Bachelor of Arts, Major in English with Concentration in Creative and Professional Writing

at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth USA

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.

English is an exciting discipline that challenges you to explore both literature and writing. We offer two options for English majors—creative and professional writing or literature and criticism.

With either option, you'll learn how to:

• Read and think critically
• Write to move audiences
• Engage with literature—and the world—thoughtfully and analytically

The skills you'll develop are essential in today's competitive job market and can lead to rewarding careers in communications, editing, grants writing, journalism, public relations, social media, technical writing, web publishing, teaching middle or high school English, writing for general and specialized audiences, 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 emphasis of computer and information science is on software, the methodologies of computing, and the study of powerful programming.

The computer science curriculum is programming intensive, supported by substantial laboratory components, and directed toward modern software development. Your studies are supplemented by work in specialized labs and a network of state-of-the-art workstations.

You will be prepared to work in the computer industry and in business, in careers that have high growth and earning potential. You may work as a computer scientist, software engineer, software developer, database administrator, computer support specialist, or system administrator. You'll also be well-prepared to continue your studies at the graduate level.

The Computer & Information Science Department also offers a bachelor's degree in computer science with an option in software engineering: the systematic approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software systems used in business, medicine, science, engineering, entertainment, and other fields.

The study of fashion design and production balances your creative vision with technical skills and an in-depth understanding of the fashion industry. You can prepare for a professional career in apparel design, marketing, manufacturing, and product development.

When you pursue your BFA in Art + Design: Fashion Design, you'll develop a wide range of skills and knowledge: advanced fashion design concepts such as computer-aided design (CAD), technical design and production, business in the fashion industry, public speaking and presentation, and contemporary fashion trends.

You’ll utilize up-to-date software and fashion-forward techniques to develop a strong and comprehensive portfolio of work. Juniors and seniors in the program develop full lines of clothing with opportunities to exhibit their collections at the annual CVPA Fashion Show, industry shows, and retail galleries.

Internships and networking opportunities help you make industry connections in Boston and New York, and graduates will be ready to compete successfully for jobs throughout the fashion industry.

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. Your BFA degree also provides excellent preparation for MFA programs and other graduate study.

Civil engineering is the engineering of the constructed facilities we encounter every day:

• Buildings, bridges, tunnels, and dams
• Waterways, railways, and highways
• Water power, irrigation, drainage, and water supply
• Wastewater and hazardous waste disposal
• Environmental health systems

As a civil engineering major, you'll learn how to plan, design, construct, and manage public and private infrastructure and facilities. You'll also be prepared to address emerging engineering issues related to sustainability, climate change, and new energy resources. You will be prepared to pursue a career in industry, government, research, or academia. Frequent interaction with the public is unique to the field of civil engineering.

UMass Dartmouth’s Master of Arts in Professional Writing & Communication program meets a growing demand for professional and technical communicators. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in professional and technical writing are growing faster than average.

Our students take classes that prepare them to meet that demand by learning how to communicate ideas and information across a range of media.

• Web authoring
• Document design
• Social media writing
• Rhetorical theory
• Usability
• Stylistics

As a photography major, you will gain expertise in both traditional and digital techniques and explore photographic imagery in all contexts. When you pursue your BFA in Art + Design: Photography, you will develop your own photographic vision and deepen your expressive communication.

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.

Your studies will include:

• Black & white darkroom photography
• Color digital imaging & printing
• Large format photography
• Studio lighting
• Video
• The history of photography
• Contemporary practice

Your work will culminate in a gallery exhibition and a portfolio that demonstrates your individual style, technical proficiency, and aesthetic sophistication.

A degree in photography will prepare you for a career as a fine art and commercial photographer, photojournalist, videographer, photo editor, gallery or museum director, curator, image consultant, multimedia designer, photo educator, photo archivist, studio manager, filmmaker, web designer, lab technician, and professional printer.

Chemists conduct research and experiments to discover new concepts about the universe. They try to solve society's problems, whether by developing a cure for cancer, monitoring the earth's ozone layer, creating new materials to heat our homes, or pursuing countless other challenges.

The knowledge you'll gain through the study of chemistry at UMass Dartmouth will open the door to many different career opportunities within the five divisions of chemistry: analytical, biological, inorganic, organic, or physical. You'll be prepared for chemistry careers in education, forensics, government, law, industry, medicine, or research.

The bachelor’s degree in Economics with a concentration in Healthcare Services Administration is for anyone interested in a career as a manager or supervisor in the healthcare field. This degree is a great option for healthcare professionals with an associate's degree who want to advance their careers as managers or supervisors. The program is also well suited to students looking to work in the healthcare industry with a focus on operations, administration, and management rather than the science-focused aspects of this profession.

Healthcare administration professionals make decisions every day that help improve the lives of their patients. They are often responsible for managing health records, communicating new policies, coordinating with doctors and nurses, and ensuring compliance with healthcare laws and regulations.

The field of healthcare administration is growing fast, and so is the demand for qualified candidates to fill the growing number of jobs. Employers seek candidates with very specific credentials in the field.

We'll help you gain the practical skills necessary for intelligent decision-making and administration in healthcare. You will be able to:

• Create evaluative techniques
• Design and implement budgets
• Develop quantitative skills
• Evaluate management goals
• Use theoretical concepts of social dynamics
• Research healthcare and economic issues
• Manage healthcare staff

UMass Dartmouth's liberal arts major offers an intellectual challenge, encouraging you to pursue your interests across a variety of academic fields.

You'll develop your creativity, critical thinking skills, and sense of independence while you explore concentrations across the humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary programs:

• The humanities: art history, English, foreign languages, history, philosophy
• The social sciences: anthropology, economics, political science, policy studies, sociology, women's and gender studies
• Interdisciplinary programs: sustainability, urban studies, women's and gender studies

Recent studies have shown that a degree in liberal arts provides a strong foundation for professional careers and scholarly work. You'll develop the qualities that future employers prize most: strong communication skills, the ability to assess a situation and develop a course of action, and the confidence to work independently.

As a liberal arts major, you will design your own interdisciplinary path as you choose two concentrations and bring them together to create new ways of seeing, knowing, and expressing your academic and research interests.

Liberal arts majors find careers in business, communications, education, government, human resources, museums, non-profit organizations, public policy, and social work. You'll be prepared for graduate study in the fields you'll explore as you select your liberal arts concentrations.