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 93% 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.

• First-year and second-year students considering careers in science may work as summer research fellows with faculty in an immersive laboratory research project.  

• 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.

• In the past five years, Amherst students and alumni have won 54 Fulbright Scholarships, 6 Watson Fellowships, 8 Goldwater Scholarships, 3 Marshall Scholarships, as well as Truman and Rhodes Scholarships.