- College Row, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
private undergraduate institution located on a hill in Amherst, Mass., 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Boston. The campus features an art museum, a natural history museum, a wildlife sanctuary, and a planetarium. Most buildings are 19th-century red brick. Founded in 1821 as a men's college, Amherst first accepted women as transfer students in 1975 and as freshmen in 1976. Females now account for almost half of the some 1,600 students at the college. Ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the nation, Amherst attracts students from across the United States and several foreign countries. Only about 20 percent of the applicants are accepted. The majority of accepted students placed in the top tenth of their high school class. The academic calendar is divided into semesters and an optional, noncredit term in January when the campus remains open for independent research and nontraditional classes. About 90 percent of the full-time faculty hold doctorates. The college awards only the bachelor of arts degree. Disciplines offered include liberal arts and sciences, area and ethnic studies, theater and dance, neuroscience, computer science, fine arts, and astronomy. Amherst does not have core courses; the only class required of everyone is Introduction to Liberal Studies, a freshmen seminar taught by two or more professors that gets students to examine subjects from a variety of perspectives. Approximately half of the upperclassmen complete honors projects involving original research and a thesis. A cooperative arrangement lets Amherst students take courses at four other area colleges and attend their social activities, with free shuttle service between campuses. About 70 percent of the students pursue advanced studies within five years of graduation. Most students live in campus housing, which ranges from traditional dormitories to apartment-like residences to converted Victorian mansions. College life includes musical and theatrical groups, publications, volunteer organizations, intramural sports, minority unions, and a campus radio station. The administration abolished fraternities in the 1980s. Varsity sports teams compete in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Events against rival Williams College draw a good crowd. |