The Program

The University Without Walls (UWW) is an academic major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst designed to help adults finish their first bachelor's degree. UWW students design their own individualized, interdisciplinary degree concentration in a wide range of high demand areas, take 100% online, blended, or on-campus courses, and earn  credit for life and work experience.

The UWW curriculum emphasizes the enhancement of communication and critical reading and thinking skills. Student centered and interactive, UWW's courses use small group discussion, research and writing to give students the opportunity to make powerful connections between their academic learning and their real world experience. As part of UWW's commitment to the role that work and other experiences can play in education, most students develop a credit-bearing portfolio describing and analyzing the learning they have gained through experience. Students also have the opportunity to convert relevant certifications and trainings to transfer credit through the unit's Special Transcript evaluation process.  

Most students in UWW are working adults with family and community responsibilities that make obtaining a bachelor’s degree through a conventional route difficult or impossible. For this reason, UWW offers comprehensive and supportive advising from the first day of class through graduation.