Amherst College

Academic Highlights

• Students can choose from 41 programs of study in the humanities, social sciences, arts, and sciences.

• The student-to-faculty ratio is less than 7:1, and 85% of classes have fewer than 30 students.

• Amherst offers an open curriculum, meaning students aren't restricted by general education requirements or distribution requirements. Amherst students have ownership over their own educational path. 

• Through the Five College Consortium, students may access a much wider array of academic, extracurricular, and social resources at neighboring colleges (Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst). 

• All incoming first-year students take a First-Year Seminar, choosing from dozens of different topics.

• Students have access to research opportunities as early as their first year, across STEM fields, social sciences and the humanities. The Summer Science Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program provides opportunities for Amherst College students to immerse themselves in hands-on, collaborative science research projects over the summer, while the Schupf Fellows Program supports students with stipends for one or two summers of intensive research in the arts, humanities or social sciences.

• Through the Meiklejohn Fellows Program, students from families with low incomes and students who are first in their families to attend college have access to funded internship and research experiences, individualized career advising, and many other resources.

• Amherst opened a state-of-the-art science research center in 2018.

• Roughly 45% of students study abroad. When participating in a study abroad or educational exchange, your family contribution remains the same as if you were studying at Amherst College.

• In the past five years, Amherst students and alumni have won 51 Fulbright Scholarships, 5 Watson Fellowships, 9 Goldwater Scholarships, 4 Marshall Scholarships, as well as Truman and Rhodes Scholarships.