Amherst College Profile

Founded in 1821 as a nonsectarian institution for "the education of indigent young men of piety and talents," Amherst College is now widely regarded as the premier liberal arts college in the nation, enrolling a diverse group of approximately 1,600 young men and women.

Renowned for its talented students, committed faculty, and rigorous academic life, Amherst offers the B.A. degree in 33 fields of study. With an average class size of just 19, Amherst's classes are characterized by spirited interchange among students and acclaimed faculty skilled at asking challenging questions. Students participate in sophisticated research, making use of state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. And Amherst's open curriculum allows each student—with the help of a faculty adviser—to chart an individual course through the more than 800 courses offered at the college; there are no distribution requirements. Honors work is encouraged and in recent years has been undertaken by nearly half of the graduating class.

Amherst is a member of the Five Colleges, a consortium with nearby Smith, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire Colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Students may take courses at any of the colleges, and the schools' proximity adds to Amherst's rich social and extracurricular life.

Diversity, defined in its broadest sense, is fundamental to Amherst's mission. The college enrolls students from nearly every state and from more than 40 countries, and for the past two years more than 30 percent of Amherst's students have been students of color. Since its founding, Amherst has remained one of the few truly need-blind colleges in the nation; students are admitted without regard to financial aid, and each admitted student is guaranteed financial aid equal to financial need. By any measure of accessibility and quality Amherst is consistently ranked among the top schools in the country. Its outstanding resources, dedicated faculty and rigorous academic life allow the college to enroll students with an extraordinary range of talents, interests and commitments.

With an endowment of nearly $900 million, Amherst has extensive physical resources. The college's scenic 1,000-acre campus is near the center of the town of Amherst.

Nearly every academic building on campus has been renovated in the past five years, and Amherst's academic and athletic facilities are among the best in the nation.

Amherst has a small but distinguished group of alumni. The college's 18,000 graduates are represented in almost every walk of life. Many are or have been prominent on the world scene (including three Nobel laureates, numerous Pulitzer Prize winners, the president of the National Urban League, a chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, several National Book Award winners and a U.S. president), and countless others contribute to society in important but less public ways. Nearly 70 percent of Amherst's alumni make a gift to Amherst each year—the highest alumni participation rate in the country.