Five College Interchange Program
Located in 614 Goodell Building
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(413) 545-5352
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Amherst , Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges join with the University of Massachusetts to form the Five College Consortium, combining their academic activities in selected areas for the purpose of extending and enriching their collective educational resources. Students may elect courses off campus at any one or all of these institutions.
Recognized as one of the oldest and most successful consortia in American higher education, Five Colleges administers cooperative agreements that give students open access to everything from courses and library holdings to theatre auditions.
Part-time or full-time University students in good standing in a degree program may register for courses at any of the other four colleges without additional cost beyond normal lab or instructional fees. At the University, an eligible student must be at least a second semester freshman in good standing ( i.e., students who are not on academic probation, probation continued, or immediate reinstatement). In a given semester, a student must be enrolled in at least one regular 3-credit academic course at the University and no more than 8 credits can be taken at any one institution. Continuing education and dual enrollment students are not eligible.
Information about what courses are offered at the Five Colleges is available through the Five College Course catalog.
Registration dates vary from the UMass SPIRE dates. Students must follow the Five College Academic Calendar
for the exact UMass Five College add/drop and pre-registration dates. To enroll in a class during the
ADD/DROP period students must come to the UMass 5-College Office, located in 614 Goodell, within the
first 14 days of each semester. The PRE -REGISTRATION period for spring courses is one week in November
and one week in April for fall courses. Students must pre-register in the UMass 5-College Office.
Please note that pre-registration is a request for a course, it does not guarantee enrollment.
Most 5-College classes carry 4 credits. Exceptions include P.E., Outdoors Program, Dance, Music and some science and language courses. 5-College courses will count toward your credit limit and all credits will count as UMass residency credits. Grades earned at the other four colleges are recorded on the UMass transcript and factored into the UMass grade point average.
The UMass 5-College office has a list of 5-College courses which already have General Education approvals. In you enroll in one of these courses you will automatically receive Gen. Ed. Credit. If you think a 5-College class might fulfill a Gen. Ed. Requirement, you may obtain a petition (in the UMass 5-College Office) for that class to be granted a Gen. Ed. Designation (come to the 5-College Office for more information).
For further information, stop by the Five Interchange College Office in 614 Goodell, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or call us at 545-5352 .
