Joining WMUA

To say that getting involved in WMUA is as easy as walking through the door is only a slight exaggeration. Whether you have an abiding interest in a specific kind of music, are a news hound, a sports junkie, business-oriented, or a buttons-and-knob type, WMUA needs you. If you have the motivation, we can provide you with REAL experience at one of the most respected stations in western Massachusetts. Countless students have acquired jobs in the broadcasting industry after an experience at WMUA.

WMUA is located in rooms 102 (studios) and 105 (office), in the basement of the Campus Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. We are a Class A, 450 watt radio station, and operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at a frequency of 91.1FM (and on the web @ wmua.org)

Undergraduate students at UMass manage WMUA. Students serve as General Manager, Program Director, and directors of many different departments. The station relies on dozens of volunteers to complete all the tasks associated with running a radio station. In addition to our many undergraduate volunteers, our volunteer staff includes UMass graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni, and other community members.

What you need to do to become a part of WMUA
To attain full membership status at WMUA it is required that you attend 3 consecutive General Body Meetings, which are held twice a month, read the station manual, and complete 5 Service Hours. General body meetings are meetings in which those who are a part of the organization meet to discuss and learn of things going on at WMUA. Service hours are hours which you spend working at the station under the direction of a department director. (i.e. music, fund drive, publicity)

Even though full membership cannot happen overnight, a person can be enrolled in DJ training, or be a full working member of a staff at the station while working towards becoming a member.

General Body Meeting Schedule

WMUA general body meetings are held bi-weekly during the semester and once a month over the summer on Monday evenings at 7:00 in the UMass Campus Center Building. General Body meetings are also open to interested members of the general public. Hope to see you there!

WMUA Station Manual

WMUA Station Manual in .pdf format

WMUA Station Manual in Microsoft Word format

WMUA On-Air Training

Training to be an on-air program host/producer/DJ is held twice in both the fall and spring semesters and once during the summer months. Individuals who want to be trained must fill out an application, which is to be submitted to the WMUA Training director. Applicants will then be notified if they have been accepted into the program.

Included in the DJ training program are a lecture, training labs, and exam, which take place over a 5-week period. Trainees must attend all components of their training. Trainees must pass the exam at the end of training, and then do 2 “sit-ins” and 2 “overnights”. A sit-in is when a trainee sits in the studio during an entire live show on WMUA to learn from an already experience producer. An “overnight” consists of producing a program between the hours of 3:30 AM and 6:00 AM. After this you are ready to apply for a show on WMUA!

For more detailed information on WMUA On-Air Training visit our training page