University of Massachusetts Amherst - Organization and Administration

Organization and Administration

See also: List of chancellors of the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Since the University of Massachusetts Amherst was founded as the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1863, 25 individuals have been at the helm of the institution. The office, originally known as "President," was changed to "Chancellor" in 1970. The title "President of the University of Massachusetts" now refers to the president of the entire five-campus University of Massachusetts system. The current Chancellor of the Amherst campus is Dr. Kumble R. Subbaswamy. The Chancellor resides in Hillside, the campus residence for chancellors.

There are 1,121 permanent faculty at the university. In 2010 the state budgeted $465 million for the UMass system. State funding is 25% of revenue. UMass offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in over 90 undergraduate and 65 graduate areas of study. The university is organized into eight schools and colleges:

• School of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Humanities and Fine Arts
• Isenberg School of Management
• College of Natural Sciences (includes the Stockbridge School of Agriculture)
• School of Nursing
• School of Public Health and Health Sciences
• College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Students interested in studying outside of a particular major can apply to enroll in the Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) program. This is a unique program which allows students to design their own area of study. A BDIC concentration must be interdisciplinary, drawing from at least three fields or disciplines, and it may not duplicate an existing major. Courses can be selected from any department within the university as well as the campuses in the Five College Consortium. Course selection is guided by the students chosen faculty sponsor and a BDIC faculty supervisor. BDIC students are assigned to one of five academic clusters- Arts and Cultural studies; Business and Law; Communication; Education and Human Development; Natural Health, Computer Sciences and Engineering.

Additionally, the university offers two programs designed for adult and continuing education students, known as University Without Walls and Continuing and Professional Education.