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Associate’s & Bachelor’s Degree Requirements

University policy requires all degree candidates to comply with the following standards:

1. Mastery of at least one discipline, field of knowledge, or applied professional area;

2. Competence in writing the English language;

3. An understanding of the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and science; and

4. A familiarity with problems and issues of value and choice.

All associate's degree candidates are required to earn a 2.00 (C) cumulative average, to complete a minimum of 60 semester hours, to fulfill the residency requirements, to conform to the general regulations and requirements of the University, to satisfy the regulations and academic standards of the colleges which exercise jurisdiction over the degrees for which they are matriculating, to satisfy the curriculum requirements established by the departments or programs in their major, and to complete the University General Education requirements.

All bachelor's degree candidates are required to earn at least a 2.00 (C) cumulative average in their total course of study (unless otherwise specified for a specific degree program), to complete a minimum of 120 semester hours of course credits, to fulfill the residency requirements, to conform to the general regulations and requirements of the University, to satisfy the regulations and academic standards of the colleges which exercise jurisdiction over the degrees for which they are matriculating, to satisfy the curriculum requirements established by the departments or programs in their major, and to complete the University General Education requirements.

Residency Requirements

Residency Requirements for Associate's Degrees
In addition to meeting all the course requirements of an associate's degree, candidates must adhere to the following residency requirements:

1. Each student must complete at least 9 semester credits in regular course work in his or her major department and must complete at least 24 semester credits through Continuing Studies  at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

2. A student may pursue an additional associate's degree under the same regulations set forth for pursuing an additional bachelor's degree except that the total number of credits to satisfy the residency requirement is 24.

Residency Requirements for Bachelor's Degrees
In addition to satisfying specific course and achievement requirements, each bachelor's candidate must complete at least 15 semester credits in regular course work within the major department of the University for each major which is presented for a degree with a 30 semester credit minimum completed through Continuing Studies. This 30 semester credit minimum may include authorized day courses in the University.

Each candidate for a baccalaureate degree must satisfy one of the following five residency requirements:

1. Complete an associate's degree under the provisions of the Massachusetts Transfer Compact at a Massachusetts community college, earning not more than 60 semester credits, and the remainder in courses at the University, earning not less than 60 semester credits, with 30 credits earned in Continuing Studies.

2. Complete up to the first two years in an accredited two-year institution earning not more than 60 semester credits with grades of C (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better, and the remainder in courses at the University, earning not less than 60 semester credits, with 30 credits earned in Continuing Studies .

3. Complete the equivalent of the first three years of a baccalaureate program in an accredited four-year institution, earning not more than 90 semester credits (C grades or better) and the remaining courses at the University, earning not less than 30 semester credits in Continuing Studies .

4. Complete 90 or more semester credits at the University (30 of which must be earned in Continuing Studies ) and complete the remainder of an approved prescribed course of study at another accredited institution, earning not more than 30 semester credits at that institution.

5. Complete the equivalent of the first three years of a baccalaureate program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the remaining credits through Continuing Studies, earning not less than 30 credits (unless University of Massachusetts Lowell day classes are authorized).

The requirement of 30 semester credits of study in the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Continuing Studies  courses may not be satisfied through course equivalency procedures.

Residency Requirement for Major Fields
Each bachelor’s degree candidate must complete at least 15 credits of course work in their major at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for each major which is presented for a degree.

Guidelines for Additional Bachelor's Degrees

A student who has already earned a bachelor's degree may be admitted to the University to pursue an additional bachelor's degree in accordance with the following:

1. The nomenclature of the additional degree to be pursued must be distinctly different from the previously conferred degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Bachelor of Science-Business Administration);

2. The major field of the previous degree must be clearly distinct from that of the additional degree;

3. The work for the additional degree must include the Continuing Studies  residency requirements;

4. The final 30 credits presented for the additional degree must be in addition to and independent of any previous baccalaureate;

5. A minimum of 15 credits must be taken through Continuing Studies in the major field which is presented for the additional degree; and

6. A minimum of 30 semester credits must be completed through Continuing Studies (unless University of Massachusetts Lowell day classes are authorized).

Candidates for the additional bachelor's degree must earn a minimum of 30 credits and must comply with any special college regulation concerning completion at the University of major field and professional program requirements (including collateral and prerequisite course requirements for the major/professional program). Second degree candidates may be eligible for major field honors but are not eligible for University honors unless they have completed 60 credits at the University for the additional bachelor's degree.

Depending upon the date of original enrollment in Continuing Studies  at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, each student is responsible for satisfying either the General Education 2000 Program Requirements or the University Core Requirements.

General Education 2000 Program Requirements
For students who enrolled in an associate's or bachelor's degree since the Fall 2005 semester. Students following the General Education 2000 Program should visit the website at http://www.uml.edu/gened/.

Core Requirements
For students who enrolled in an associate's or bachelor's degree program prior to the Fall 2005 semester.

All students are required to satisfy the General Education Requirements, which include a minimum of 36 credits. In fulfilling the following requirements (except Sciences), students may take no more than one course from a single department. The two-course College Writing requirement is a separate service of the English Department and does not affect that Department’s participation in other categories of general education.

Courses taken to fulfill the General Education Requirements cannot be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.  Students who transfer to the University from quarter-hour schools may satisfy the number and types of courses required under General Education but could fall short of the 36-credit requirement. To meet this minimum General Education credit requirement, these students may take or transfer additional courses from any of the following eight categories.

General Education requirements must be satisfied as follows:

A. Aesthetics: One three-credit course designated AE, BSA, or HSA.

B. Behavioral and Social Sciences: Two three-credit courses designated BS, BSA, BSV.

C. College Writing: Two three-credit courses designated CW are required: 42.101 and 42.102 or 42.103 and 42.104.

D. Historical Studies: One three-credit course designated HS, HSA, or HSV.

E. Literature: One three-credit course designated LT or LTV.

F. Mathematics: One three-credit course designated MA in the 92 series at the level of 92.111 (Mathematical Perspectives) or higher.

G. Sciences and Technology: A minimum of three courses totaling a minimum of nine credit hours in courses designated SC, SCV, SL, ST, STL in the Continuing Studies  Course Bulletin must be earned, with at least two courses that include some form of experimental learning (SL or STL).

Students electing courses to satisfy the experimental requirement with an SL or STL course that has a separate corequisite laboratory section must pass both. Although laboratory sections may be offered as separate corequisite sections of a course and carry credit: 1.) laboratory credit will not be recognized toward fulfilling the General Education requirement unless the corequisite lecture course has been passed; and 2.) corequisite laboratory sections do not count towards meeting the three-course minimum.

No more than two courses may be taken in a single department.

H. Values, Concepts, and Choice: One three-credit course designated VC, BSV, HSV, LTV, SCV.

General Education Codes:
AE = Aesthetics
BS = Behavioral and Social Sciences
BSA = BS or AE
BSV = BS or VC
CW = College Writing
HS = Historical Studies
HSA = HS or AE
HSV = HS or VC
LT = Literature
LTV = LT or VC
MA = Mathematics
SC = Science
SCV = SC or VC
SL = Science with experimental learning
ST = Science Technology
STL = Science Technology with experimental learning
VC = Values, Concepts, and Choice
VCA = Values, Concepts, Choice, and Aesthetics

Courses designated BSA, BSV, HSA, HSV, LTV, and SCV encompass two General Education areas. They may be used to fulfill only one general education requirement. For example, a course designated HSA may be used to satisfy either the Historical Studies (HS) or Aesthetics (AE) requirement, and a course designated LTV may be used to satisfy either the Literature (LT) or Values, Concepts, and Choice (VC) requirement.

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