Research and Development

UMass Dartmouth is a national research university with High Research Activity as designated by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. UMass Dartmouth has the resources and expertise to help your business in a range of fields, including the life sciences; engineering and physical science; marine science and technology; AI, computing, and data science; STEM education; social science and the humanities, and visual arts and design. There are multiple ways to engage, including through direct access to our research facilities, working with a student or faculty member, prototype development, and technology licensing.

Access core facilities

Core research facilities are research equipment and infrastructure that are available at a daily, hourly, or per-unit rate, for use by companies who contract with UMassD for use. Various levels of faculty or technician support is available, depending on the company’s internal expertise. Small Massachusetts-based businesses (<50 FTEs) are able to access core facilities at a reduced rate through the Massachusetts Innovation Voucher Program. Research facilities at UMass Dartmouth that are officially recognized as core facilities include the following:

SouthCoast Single Crystal X-Ray Diffraction Facility
Scanning Electron Microscope
Laset Confocal Microscopy
SMAST Optic-Acoustic Test Tank
SMAST Seawater Facility

Sponsor a Student Project

Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged, and often required, to complete a research project during their time at UMass Dartmouth. Student projects are a great way to test and develop future talent or to make progress on back burner projects. Types of student projects include undergraduate capstone projects, undergraduate theses (Honor’s College), master’s projects and theses, Ph.D. dissertations, and even projects taken up by one of our student organizations. Student projects overlap with faculty research in the case of Graduate Research Assistantships.

Work with Faculty to Solve Problems

There are various types of research that faculty may be involved in, from fundamental research about the nature of reality, to applied research done with a specific end goal in mind, to routine testing to answer well-defined questions. Depending on the type and intensity of the research needed, there are several ways to involve faculty to solve problems. These include traditional industry-sponsored research agreements, developed through our Office of Research Administration following the development of a Scope of Work, collaborating on external grants such as the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, short-term faculty consulting, or even potentially building your needs into a demonstration project for instructional purposes.

Develop a Prototype or Prove a Concept

Our Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has laboratory and fabrication facilities designed to make your product or idea a reality.

License Technology

UMass Dartmouth has dozens of patented technologies available for businesses to license. These fall into the categories of textile and fabric technologies, life sciences, renewable energy, material science and chemistry, communications hardware and software, and ocean sciences.