The Dartmouth campus traces its roots to 1895. In that year the legislature
chartered the New Bedford Textile School and the Bradford Durfee Textile School
in Fall River.
As the region's economic base shifted from textiles to more diverse manufacturing
and service industries, the colleges changed too. They diversified their curricula,
responding to the needs of new generations of students. By the middle of the
20th century they were growing rapidly, spurred by such forces as the GI Bill
and the clear economic and social advantages of a well-educated citizenry.
They had become multipurpose institutions, preparing engineers, health care
workers, teachers, and business leaders.
In 1962 the state legislature created Southeastern Massachusetts Technological
Institute by merging the small colleges in New Bedford and Fall River.
The 710 acre campus in North Dartmouth, part way between New Bedford and Fall
River, was begun in 1964. The dramatic campus design was the work of architect
Paul Rudolph, then dean of Yale's school of Art and Architecture.
There was a clear public demand for a comprehensive university, and in 1969
SMTI became Southeastern Massachusetts University.
The university continued to grow through the 1970s when its residence halls
were finished, along with the College of Visual & Performing Arts in 1977,
and through the '80s as research and other facilities came into being. In
1988 the Dion Science and Engineering Building was opened, as was the Cedar
Dell Town-house Complex. Also in 1988, the Swain School of Design merged with
the university's College of Visual and Performing Arts, strengthening programs
in art and artisanry. The Swain merger brought additional art facilities in
New Bedford to the university.
In 1991 a new University of Massachusetts structure combined the Amherst,
Boston, and Worcester campuses with Southeastern Massachusetts University
and the University of Lowell. Thus Southeastern Massachusetts University became
the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
In 1994 UMass Dartmouth received approval to offer its first PhD degree, in
Electrical Engineering. It also offers several joint doctoral programs with
other UMass campuses.
In 1997 construction was completed of the Center for Marine Science and Technology,
located on 2.6 acres in New Bedford near Buzzards Bay. A full program of research
and development is now supported in this new facility.
UMass Dartmouth has over 6,000 students, more than 2,000 of whom live on campus.
It offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and 18 graduate programs, and
has more than 300 full-time faculty.
