Our Schools and Colleges
Our different schools and colleges collectively make up the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Each academic major “lives” in one of these schools and colleges.
You may also want to visit the Academics section of the UMass Amherst website at www.umass.edu for additional information.
Commonwealth College
www.comcol.umass.edu
Commonwealth College, our honors program, offers the advantages of a small honors college, but also the wide-ranging opportunities of a nationally recognized research university. Commonwealth College is a campus wide program: students from all majors in every college are able to join the honors college. First-year honors students may select from several residential options including theme-based Honors RAPs or the numerous Residential Academic Programs (RAP). These programs are offered in locations throughout campus.
If you had a 3.8 high school GPA, scored a 1300 on your SAT’s, and are in the top 10% of your graduating class, you are invited to join Commonwealth College as a first-year student.
If you did not achieve all three criteria in high school, once you have a cumulative 3.2 GPA at the university, you are welcome to apply.
School of Education
www.umass.edu/education
The School of Education offers undergraduate courses which are of general interest to all students. Undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers as Early Childhood (grades PreK-2) or elementary (grades 1-6) complete an academic major in the Liberal Arts and Sciences. The School of Education offers a Minor in Education that students may fulfill as part of their undergraduate studies.
Isenberg School of Management
www.isenberg.umass.edu
The Isenberg School prepares students to assume positions of responsibility in the diverse world of business. Students may pursue an education in a variety of business disciplines represented by majors in six departments and two degree programs. Majors in the Accounting and Information Systems, Finance and Operations Management, Management, and Marketing departments earn the B.B.A. degree, while majors in the Hospitality and Tourism Management and Sport Management departments earn the B.S. degree.
School of Nursing
www.umass.edu/nursing
The School offers one major leading a Bachelor of Science degree. The many areas of nursing include community health nursing, parent-child nursing, medical-surgical nursing, rehabilitation nursing, and mental health nursing. Nurses' responsibilities have expanded and for today's professional nurse, a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Nursing is essential.
College of Natural Resources and the Environment
www.umass.edu/nre
The College offers majors in Animal Science, Building Materials and Wood Technology, Environmental Design, Environmental Sciences, Food Science, Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Microbiology, Natural Resource Studies, Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, Resource Economics, and Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. The curriculums prepare students to enter into a variety of careers or to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional schools.
Stockbridge School
www.umass.edu/stockbridge
The College of Natural Resources and the Environment also houses the Stockbridge School, which offers two-year Associate of Science degrees in Arboriculture and Community Forest Management, Equine Industries, Fruit and Vegetable Crops, Horticulture, Landscape Contracting, and Turfgrass Management.
College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
www.nsm.umass.edu
The College encompasses the disciplines that are essential to all fields of scientific research and application. They study the sciences of life, the planet, and the universe. Information gained from research in chemistry and biology is essential to understanding the processes of life, from cells to organisms to ecosystems. Insights into planetary, climatic, and atmospheric functions come to us through physics, the geosciences, and astronomy. Mathematics and computer science provide models and tools for conducting such research. All departments in the College offer programs leading to the Bachelor of Science. All departments except Computer Science also offer programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts.
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
www.umass.edu/sbs
Study in the social and behavioral sciences focuses on human behavior and organization from cultural, social, and psychological perspectives. The social sciences try to explain how we are both social and individual beings. All departments in the College offer programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts: Anthropology, Communication, Economics, Journalism, Legal Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Social Thought and Political Economy, and Sociology. The Psychology Department also offers a program leading to the Bachelor of Science.
School of Public Health and Health Sciences
www.umass.edu/sphhs
The School offers three undergraduate majors, Communication Disorders, Exercise Science, and Human Nutrition. Also included in the School are departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Community Health Studies, and Environmental Health Sciences. Environmental Health Sciences. Though undergraduates cannot major in these programs, they do offer undergraduate level courses within the departments. Environmental Health Sciences faculty participate in the interdisciplinary B.S. degree program in Environmental Sciences.
College of Engineering
www.ecs.umass.edu
The College offers six Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. All B.S. degrees are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Engineering students have the opportunity to pursue minors in a number of other fields, such as mathematics, chemistry or physics. They can also choose the Engineering Management minor offered by the Isenberg School of Management.
College of Humanities and Fine Arts
www.umass.edu/hfa
The humanities focus on human creativity, endeavor, and culture. Students in the College are expected to broaden their perspectives on individual and cultural expression within their own and other societies, to understand the development and evolution of the discipline of study in relation to the culture from which it emanates, and to learn the methods by which knowledge in the discipline is gained. All departments in the College offer programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts. There are also programs leading to the Bachelor of Music and to the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, Design, and Dance.
