Amherst College - Academics

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Amherst is a small school that allows for complete freedom of course selection. The academic atmosphere is much different from that of other schools because Amherst students have not been forced to take classes by a distribution requirement. Plus, there are no graduate students here to vie for the professors’ attention. The College actively seeks student involvement in its educational policies. When a teaching position opens up, the relevant department will ask majoring students to review candidates and give feedback to the selection committees; the same is true when a professor approaches tenure decision time.

The complete open curriculum, however, requires that students have a certain level of self-discipline because there is really no pressure to excel. You get out as much as you put into your Amherst experience. This can be said of many other institutions of higher learning, but it is especially applicable at Amherst College. The environment lends itself to diligent, high-achieving students, as well as the more lackadaisical students. If a student is passionate about a class and does all the work for it, he or she will assuredly enjoy a rewarding learning experience and perhaps even find a friend in the professor. On the other hand, students often get bored with a class they thought looked interesting in the course book. These cases are the bane of the teaching philosophy that Amherst supports, which, plainly put, is: “We’ll give you a world of opportunities, all you have to do is take your pick.” In short, if you genuinely want to learn and are willing to make an honest effort to do so, Amherst offers almost limitless opportunities for you. If, however, what you care about is going to a well-known school as a step toward a successful career of your choice, you’ll also find what you need at Amherst—but you will then miss out on the most exhilarating and rewarding parts of being a student here.

Free Profile Tools

Do I Stand A Chance?

Calculate YOUR chances of admission at every school CP covers!

__%

Personality Match

Calculate YOUR personality match with every school CP covers!

__%

What'll It Cost Me?

Estimate your out-of-pocket costs at every school CP covers!

$__,___

Students Speak Out

AmhLZ says: Amherst College 2016 Undecided

The professors at Amherst are... The professors at Amherst are terrific overall—they are very knowledgeable in their respective fields and always available during office hours outside of class. The workload is fairly rigorous, as expected, but it is manageable if you are willing to put in the work. Academically, I would say that almost all of the departments here are very strong, and Amherst definitely lives up to its reputation. 12345 Academics: February 16, 2009 Report

AmhTL says: Amherst College 2016 History

The professors are really engaging... The professors are really engaging and very easy to get in contact with. Most of my classes have been no larger than 30 students. The workload is what you would expect at a top liberal arts college. I plan on becoming a history major, so I have a lot of reading, but that should be expected of any humanities course. Another great thing about Amherst is that there is no core curriculum, so my fear of the sciences can't hurt my grades. 12345 Academics: February 16, 2009 Report

AmhKD says: Amherst College 2015 Law and Legal Studies

There's always work to be done,... There's always work to be done, but everyone at Amherst is pretty much in the same boat, so you never feel like the only one with a lot of work to do. The professors are amazing and very engaging, even in the few larger classes offered. 12345 Academics: February 16, 2009 Report

Anonymous says:

You can’t really say that every... You can’t really say that every professor here is a gifted orator. Some are, so you sit in their classes and time just flies. Some aren’t, and this makes their lectures a little tedious. And some have their good days and bad days. It’s just like any other school in this sense. However, if you take classes that are interesting for you and that you think you will enjoy, you should be fine, regardless of who the professor is. Every professor has a reputation by now because this is such a small school. Some people actually choose their classes based on who is teaching them. However, the material in most of the classes here is very interesting, so looking at the College Web site for reading lists and syllabi would help a lot in choosing the classes you really want to take. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

In my time here, I’ve gotten close... In my time here, I’ve gotten close enough to three professors to the point where I feel free to e-mail or come see them and talk about any academic issue that I might have. I personally know dozens of professors here, and they will sit down with you at nearly any time. They are genuinely interested in what you have to say and will really try to get at exactly what you’re thinking. You can also chat with some of them about everyday stuff and joke around with some of them, but this depends more on their personality. Most professors I’ve met here really seek out and enjoy interaction with students. 12345 Academics Report

Facts

Did You Know?

Amherst College sponsors an open curriculum, which literally means that there are absolutely no distribution requirements, and that students can take however many classes they want in any department. The only class that Amherst requires all students to take is the first-year seminar, which is a one-semester course taken in the first semester of freshman year. These classes are small, from 10 to 20 students, and they study a wide array of topics. They are aimed at giving students proper coaching in college-level writing and discussion. Before the school year starts, all freshmen choose what seminars they would like to attend, and the College does its best to satisfy everyone’s wishes. A sample of the first-year seminars offered in the academic year 2003–04: Drugs: Society, History, and Culture; Terror; Performance; and the Art of Mathematical Thinking.

In cooperation with four nearby schools, Amherst has made it possible for students to take classes at each of these institutions at no extra cost. Amherst College neighbors four other schools: Smith, Holyoke, and Hampshire Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass), and together they formed the Five College Consortium. Some fields of study the other four schools offer are lacking, or are found only on a small scale at Amherst. Thanks to this system, students can utilize the overall educational resources of the entire area. Some examples of areas in which students tend to find interest at other schools: exotic foreign languages or jazz and big band music courses at UMass, ecology at Holyoke, and English and political science at Smith.

You cannot minor in any subject at Amherst College.

Students have to take from eight to ten courses in a single department in order to major in it. An exception to this is the neuroscience program, which has 16 required courses for the major. Students usually declare their major by the end of sophomore year. Many students choose to double major, and a few even triple major. Students can make their major at Amherst. With faculty approval, they may build their own program of study, taking only classes that fit this program and not being constricted by departmental requirements.

Many students choose to culminate their studies at Amherst with a thesis, written during senior year. After a student has submitted the thesis, he or she must defend it in front of faculty who have similar research interests as the student. If the student has done so successfully, he or she will receive Latin honors upon graduation. Many students say that writing their thesis was their most rewarding experience at Amherst.

Most Recent Contributing Author

Name: Lem Atanga McCormick
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Major: Pre-Med (Biology and French)

Lem has been to 17 different countries.

Contributing Author Internship

College Prowler is actively seeking talented students to be "Contributing Authors," and assist with updating the College Prowler guide to their school. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain internship experience, be a part of a nationally recognized company, gain tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college. Read more about the internship.