Public Interest Technology  at UMass (PIT@UMass) focuses on the development and realization of socially responsible solutions to the challenges of a technology-driven world. It serves as a critical foundation for 21st century education, for people who create technologies, and for those who work with them, which is all of us.

As the flagship public university in Massachusetts, UMass Amherst represents a diverse cohort of Massachusetts residents and provides a broad set of academic offerings.  The campus includes 12 major schools and colleges spanning a broad range of domains — Nursing and Public Health, Agriculture, Management, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, Computer and Information Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, etc.  UMass Amherst attracts a diverse student body who often remain in Massachusetts to build the Commonwealth through positions in the public sector, private sector, and academia.  

We believe that social responsibility must arise at all levels of our tech-driven society and in all domains, areas, and sectors.  For this reason, PIT@UMass spans all major schools and colleges and seeks to develop a variety of educational, research, practice, and outreach offerings that empower our students and the broader community with the critical thinking, expertise, and information needed to promote personal and professional social responsibility and the common good in a technology-driven world.

PIT@UMass provides a menu of courses, undergrad and grad certificates, research opportunities, experiential learning programs, and community events. These are being developed organically with each major college and school and coordinated university-wide, so that PIT@UMass can be both relevant to specific domains, as well as synergistic across the university. We seek strong partnerships with other PIT-UN institutions, the private sector, and state and local government with the goals of building a meaningful and impactful initiative at UMass Amherst, having a positive influence on our partners and community, and working more broadly to build the nascent field of Public Interest Technology.