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The University of Massachusetts’ ability to attract, retain and graduate college-educated state residents could not come at a better time, as there is a high demand for skilled workers in Massachusetts’ high-tech economy.
According to the 2014 Vision Project report, there is a 6-to-1 ratio of Massachusetts computer science and information technology jobs outnumbering recent graduates holding related associate’s degrees and certificates, and a 17-to-1 ratio of Massachusetts computer science and information technology jobs to recent graduates holding related bachelor’s degrees and certificates.
UMass has committed to the state’s STEM initiative and the need to increase the number of graduates of science, technology, engineering and math degrees in order to meet the demand for high-tech talent, with UMass Boston serving as an example of the success the initiative has had.
According to the 2014 Vision Project report, UMass Boston’s College of Science and Mathematics is graduating 70 percent more students with bachelor’s degrees in STEM disciplines than it did in 2009, and the four-year graduation rate for the first cohort of College of Science and Mathematics Freshman Success Community students is 41 percent double the national rate for STEM majors.
Across the system – and including UMass Medical – UMass has increased the number of students graduating with STEM and healthcare degrees and certificates by 77 percent – from 3,510 in 2008 to 6,228 in 2014.
All UMass campuses are emphasizing the importance of STEM initiatives. Specialized institutes at the campuses prepare the state’s graduates with the skills and education needed to contribute to the Massachusetts economy in a variety of ways, including working to instill STEM principals in middle school and high school students, developing STEM educators and training future STEM researchers.
The STEM Diversity Institute (SDI) at UMass Amherst facilitates the diversification of the STEM workforce by overseeing a program of recruitment, retention and advancement activities focused on groups underrepresented in STEM. The institute serves undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in all STEM departments at UMass Amherst.
A recently launched Center for Data Science, which will coordinate and expand the campus’ research, education and industry collaboration, and an Institute for Cyber Security, will help reinforce the University’s ability to produce quality STEM graduates.
As Massachusetts students continue to be exposed to STEM disciplines earlier on in their education, UMass Lowell is ensuring the state has the teachers to educate future generations of the STEM workforce.
The UTeach program offers a STEM teaching minor that prepares math, science, engineering and computer science students to become middle school and high school teachers. Students are given the opportunity to explore teaching through classroom experiences working in middle schools and high schools under the direction of a mentor.
Those who choose to enter into the STEM teaching minor complete 18 credits worth of coursework, and are required to pass MTEL examinations and complete a practicum. Students who complete the course graduate with a bachelor’s degree in their STEM field, a STEM teaching minor and a Massachusetts teaching license.
At UMass Dartmouth, the Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in STEM is advancing all aspects of the discipline in Massachusetts. The institute, which offers a PhD program in mathematics education to groom future STEM educators, is studying how young children and adults learn mathematics and science in order to develop the best models for teaching, and is training students to become top research scientists in the STEM field.
With the UMass campus system covering all aspects of the STEM field, Massachusetts’ high-tech economy will be fueled for years to come.
Main Image via University of Massachusetts
Infographic via 2014 Vision Project
