indexes and databases in science, biomedicine, social science, business, and humanities, and obtain articles from more than 26,000 electronic and print journal subscriptions.
The Healey Library home page also provides access to its catalog of nearly 600,000 volumes, and to a Virtual Catalog that includes all UMass system libraries along with those of Brown, Northeastern, Tufts, Wellesley, Williams, Boston University, the Universities of New Hampshire and Connecticut, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and several public library networks. The Virtual Catalog offers online order-tracking and rapid delivery. With nine million book titles and a total of nearly thirty million volumes available at a point-and-click, it provides a collection surpassed by no individual academic library in the world. In addition to Internet searching and ordering, graduate students may obtain a consortium borrowing card that is also valid in these libraries.
Borrowing Materials and Online Access
Students can obtain a library barcode for their University ID by stopping at the circulation desk on the 2nd floor of the library. Library staff provides instruction on the use of all resources in the collection and those available online, including RefWorks, a bibliographic citation manager used in writing papers, theses, and dissertations.
To learn more about library service, please go to the reference desk located on the 4th floor or contact reference staff by e-mail, phone, or 24-hour online chat:
- : library.reference@umb.edu
- : 617.287.5940
- : www.lib.umb.edu/node/91
For the latest information on library hours, please call 617-287-5900.
Useful Library Phone Numbers and E-mail Addresses
- : 617-287-5900, Library.circulation@umb.edu
- : 617-287-5929
- : 617-287-5900, www.lib.umb.edu
- : 617-287-5940, Library.reference@umb.edu
John F Kennedy Library
The John F Kennedy Presidential Library, a public institution for education and research, stands on the coastal edge of the campus. The IM Pei-designed facility was established to preserve and make available the documents and memorabilia of President Kennedy and his contemporaries in politics and government. Its archival collection includes approximately twenty-eight million pages of documents, six and a half million feet of film, and over one hundred thousand still photographs. The JFK Library is linked to the university by a series of educational programs allowing students and their instructors to share in its rich resources.
State Archives
The archives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are housed adjacent to the campus in the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. Members of the university community can benefit greatly from this rich resource, whose research materials cover three and a half centuries.
Laboratories
University students have access to modern research laboratories and equipment. Science students, for example, can make use of the university's tropical greenhouses and several field stations, as well as state-of-the-art laboratories equipped with electron microscopes, DNA sequencers, tissue culture facilities, controlled-growth rooms, image processing, physics laboratories with laser and photonics facilities, distance learning technology and extensive Geographic Information System facilities, new CSM environmental genomic laboratories including DNA sequencing and micro-array technology. Analytical chemistry facilities comprise high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, magnetic resonance spectrometers, atomic force and electron microscopes, an array of electrochemical instrumentation for renewable energy study, and spectroscopic instrumentation for atmospheric studies.
Computing Services
Both teaching and research at UMass Boston benefit from the extensive facilities coordinated by the university's Office of Computing Services. This office provides a variety of information technology and data communications resources to the UMass Boston community, with network connections in every office and classroom on the campus. The campus network is fiber-optic based with ATM protocol. Multiple transmission facilities are maintained, providing access to the University of Massachusetts private network and to the Internet. A central computing facility houses equipment from Data General, Dell, Compaq, Sun, and Apple. Operating systems provided in this environment include NT, Unix (various versions), Linux, Apple OS, and VMS. Students have access to 15 general desktop computing labs with more than 250 Dell Pentium III and Apple Macintosh G4s, seven days a week. Additional, specialized computing facilities are provided to students enrolled in specific courses of study, and for those with special needs.
Further information about computer resources is available at the computer labs on the upper level of the Healey Library, or IT Service Desk (formerly known as Helpdesk) at 617-287-5220, or send an email to ITservicedesk@umb.edu, or visit the IT Service Desk on the third floor of the Healey Library on campus (mail drop: 090-03-007).
Media Services
UMass Boston's Media Services provide a full range of audio-visual equipment, located in several media labs, and consultation, for instructional and other university-related purposes. The media labs provide access to display and mini-production audio, video, and mixed media equipment on a university-wide scheduled basis. In addition, language laboratories are available for use in conjunction with foreign-language courses. The tapes used in laboratory sessions are closely correlated with classroom studies, and many are produced within the Media Center. The Center's sophisticated media production facility, located in the Healey Library, is equipped with a computer-assisted video editing system and a multitrack audio studio.
A University for Students
Many UMass Boston students have families, jobs, or both. The university operates a fully licensed Early Learning Center, with separate toddler, preschool, and kindergarten programs, to care for young children while their parents attend classes.
Many students at UMass Boston are veterans. Through the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences, the university provides a wide array of services responsive to their needs. These services include help with educational benefits through the Office of Veterans Affairs, academic and personal counseling, and tutorial and advocacy services.
The university is committed to providing equal access, auxiliary aids, and reasonable accommodations to persons with physical and learning disabilities. For the many students with disabilities, the Lillian Semper Ross Center for Disability Services, the University Advising Center, and the Adaptive Computer Lab work together to provide the accommodations and auxiliary aids students may need to have equal access to education at UMass Boston.
UMass Boston was built as a totally accessible campus, and renovations and remodeling efforts have always been in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Ross Center provides students with sign language interpreting services and assisted listening devices; testing modifications; and a variety of study aids according to their individual needs.
The Office of Graduate Admissions has developed flexible and convenient admissions procedures, and provides thoughtful counseling, useful information, and prompt admissions decisions to all students interested in attending the university.
UMass Boston is a commuter school. Free shuttle buses run between the JFK/UMass MBTA station and the campus, and parking space is available at the campus in underground garages and outdoor lots.
Department of Athletics
UMass Boston's Athletics Department offers a wide range of programs for students. The Department's extensive intramural and recreation program includes such team sports as basketball, hockey, volleyball, and floor hockey; one—on-one activities—racquetball, squash, badminton—and instructional programs like aerobics and tennis.
The Clark Center features a main gymnasium, an ice-skating rink, and a swimming and diving pool fully equipped for intercollegiate competition, as well as a weight room, locker rooms for men and women, and dance and combative rooms. Outdoor facilities include an eight-lane, 400-meter track, multi-purpose fields, eight tennis courts, and a softball field.
The Beacon Fitness Center, located in McCormack Hall, serves the needs of UMass Boston's students, faculty, and staff. The center offers Nautilus machinery, cardiovascular equipment, and free weights, as well as courts for racquetball, squash, and handball, an aerobics room, and a lounge. The Athletics Department encourages students to become involved with the programs offered by the department. Further information is available at the Clark Athletic Center.
The university's sailing dock moors a fleet of Mercury sailboats and rowing dories available for use during the spring, summer, and fall, as weather permits. A swimming test is required of all who wish to participate in water sports. For sailing, a helmsman test is administered by the sailing instructor; once the test is passed, boats may be taken out whenever available.
Information about schedules and locations may be obtained from the Athletics Department (617.287.7800).
Bookstore
Located in the Campus Center, the bookstore carries all textbooks required for courses, a complete line of art and school supplies, and gift items. It also carries a selection of paperbacks. Special orders can be made for almost any other book in print. The bookstore also buys and sells used books. It is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am-6 pm, and has longer hours during the first weeks of each semester (617.287.5090). The bookstore website is Umass.Bookstore@umb.edu.
Child Development Program
The university operates a licensed child care center, the Early Learning Center, for children of university students, staff, and faculty, and for those of community residents. At the center, on Mount Vernon Street near the campus, there are toddler, preschool, and kindergarten programs for children between the ages of 15 months and 6 years. The program is designed to provide an educational environment that is welcoming and nurturing. The center offers children many opportunities to figure out the world around them and to participate actively in their own learning. Scholarships, based on income, are available for UMass Boston student parents. Additional sources of financial assistance may be available for other eligible families (617.287.6195).
Disability Services
The Lillian Semper Ross Center for Disability Services
The Lillian Semper Ross Center for Disability Services assists the University of Massachusetts Boston in providing equal access for individuals with disabilities. The Center makes available to students such auxiliary aids and related support services as sign language interpreting, note taking, testing accommodations, advocacy, and counseling, as well as informational resources and a variety of activities throughout the year. The Center assists employees and departments of the university by providing them with advice and information on disability issues as needed.
The Center's goals are
- to reduce the competitive disadvantage in academic work by providing reasonable classroom accommodations;
- to provide individual and peer group counseling as a means of increasing personal independence, developing self-esteem, and strengthening interpersonal skills;
- to increase awareness of the value of advocacy for the civil and human rights of people with disabilities; and
- to coordinate institutional efforts to comply with the broad mandates expressed in sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The center's phone number is 617.287.7430 (TTY: 617.287.7431).
The Adaptive Computing Laboratory
The Adaptive Computing Laboratory, overseen jointly by the university's Department of Computing Services and the Lillian Semper Ross Center for Disability Services, makes a full range of computing services accessible to all students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. They may also receive, from trained consultants working with the lab, individualized evaluation, training, and continuing support in the use of software and hardware adaptations.
Available state-of-the-art hardware and software includes:
- IBM PCs, PC clones, and Macintosh microcomputers
voice synthesizers - voice recognition systems
- large-print display systems
- keyboard adaptations, switching devices
- an optical head pointing device
- commonly used commercial software and software adaptations
- a Kurzweil Reading Machine
Please call the center for more information at 617.287.5227; TTY: 617.287.1960.
Campus Ministry
The Campus Ministry is an interfaith chaplaincy service actively involved in the spiritual and human development of students, faculty, and staff. Protestant and Catholic chaplains, and Jewish and Muslim advisors, offer liturgical, educational, cultural, social, and spiritual programs. Among these programs are daily prayer, mid-week liturgies, scripture seminars, ecumenical services, study groups, pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, lectures, workshops, and Bible study. The Campus Ministry also does fund raising for local and international hunger relief, co-sponsors events with other campus departments and offices, conducts retreats, and operates a lending library of theological and spiritual books.
Career Services
Graduate students at UMass Boston have access to a broad range of career services offered through the University Advising Center. The center provides information for students and alumni about career opportunities and facilitates contacts with prospective employers. Individual counseling and group seminars in career planning alert students to the many and varied career opportunities available and to the requirements of prospective employers, as well as to the changing nature of employment opportunities. The center also offers seminars in résumé writing, interviewing techniques, and the job search process, as well as publishing a bi-weekly bulletin of current job listings that may interest students and alumni.
An active on-campus interview program is arranged each year so that students may meet employers and discuss current openings. The center maintains a referral service that sends student résumés to employers who have appropriate job openings. A Career Resource Library houses information on employment and salary statistics, as well as specific information on businesses, non-profit organizations, school systems, and government agencies.
Center staff members offer special advising for students interested in the law, management, medicine, and teaching. The center also provides information on a variety of graduate study programs. Materials on many fields are available, as well as application forms for graduate and professional school admission tests (617.287.5519).
University Health Services
http://www.healthservices.umb.edu/
The mission of the Department of University Health Services is to provide quality medical services and education to enhance the health and well-being of the university community. Programs and services are aimed at promoting optimal physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. Our interdisciplinary health care team includes a variety of professional, administrative, and support staff. Clinical staff is comprised of nurse practitioners, consulting specialty physicians, psychologists, social workers, laboratory technicians, and health educators.
All registered UMB students are eligible for health care at the University Health Services. The health fee, paid by all students, covers unlimited visits to the department of General Medicine, consultation in the Counseling Center, and access to programs offered by the Health Education and Wellness Center. However, there is a minimal copay for physician visits, specialty services and laboratory tests. In accordance with MA state law, all students must have active health insurance. The University of Massachusetts Boston offers a student Health Insurance Plan for all part-time and full-time students and their dependents. The University Health Services General Medicine department is the primary care provider for students in this plan and directs all students' health care needs, including referrals for specialty services not available at University Health Services.
Please note: The student health insurance plan is mandatory for all students who do not have comparable coverage under another medical insurance plan. In order to substantiate such alternative coverage, students must complete and submit to the Bursar's Office an Insurance Decision Card, which is mailed to each student. These cards are also available at the UHS General Medicine reception area. Students without such comparable coverage must participate in the University's student health insurance plan. State law mandates the health insurance requirement.
Immunizations: All UMB students must submit a completed immunization form to the University Health Services. The form is mailed annually or can be obtained at UHS or downloaded at the UMB website, www.umb.edu/students/health. MA law requires the following immunizations be completed: measles (including a second measles shot), mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, and tetanus. UHS strongly recommends the meningococcal vaccination. These immunizations can be administered through the General Medicine department of UHS for minimal cost.
There are three programs that fall within the University Health Services. They are General Medicine, Counseling Center, and Health Education and Wellness.
General Medicine
The department of General Medicine is a nurse practitioner health center providing health care to all university students. Its well- qualified team provides primary care, walk-in (no appointment necessary) service, women's health, men's health, immunizations, sports physicals, travel medicine, and other specialty and laboratory services. Students who develop an episodic illness or injury may be seen by appointment or walk-in during hours of operation. In addition, appointments can be made for physicals, women's health issues, travel medicine, and other specialty services. Women's health services include physical examinations, Pap smears, contraception, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing and the evaluation and treatment of sexually transmissible infections. Men's health services include physicals, STI's, injury evaluation and treatment, and evaluation of sexual dysfunction. Specialty services provided by on-site contract physicians include dermatology, sports medicine/orthopedics, internal medicine, and endocrinology, which are available by appointment.
The General Medicine program is located on the second floor of the Quinn Administration Building, Room 040. During the academic year, the department of General Medicine is open from 8:30am-6pm Monday-Thursday, and Friday 8:30am-5pm. Summer session: 8:30-5pm Monday through Thursday, and Friday 8:30am-4pm. For information and appointments, call 617.287.5660.
Counseling Center
The Counseling Center provides psychological evaluation and consultation services to all university students. Its goals are to promote better functioning and growth opportunities and, to help students manage personal difficulties and concerns that can interfere with the academic experience. Services include individual and couples evaluation and therapy, group screening and therapy, crisis intervention, walk-in emergency care during hours of operation, consultation, workshops, information, and referrals as needed. The Center's clinical team is made up of experienced psychologists, social workers, and graduate and doctoral trainees who function under the supervision of licensed faculty and staff. Initial meetings are free; co-pays begin with the fourth meeting except for short-term groups.
The Counseling Center is located on the second floor of the Quinn Administration Building, Room 037, and is open year-round from 8:30am-6:00pm Monday through Thursday, and 8:30am-5pm on Fridays. For information and appointments, call 617.287.5690.
Health Education and Wellness Center
The goal of the health education program is to enhance the academic success of students by supporting their physical, mental, and emotional well-being with a wide range of programs and services.
Programs that are offered through the Health Education Program include: Time and Stress Management, Smoking Cessation, Alcohol and Other Drug Information, Sexuality and Sexual Health Education, Nutrition and Fitness Programs, Special Events, Health Screenings, and more.
Services are offered in the format of groups and workshops, as well as through individual consultations and phone consultations. A comprehensive website with health and program information and access to online health education services is also available.
Students can relax and unwind in The Wellness Center, where they will find health-related books and resources and computer access to online resources. The Wellness Center is staffed by both professional health educators and trained peer educators.
The Health Education and Wellness Center is located on the 2nd floor of the Campus Center and is open year round from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday. For information, call 617.287.5680.
Office of Student Housing
The primary function of the Office of Student Housing is to assist prospective and enrolled students with finding places to live.
Partnership With Local Apartments
The Office of Student Housing has formed a partnership with local apartment complexes where special rates and a limited number of apartments are available.
Community Advocates
The University of Massachusetts Boston has hired graduate students to promote a sense of community among students who live at local apartment complexes. These community advocates organize community-building, cultural, and social events, educate students about tenants' rights, and counsel students who have roommate issues.
Short-Term Accommodations
Some students, upon initial arrival in Boston, require immediate temporary housing accommodations, whether brief or extended. The Office of Student Housing can provide students with a list of available short-term housing options, including hotels and hostels, which they may contact to make a reservation.
Long-Term Accommodations
The office maintains a computerized listing for the greater metropolitan Boston area. Listings for prospective roommates and general information about housing-related matters are available.
Roommate Matching Program
The Office of Student Housing has developed a program to match its students with compatible roommates. It also organizes informational workshops on such topics as choosing a roommate wisely and tenants' rights/responsibilities.
Referral Services
A free, searchable database is available on the office website at http://www.umb.edu/students/housing/index.html. Within the database, there are many variations of housing opportunities; using this information, students contact advertisers directly to arrange a place to live.
Other relevant housing information, descriptions of local neighborhoods, and guides to Boston-area transportation are also available in the office's resource center.
The Office of Student Housing is located on the fourth floor of the Campus Center and is open Monday - Thursday from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. It can also be reached by e-mail at osh@umb.edu.
Student Affairs
The university believes that students' academic goals may be best realized when support services complement the classroom experience. To that end, student affairs professionals support students by sponsoring programs to enrich their university experience.
Many offices also offer information and activities that facilitate the continuing development of the students' skills, concepts, learning, insights, and life planning.
The staff in these offices help connect students at the university with the broader community. Student Affairs services enhance the university experience by providing programs and activities from which students can benefit during and after their time at the university.
The Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs encourages all students to keep in touch with campus life, and to get involved. Further information about the programs described below is available from this office at 617.287.5800.
Student Life
The extracurricular life of the university centers on activities sponsored primarily through the Office of Student Life and the student clubs and organizations on campus. Students pay a mandatory student activities fees at both the graduate and undergraduate level; members of the Undergraduate Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly work closely with the professional staff at Student Life to create a wealth of activities throughout the year.
The Department of Student Life functions as a clearinghouse and focal point of activity for students on campus, where information and services are available, ranging from the issuing of ID cards, to renting lockers, to the most up-to-date listing of student organizations and activities.
The Department also oversees the operations of such services as the Wit's End Cafe, a campus coffeehouse, and the game room, where students relax with video games, pool tables, and pinball machines.
The Student Arts and Events Council provides the campus community with a variety of cultural offerings, including the Harbor Art Gallery, the museum pass program, discount tickets to movies and plays, and on-campus performances and lectures. The Harbor Gallery is located on the first floor of McCormack Hall, and the Student Arts and Events Council is located on the third floor of the Campus Center.
Students keep in touch with campus life by reading the student newspaper, The Mass Media. The annual spring literary journal, The Watermark, features the best work produced by student artists and writers. The yearbook, The Beacon, provides opportunities for student writers and photographers to contribute to this annual publication. Offices for the student media are located on the second floor of the Campus Center.
Other activities and facilities include recognized student organizations, or clubs, and community action programs that involve students in community-based, student-administered advocacy work.
Student Senate
The Student Senate, which is composed of elected student delegates representing each of the university's academic units, is the undergraduate student government body. The phone number for the Student Senate is 617-287-7970, and their offices are located on the third floor of the Campus Center.
Graduate Student Assembly
The Graduate Student Assembly is the recognized graduate governance structure at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The Assembly seeks to advance the academic and professional interests of all UMass Boston graduate students, through planning and administering campus events; representing graduate student perspectives on issues affecting the university; funding grants for graduate students to attend professional conferences; and carrying out a range of other activities. GSA representatives are matriculated graduate students elected annually. Assembly meetings are open to all interested students. The GSA office phone number is 617.287.7975; email: gsassembly@umb.edu, and their offices are located on the third floor of the Campus Center.
Student Centers
Student centers are an on-campus community action initiative of the Student Senate. All students are welcome to stop in and participate in center activities. There are nine such centers on campus: The Alcohol and Substance Awareness Center, ARMS (Advocacy Resources for Modern Survival), the Asian Student Center, the Black Student Center, the CASA Latina (Hispanic Student Center), the Center for Students with Disabilities, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Student Center, the Veterans Center and the Women's Center.
Each center provides educational and social programming for the university community. The centers are located on the third floor of the Campus Center.
Student Handbook
A student handbook which provides information affecting graduate and undergraduate students is available from graduate program directors or from the Office of Graduate Studies, 2nd Floor, Robert H Quinn Administration Building. Many individual graduate program offices also issue handbooks containing information and listing requirements specific to their programs.
WUMB Radio
WUMB Radio is a network of three non-commercial FM public radio stations broadcasting throughout the Boston, Worcester, and Falmouth areas at 91.9FM, and one AM station, WFTB-AM 1170 on Cape Cod. As a member of National Public Radio, WUMB provides a high-quality service of folk, jazz, news, and information to the communities within listening range. Its particular educational, informational, and cultural programming formats are not offered by other radio broadcast facilities in the area. The station has a policy board representing university and public broadcasting interests and a community advisory board representing the concerns of surrounding communities.
In addition, the station regularly provides information about campus events, highlights the expertise of faculty, staff, alumni, and students, and airs no-school announcements during inclement weather. WUMB offers work-study and volunteer opportunities for UMass Boston students to enjoy and learn a variety of aspects of the radio broadcasting industry. Students interested in a career in radio broadcasting can apply for the "Radio Learning Project" to learn about broadcasting, engineering, management, and sales; it is a comprehensive training program covering all areas of radio station operations.
WUMB Radio is located on the lower level of the Healey Library. For more information, please call 617.287.6900 or visit the station during office hours (Monday through Friday from 8:30 am-5:00 pm, and by appointment).