University of Massachusetts - Amherst
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The most popular and nationally acclaimed departments at UMass are business, communications, computer science, engineering, and psychology. Students must complete general education requirements in addition to the requirements for their major, and most find this a positive experience because it allows both declared and undeclared students to explore fields they may not have previously considered. And don't worry about doing it all on your own—advisers are available to help make sure you meet all your requirements. Class sizes tend to be large for introduction courses, but they get smaller as they become more specific to a particular major. Lectures can be as big as 500 students, but many classes of this size break up into discussion sections, so students can still get more individual attention. Discussions are taught by TAs who are often graduate students, and most are very helpful in class and during office hours. Many of the foreign TAs have interesting life experiences to share—for example, one is a Lost Boy of Sudan!

UMass teachers are very good at making themselves available to students on an individual basis. Whether through e-mail, office hours, or weekly tutoring sessions, they are readily accessible. Evaluations conducted by students at the end of each semester are taken quite seriously by the faculty and help keep the class formats up-to-date. A unique aspect of UMass is the Five-College Interchange. UMass students can take courses at any of the four other colleges in the immediate area—Hampshire, Holyoke, Smith, and Amherst—for no additional charge. So, if UMass does not offer a particular class you are interested in, you will most likely be able to find it at one of the other area colleges.

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Academics at University of Massachusetts - Amherst

tgould

Accounting '15

3.5

B

Its Average

It is very difficult to get into classes you would enjoy taking

May 05, 2012

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Academics at University of Massachusetts - Amherst

luke246

Business Management '15

2.3

C

Never apply as undecided its suicide!!!

Getting into UMass itself is its own thing. However, getting into your desired college as an undeclared student is about as hard as getting into Amherst College. Since the school is so large, individual colleges like Isenberg are extremely selective and only accept people with at least a 3.5 GPA which can be hard to have if on a hard path like engineering. If you don't get into your desired college, don't bother going to UMass.

May 01, 2012

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Academics at University of Massachusetts - Amherst

rosielorien

Anthropology and Archaeology '15

4.2

A-

Very Underrated

Many of our programs are consistently ranked higher than other area schools (BU, BC, NYU), especially in business, nursing, and engineering.

Apr 09, 2012

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Photos of University of Massachusetts - Amherst's Academics

Library

Photo by gsousa

Library An image of the library on a beautiful day.

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Library

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Library A look at the library on campus.

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The library

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The library The beautiful 26-floor library; this building is very helpful for research and nice to look at from a distance.

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