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Benjamin Franklin - Test Preparation
University of Massachusetts Boston
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Location : United States ,Massachusetts
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The University of Massachusetts Boston is nationally recognized as a model of excellence for urban public universities. The scenic waterfront campus, with easy access to downtown Boston, is located next to the John F. Kennedy Library and Presidential Museum, the Commonwealth Museum and Massachusetts State Archives, and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
Part of the UMass system, UMass Boston combines a small-college experience with the vast resources of a major research university. With a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio, students easily interact with professors because most teaching occurs in small class sizes. Ninety-three percent of full-time faculty hold the highest degree in their fields.
UMass Boston’s academic excellence is reflected by a student body of 15,989 undergraduate and graduate students. In fall 2019, the university’s nine colleges and schools offered 79 undergraduate programs (bachelor’s degrees, undergraduate certificates, post-baccalaureate certificates) and 114 graduate programs (master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, graduate certificates, CAGS, and post-master's certificates). The Honors College serves 692 students who thrive on intellectual challenge. Enriched courses probe more deeply into theory or venture further into application.
UMass Boston’s diverse student body provides a global context for student learning, and its location in a major U.S. city provides connections to employers in industries such as finance, health care, technology, service, and education, offering students opportunities to gain valuable in-school experience via internships, clinicals, and other career-related placements.
More than 100 student organizations — including clubs, literary magazines, newspaper, radio station, art gallery, and 16 NCAA Division III sports teams — offer a rich campus life. Students live throughout Greater Boston and in apartment communities just steps from the campus, and enjoy the rich amenities, cultural attractions, and educational opportunities that make the city the biggest and best college town in the nation.
Courses
Admission
Application Process
Before you begin your application, please review the below requirements for graduate study at UMass Boston, as well as your program’s specific application deadlines, instructions, and requirements. If you are an international applicant, you may be asked to submit additional materials such as a writing sample or list of discipline-specific coursework. If you are interested in taking graduate courses as a non-degree student, please review the non-degree registration process.
All hardcopy materials, including transcripts, should be mailed to our document processing partner:
UMass Boston Graduate Admissions
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
Please note: Application materials are processed in order of program-specific deadlines. Even after it is received, a document’s status may not be updated until your application is queued for review.
All graduate applications require the following:
Graduate Application Requirements:
GPA
A minimum, cumulative GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale (or international equivalent) in all undergraduate work. Please note that some programs may require a supplemental list of coursework and/or discipline specific GPA calculation. Please review your programs’ requirements to confirm.
At the time of enrollment, a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of recognized standing or an international equivalent.
Bachelor's Degree
At the time of enrollment, a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of recognized standing or an international equivalent.
Online Application and Fee
$75, paid by Visa or MasterCard (non-refundable).
No application fee for UMass Boston alumni! UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.
Official Transcripts
Official transcripts for all institutions where you have earned more than 6 credits. Originals must be sealed in an envelope from the issuing institution. We accept electronic transcripts from most universities and delivery services. If possible, please select “UMass Boston-Graduate” when ordering transcripts. Please use GADocs@umb.edu for transcripts services that require an institutional email.
Test Scores
- Some programs require official GRE or GMAT test scores. Please review program requirements to confirm.
- Applicants who completed undergraduate coursework outside of the United States may be required to submit English proficiency test results, even if they are permanent residents or citizen of the U.S. Please review the international applicant page.
- UMass Boston’s institution code is 3924. We can only accept official score reports sent electronically or in hardcopy directly from the testing agency.
- In accordance with Massachusetts state law, Office of Graduate Studies and Graduate Admissions policy permits residents of Massachusetts who have been diagnosed as developmentally disabled (including those with specific language disabilities, such as dyslexia, but not including those whose sole disability is blindness) to request a waiver of the requirement to submit GRE, GMAT, or MAT scores. To qualify for a waiver, an applicant must submit documentation of their disability. Some graduate programs require an alternative mode of assessment (e.g., a writing sample) in lieu of the standardized test score. For information, contact the Office of Graduate Studies and Graduate Admissions.
Letters of Recommendation
- The number of letters required varies by program. Please review program requirements. The recommenders you identify will receive an email with instructions upon submission of the online application.
- Typically, one or more letters from former professors familiar with the applicant’s academic abilities provide the strongest recommendations. Recommenders should have worked closely with the applicant in an academic, professional, or community service setting. Letters should not be written by friends or family members of the applicant. Letters should focus on the applicant’s abilities and past academic performance, while also indicating an ability to effectively complete graduate-level coursework.
Statement of Purpose
The statement of purpose is your opportunity to show the graduate admissions committee why you wish to pursue graduate study, as well as your specific interests and goals. The program to which you are applying may have other instructions regarding the content and nature of this statement. You will be able to upload your Statement of Purpose to your application in .doc or .pdf form.
Disclaimers
Admission is granted only for the semester requested and cannot be guaranteed for future semesters. Admission to graduate study does not automatically indicate approval of candidacy for a degree. Please refer to the specific graduate programs for more information about degree timeline and requirements.
All materials submitted to the university become the property of the university and cannot be returned to the applicant or forwarded to any third party.
Accommodation
Understanding Accommodations
If one of your students has requested an accommodation, you will receive an email that will list the appropriate accommodation(s) that have been approved for the student in your class. The decision of whether or not to approve accommodations is made solely by the Ross Center, who will collaborate with students and their instructors to coordinate approved accommodations and services. If you have had no notification from the Ross Center, the student should be referred to the Ross Center for assistance. Some accommodations, such as flexible attendance and time extensions, will require your participation with the Ross Center to determine what is appropriate and reasonable.
Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to a course that provide a qualified individual with a disability an equal opportunity to obtain the same benefit, or to attain the same level of achievement, or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as those available to a similarly situated individual without a disability.
Examples of accommodations that may be reasonable for your class include the following:
- Priority registration scheduling to work around treatment regimens, personal care needs, medication schedules, variations in energy level and pain
- Early access to course syllabi and assignments
- Flexibility in scheduling classes, tests, and exams
- Appropriate seating arrangements
- Ability to record lectures
- Ability to take frequent breaks
- Faculty-approved extensions on deadlines
- Snacks during class
- Assistive technology that decreases the impact of the disability
Captioning
Captioning is the process by which the spoken word is transcribed and linked with visual images in real time. Captioning is also available for students who are blind or visually impaired by using a spoken descriptive narrative of visual elements. You should be purchasing or using videos that are already captioned. Students who need captioning can not be held accountable for material that is not captioned.
Exam Accommodations
Students who qualify for exam accommodations may take exams in the Ross Center, which provides testing space with reduced distractions, proctoring, and access to technology requested by the student and/or approved by the faculty. Ross Center staff will notify faculty at the beginning of the semester via the notification email that contains a link to the Alternative Testing Contract, which faculty must complete before the student may take any exam. This contract outlines exam details for the semester, and faculty need to complete one contract for each class. Faculty can access the contract using their personal UMass Boston email and password.
A student must request the exam accommodation from the Ross Center; if he/she has not done so, faculty should not provide the exam to the Ross Center but instead refer the student to the Ross Center. Students may schedule an exam without a completed contract, but they may not test until the contract is submitted.
A student, once approved for the exam accommodation, will schedule each exam separately. The Ross Center will send the faculty a confirmation email when the student schedules the exam, and faculty will receive a reminder email at least 48 hours before the scheduled exam. It is the faculty’s responsibility to send the exam to the Ross Center before the scheduled time and retrieve the exam once the student has taken it; faculty can also arrange for the Ross Center to return the completed exam. If faculty determine a make-up exam is warranted, the faculty determines when the exam should be taken.
Flexible Attendance
In most cases, attendance is a critical component of an instructor’s course design to and is essential to fully understanding the subject matter covered in the course. However, if a student believes he/she/they cannot adhere to an attendance policy because of circumstances directly related to a disability, particularly those health-related disabilities or conditions that flare up episodically (for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, sickle cell anemia, seizure disorders, cancer, migraines, and conditions requiring dialysis, or mental health disabilities), the student may request an attendance accommodation. With an episodic illness, the student may not be able to predict exactly when or how many times class attendance will be an issue, but based on the documentation of the disability, the Ross Center will establish the parameters for the accommodation.
Step one: The syllabus for the course, which should contain your attendance policy, should be readily available before the semester begins, as this will allow student review.
Step two: a Ross Center staff person lists the details of the recommended accommodation in an e-mail communication with the faculty and student, which contains the following information:
- Number of absences reasonable for a standard 16-week course based on number of times per week that class meets (recommended: 1x per week = 2 absences; 2x a week = 4 absences; 3x a week = 6 absences)
- How and when the student should inform instructor when he/she/they will miss/has missed class due to episodic illness (recommended: notification will occur with 24 to 48 hours of missed class)
- How and when the student will make up missed work or exams (recommended: missed work will be due at next class attended; exams will be made up within one calendar week)
Step three: if the faculty is in agreement with the recommended accommodations, the faculty should reply in the affirmative to the Ross Center staff person and the student. Should the faculty member consider that this accommodation would alter the fundamental nature of the course, the faculty member will reply to the Ross Center and the student that discussion is needed. The student (if needed), faculty and Ross Center staff will then meet together to determine a reasonable accommodation. The Ross Center makes the final determination of a reasonable accommodation. Until a resolution is reached, the faculty member must provide the accommodation as outlined in the faculty notification email.
If you believe that the essential course elements and this accommodation appear to conflict, you should consider the following questions:
- What is the fundamental nature of the course (e.g., lecture, lab, independent study)?
- What are the learning objectives and activities (individual/group projects, field trips, presentations) of the course? Are they clearly stated? Where?
- What do the course description and syllabus state about the learning process, instructional methods, and student participation?
- Does the fundamental nature of the course rely upon student participation as an essential method for learning? How?
- To what degree does a student’s failure to participate constitute a significant loss to the educational experience of other students in the class?
- Do student contributions (e.g., presentations) during the class constitute a significant component of the learning process?
- Is there classroom interaction between the instructor and students? Between/among students?
- How are student achievement and mastery of the course objectives demonstrated? How are they measured? Are there alternative measures that would be acceptable to you?
- How is the final course grade calculated? Are there alternative methods of calculating the final grade that would be acceptable to you?
- Is this course a prerequisite for other courses? Is this course based on prerequisite courses? Are there alternative courses that would met the student’s course of study requirements?
Faculty members who continue to feel the accommodation will alter the fundamental components of the course may appeal to their department chair, Dean and the Provost.
Step four: Once the Ross Center staff person has determined the terms of the accommodation, the staff person will send an email containing the final accommodation(s) to both student and instructor. The Ross Center then retains a copy for its files.
Once finalized, the accommodation is in force for the semester, and both the student and your instructor(s) are expected to follow the instructions or deadlines as described.
Should absences become unexpectedly excessive, faculty member should communicate with the Ross Center staff and the student so that a withdrawal or a grade of incomplete can be considered.
Please note:
- We encourage students to request accommodations early in the semester. This accommodation is not retroactive, so if a student has not requested the accommodation ahead of time, he/she cannot request it be applied to past absences or missed deadlines.
- You should never waive essential academic components of the course.
- Students who receive an attendance accommodation are responsible for all course work and do not have blanket permission to miss class. This accommodation does not apply to non-disability related absences.
- Requests for flexibility in attendance may or may not be determined to be reasonable.
Textbook/Handout and SensusAccess Alternate Format
The Ross Center can convert required reading for a course or academic activity into the following alternate formats for students:
- digital file for reading on a computer
- audio file for listening
- enlarged print
- braille
The Ross Center will check with the U.S. alternative format libraries to determine if the book requested is available in one of the libraries. If it is available, then the Ross Center will help the student obtain a free membership and have the book sent directly to the student in alternative format.
If the book is not in an alternative format library, the Ross Center will contact the book publisher to obtain an electronic copy if possible and will make a copy of the book for the student. Otherwise, the Ross Center will scan a copy. In either of these cases, the student must provide a copy of the book or materials to be scanned to the Ross Center, along with a receipt for proof of purchase. Once the conversion is completed, the files will be emailed to the student.
Students may not share any converted files with others, because the copyright law allows alternate formatting of materials only for individuals with disabilities.
Time Extensions
Time extensions may be an appropriate accommodation, particularly for those with health-related disabilities or conditions that flare up episodically (for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, sickle cell anemia, seizure disorders, cancer, migraines, pregnancy, and conditions requiring dialysis, or mental health disabilities). The accommodation may be combined with a flexible attendance accommodation. With an episodic illness, a student may not be able to predict exactly when or how coursework may be affected, but based on the documentation of your disability, the Ross Center will establish the parameters for an accommodation.
Step one: student who is eligible for this accommodation selects it for the necessary courses.
Step two: The Ross Center staff person lists the details of the recommended accommodation in an email communication with the faculty and student, which contains the following information:
- the student will make every effort to complete assignments on time.
- should the disability cause an issue, the student will email the faculty member, indicating that the need for an additional 24-48 hours to complete an assignment.
- this accommodation is only to be utilized when the lateness is caused by a disability, and is not to be utilized as permission for repetitive late assignments.
- special attention should be paid to courses where group assignments comprise a portion of the grade.
Step three: if the faculty is in agreement with the recommended accommodations, the faculty will reply in the affirmative to the Ross Center staff person and the student. Should the faculty member consider that this accommodation would alter the fundamental nature of the course, the faculty member will reply to the Ross Center and the student that discussion is needed. The student (if needed), faculty and Ross Center staff will then meet together to determine a reasonable accommodation. The Ross Center makes the final determination of a reasonable accommodation. Until a resolution is reached, the faculty member must provide the accommodation as outlined in the faculty notification email.
If you believe that the essential course elements and this accommodation appear to conflict, you should consider the following questions:
- What is the fundamental nature of the course (e.g., lecture, lab, independent study)?
- What are the learning objectives and activities (individual/group projects, field trips, presentations) of the course? Are they clearly stated? Where?
- What do the course description and syllabus state about the learning process, instructional methods, and student participation?
- Does the fundamental nature of the course rely upon student participation as an essential method for learning? How?
- To what degree does a student’s failure to participate constitute a significant loss to the educational experience of other students in the class?
- Do student contributions (e.g., presentations) during the class constitute a significant component of the learning process?
- Is there classroom interaction between the instructor and students? Between/among students?
- How are student achievement and mastery of the course objectives demonstrated? How are they measured? Are there alternative measures that would be acceptable to you?
- How is the final course grade calculated? Are there alternative methods of calculating the final grade that would be acceptable to you?
- Is this course a prerequisite for other courses? Is this course based on prerequisite courses? Are there alternative courses that would met the student’s course of study requirements?
Step four: Once the Ross Center staff person has determined the terms of the accommodation, the staff person will send an email containing the final accommodation(s) to both student and instructor, who will reply in the affirmative. The Ross Center then retains a copy for its files.
Faculty members continue who feel the accommodation will alter the fundamental components of the course may appeal to their department chair, Dean and the Provost. Once finalized, the accommodation is in force for the semester, and both you and your instructor(s) are expected to follow the instructions or deadlines as described in the accommodations.
Please note:
- We encourage students to request accommodations early in the semester. This accommodation is not retroactive, so if a student has not requested the accommodation ahead of time, he/she cannot request it be applied to past missed deadlines.
- You should never waive essential academic components of the course.
- Students who receive a time extension accommodation are responsible for all course work and do not have blanket permission to extend timelines on all assignments. This accommodation does not apply to non-disability related requests.
Scholarships
Currently there are no scholarships available.
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