Making Education More Accessible and Affordable is the Heart of UMass Lowell's mission.
Long before online education became mainstream, UMass Lowell was building high-quality online programs grounded in academic rigor, faculty engagement and real-world relevance.
Our online programs were created for people balancing school with work, family, military service, career changes and life's unexpected turns. Over the years, our online programs, which are ranked as some of the best in the country, have opened doors for students across the country and around the world.
From the beginning, our approach has been different: online students learn from the same expert faculty, meet the same academic standards and earn the same respected UMass Lowell degree as students studying on campus.
30 Years, Thousands of Stories
Every online student has a story. Some complete their degrees while working full-time. Some study across time zones. Some return to school after years away. But they all bring their UMass Lowell education into their communities and to their careers, in boardrooms, laboratories, startups and classrooms around the world.
Featured River Hawks
From Montana to Commencement
Online bachelor's student Abby Koljonen drove more than 2,300 miles from Montana to walk at Commencement after earning a 4.0 GPA and the Chancellor's Medal for Academic Achievement.
A Global MBA Journey
Graduates from UMass Lowell's online MBA partnership with Abitus in Japan traveled nearly 7,000 miles to celebrate their degrees at Commencement.
Read more about the 7,000 journey.
Research With Real-World Impact
Online MBA student Teri Leavens co-authored research on recruiting and retaining working parents that appeared in MIT Sloan Management Review.
Read more about Teri Leavens.
Family, Motivation and Momentum
Atta Meer and Khadija Mir, a father-daughter duo, completed business degrees online together, turning family study sessions into shared academic milestones.
Read more about Atta Meer and Khadija Mir.
Innovation That Saves Lives
Online MBA student Diego King co-developed barReleeze, a life-saving window release device that won first place at UMass Lowell's Engineering Prototyping Competition.
Read more about Diego King.
Learning From Anywhere
Parisa Raad '26 pursued a business degree online while working and driving for a rideshare service, and expanded her education through a study-abroad experience in Belfast.
Read more about Parisa Raad.The UMass Lowell Online Difference
What Hasn't Changed in 30 Years
Technology has changed (thank goodness since we started with dial- up modems!). Student needs have evolved. We've expanded our online offerings and added new programs. But UMass Lowell's commitment to provide accessible, affordable online education with the academic quality of a respected public research university has remained constant.
Quality
Online courses are taught by UMass Lowell faculty and held to the same academic standards as on-campus courses.
Flexibility
Programs are designed for students balancing education with work, family and other responsibilities.
Momentum
Students gain credentials, knowledge and confidence they can apply directly to their careers.
Thank You for 30 Years of Online Success
"In 1996, those of us who used the 'Internet' did so with a 14.4k dial-up modem over a telephone line. Netscape Navigator was the primary web browser and America Online (AOL) was one of the largest internet service providers. Amazon was primarily an online bookstore, and social media, video streaming and Wikipedia were not yet available. These were the early days of the commercial internet. It is also the year that UMass Lowell , through the Division of Continuing Education, launched its first six online courses.
This first group of online faculty were a brave group, given the limited tools we had to work with. They included full-time, tenured professors and part-time working professionals, each willing to learn to build webpages, manage discussion bulletin boards and deal with weekly computer crashes and dropped dial-up connections. There were no integrated learning management systems, and truthfully, we were all learning how to do this together. Despite the technical challenges, faculty and students both asked for more — more courses, online certificate and degree programs, and more support. Fortunately, the Dean of the Division of Continuing Education, Dr. Jacqueline Moloney, understood the potential and opportunity ahead of us, and together we built the team that supported the growth of our programs and enrollments.
Today, UMass Lowell hosts one of the largest, online public university programs in the Northeast. We offer 43 online certificate programs, 12 bachelor degree programs and 34 graduate degree programs. Over 7500 students take online courses each semester, some fully online while others mix and match on-campus and online courses. While the technology and program availability has changed and improved over the years, one thing is constant — quality. Our courses are still developed and taught by a mix of full-time tenured professors and working professionals who care about the student experience and the quality of the courses they offer. As I look back on the past 30 years, and all our team has accomplished in the online education space, all I can say is thank you. Thank you for believing in this opportunity, thank you for taking a risk in 1996 and thank you for your many contributions over the years."
