Master of Arts in Professional Writing and Communication

at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth USA

Portuguese is the official language of more than 200 million people in eight countries on four continents. After English and Spanish, it is the third most widely spoken European language, and the sixth most spoken language in the world.

Situated in the heart of the region that boasts the largest concentration of Brazilian, Cape Verdean, and Portuguese immigrants in the U.S., UMass Dartmouth provides a unique environment to learn Portuguese in a richly varied immersion setting. As a Portuguese major, you’ll study and explore the language, literatures, and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world.

A degree in Portuguese offers access to careers in education, foreign service, immigration, international business, international relations, journalism, linguistics, politics, print and visual media, social and non-profit/non-governmental organizations, translation, and other fields.

The MFA degree is the credential that signifies a student's capacity to work independently in a discriminating, distinctive, and professional manner.

The Fine Arts program provides an educational context where motivated and creative artists can pursue their own goals, hone technical skills, and advance personal vision through intense, focused individual studio activity. Faculty members generate critical dialogue with graduate students at specific intervals during each semester.

Academic courses in art history, critical theory, philosophy, and a range of university offerings support the cultivation of the individual's intellectual and aesthetic maturation.

Mathematicians are problem solvers and precise thinkers, applying their knowledge and skills in academia, government, industry, research, and technology.

UMass Dartmouth's mathematics program provides a foundation in both the theoretical and applied aspects of mathematics, preparing you for a variety of careers, including: actuary, algorithm design, biostatistician, computer information systems, data science, defense analyst, economics, education, finance, game developer, government, insurance, manufacturing, medicine, mathematical modeling consultant, psychology, science computing, software development, and statistician.
You'll also be well-prepared for graduate studies in math or in areas that emphasize math, such as economics, engineering, and the sciences.

The mathematics program is designed to provide a solid foundation in the theoretical and applied aspects of mathematics necessary for a variety of professional careers. The flexibility within the third and fourth years is established to enable mathematics majors to concentrate in areas of their interest. Students can choose their curricula so as to emphasize that role of mathematics which will be useful to them in later years, whether in K-12 school teaching, graduate school, a career in the public or private sector, a career in industry, or graduate study in areas that emphasize math, such as economics and the sciences.

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.

The BFA in Art + Design: Drawing 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.

You will learn fundamental skills and contemporary drawing practices through a wide spectrum of drawing course offerings such as:

• Representation
• The human figure
• Architecture & perspective
• Concept-development
• Mixed media
• Abstraction
• Time-based media
• Installation

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

The English department offers a bachelor of arts degree in English with a concentration in creative & professional writing.

Creative and professional writing candidates demonstrate their ability to analyze context and rhetorical problems with awareness of cultural diversity to create and compose effective, well-formulated written communication for specific audiences across multiple modalities.

Areas of study in this concentration include: fiction; non-fiction; poetry; journalism; digital media production; script, drama, and screenwriting; professional writing; and technical writing.

Creative and professional writing learning outcomes:

• Write and compose original texts
• Apply key concepts in writing analytically, creatively, and professionally across multiple genres and modes based on audience needs and information design principles
• Identify and summarize foundational concepts in creative writing, literary studies, and rhetorical studies
• Understand and apply concepts and ideas related to issues of diversity such as race, class, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and others to texts across multiple genres and modes
• Analyze the compositional and rhetorical strategies used in texts across multiple genres and modes
• Synthesize primary and secondary sources using appropriate research and writing methods across genres and modes
• Evaluate the appropriateness of compositional and rhetorical strategies used in texts

Our program is based on the belief that photography has a unique ability to merge new technologies as well as cultural and historical influences with artistic production.

Placing our degree within the Design context allows the MFA Photo candidate to gain access to a broader array of faculty conversant with new technologies and design theory which in turn enables candidates to acquire and utilize a more professionally oriented degree and skill set.

MFA candidates develop a thesis project based on their own unique research. The thesis requires both visual and written components which are intellectually, formally, and technically rigorous. Students form a committee based on their thesis topic, choosing from faculty who provide a wide variety of viewpoints and expertise.

In addition to access to the photographic facilities on the main campus—which include a state of the art media lab with 48” Epson color printer, black and white darkrooms and professional lighting studio—MFA students are supplied with graduate studios at our Star Store campus in New Bedford. This downtown arts campus houses all disciplines in graduate study, fostering a communal artistic environment in which multi-discipline projects and collaborations are possible.

Opportunities both to exhibit and curate exhibitions are available at the Star Store's 244 Gallery for graduate students.

Our BA in political science with a concentration in pre-law prepares you for law school by providing a solid foundation for future study in fields including commercial, criminal, environmental, family, labor, and tax law.

Your courses will focus on the U.S. legal system, law and courts in relationship to other aspects of the U.S. political system, international law and courts, and the international political system. A background in law prepares you not only for a practice of law, but also for rewarding careers in advocacy, business, and education.

Studying law will develop your analytical, logical, and creative thinking skills. You'll be prepared to think critically and act effectively as an engaged citizen.

We want to ensure that you acquire proficiency in writing, communication, advocacy, and comparative analyis: all vital skills in today's workplace, which is why we require students to complete an internship.

The Sociology and Anthropology Department offers a BA degree in Sociology and Anthropology with a concentration in Anthropology: the study of the role culture and power play in the world around us.

Anthropology emphasizes a comparative, cross cultural approach to the study of humankind, and the need to analyze culture and power in a global as well as local context. This program emphasizes  the development of a holistic perspective and offers the possibility of studying communities and cultures in the US as well as in other societies around the world. The faculty has expertise in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, indigenous cultures throughout the Americas, as well as in the US. Students graduating with the anthropology concentration may pursue advanced degrees in a wide range of fields, such as women’s studies, anthropology, social work and education. They will also be prepared for jobs in fields that require understanding of cultural difference and social inequality, such as teaching and educational policy, social services, museum and historical preservation, government and public service, environmental assessment, urban planning and development, medical and public health, and business.

Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, uniting a fascinating diversity of societies and cultures. When you major in Spanish, you'll gain proficiency in oral and written language skills while enhancing your awareness of the social and cultural influences that shape knowledge in the Spanish-speaking world.

As a Spanish major at UMass Dartmouth, you'll study Spanish, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino language, literature, and culture. You'll explore topics in linguistics, civilization, business, art and music—and learn about new ideas and developments within the Hispanic world.

A degree in Spanish will prepare you for careers in business, communication, education, hospitality, government, law, international business, journalism, linguistics, social service, and translation. We also offer teacher preparation for students who are interested in teaching Spanish at the middle or high school level. Learn more about teacher preparation

Students majoring in Spanish may go on to graduate study in areas such as Spanish, Latin American, Caribbean or Latino literature; cultural studies; comparative literature, Hispanic linguistics, applied linguistics or international studies.