Welcome To Engineering!

Program Overview

The field of engineering offers a variety of professional options for men and women interested in the sciences, mathematics, and technology. Several public and private institutions of higher education in Massachusetts are participating in a cooperative program designed to provide broad access to the field for qualified applicants seeking the Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. These institutions include UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell.

Under the terms of this collaboration, students majoring in civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering complete the first half of their degree in the Engineering Program of the College of Science and Mathematics at UMass Boston. After successful completion of the sophomore year, they apply to one of the cooperating institutions for admission to the junior year of its engineering program. Their admission is guaranteed at all UMass campuses (Amherst, Dartmouth, and Lowell).

Something about Engineering

When it is time to consider what field you should choose to study in college, you will find a wide range of high quality, yet affordable selections at UMASS/Boston. If you are interested in making technology work, or simply curious about the various kinds of technology that you have been able to enjoy in your daily life, then you should look into the Engineering Program at UMASS/Boston. 

In deciding to study engineering, you have taken the first step toward joining a remarkable profession. If you are puzzled on exactly what engineers do, you are not alone. There is no other profession quite like it, because engineering is so broad and diverse that it is almost impossible to give it a neat and concise description. Engineering is markedly different from the professions such as medicine, law, and education. The public is usually somewhat confused about what engineers do, and one of the principle reasons for this is because they do so many different kinds of things. 

It has become commonplace to observe that there is practically nothing we use in our daily lives that has not been subject to the influence of engineers. The connection is obvious when we drive a car, cross a bridge, fly in an airplane, use a computer, or watch television. The connection is less obvious when we buy a book in a bookstore, pick up a package of frozen vegetables at the supermarket, or purchase a home. 

Within the broad field of engineering, there are a wide variety of disciplines that focus on different aspects of the engineering. At UMASS/Boston, we offer four choices of study:

·         Electrical Engineering

Extremely broad, and most relevant to almost everything in our daily life, ranging from fancy toys to highly sophisticated electronics like computers, audio and video components.

·         Mechanical Engineering

Present in virtually every industry, applies the principles of mechanics to the design of machines such as airplanes, rockets, engines, automobiles.

·         Civil Engineering

Primarily responsible for planning the design and construction of large-scale facilities, such as highway systems, skyscrapers, dams.

·         Industrial Engineering

An interdisciplinary field involving applications in industrial, service, commercial, and government activities, such as plant design and engineering, production cost analysis, quality control, performance and operations research.

There has always been a great demand for engineers. As the economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, so does the need for the latest technology as well as the people who invent and apply it. For the past few years, there has been a shortage of engineers nationwide including Massachusetts. Thousands of engineering positions in Massachusetts alone are left unfilled, even with high salaries. The average salary of engineers is nearly twice of that across all industries. It certainly pays to be an engineer.