Students run tests at computer monitors.

Discover Ideas

Be Part of the Discovery

Make Your Mark Tech Education Environment Language

As a UMass Amherst student, you'll engage with bold new ideas in meaningful ways, both through your coursework and through experiences that connect what you’re learning to the world around you. You'll work alongside world-class faculty—asking questions, testing concepts, and contributing to projects that address real-world challenges. Across disciplines, you’ll build knowledge, confidence, and perspective as you begin to shape what comes next.

Discover UMass Amherst

Designing a Robot Guide Dog

After witnessing the challenges faced by people with visual impairments in his hometown in Gujarat, India, Shiven Patel came to UMass Amherst to turn ideas into solutions. Today, he researches robotic guide dogs in the Dynamic and Autonomous Robotics Systems Laboratory—technology that could help people who are blind navigate the world more independently.

Empowering Communities Through Education

English major Mia Klotz turned her Honors Thesis into real-world impact. She helped connect a school in the Bolivian community her family comes from to the World Librarians Club, expanding access to educational resources for students.

The Science of Clean Water

Growing up on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Raul Vera III developed a deep appreciation for natural water systems. At UMass Amherst, he now researches how organic matter enters drinking water supplies—work that could help reduce harmful contaminants and make drinking water safer for millions of people.

Giving Characters Their Authentic Voice

By combining linguistics and theater at UMass Amherst, Lindsay Forauer studies how accents shape storytelling. Her work as a dialect coach helps actors bring authentic voices and cultural understanding to their performances.

Learn More

A UMass Amherst theater student works on a set piece.

Learn By Doing

At UMass Amherst, learning is active. Through hands-on opportunities and course-based research experiences, you’ll dive into real questions, explore new ideas, and contribute to meaningful work.

Explore Research Experiences

Two students in UMass Amhrst science lab

A professor walks with students in the rooftop garden of the Olver Design Building.

World-Class Faculty

Work alongside leading experts tackling the challenges shaping our world—from climate and health to technology and social systems. At UMass Amherst, you’ll learn directly from faculty who are advancing their fields, with opportunities to get involved, ask questions, and contribute to work that matters.

Lisa Komoroske Wins National Geographic Explorer Award to Study Hawaiian Sea Turtle Climate Resilience

Komoroske, professor of environmental conservation in the College of Natural Sciences, has been awarded a National Geographic Explorer award as part of the National Geographic Society’s American Keystone Species initiative.

Two UMass Amherst Professors Awarded 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships

Professors Stephen Platt, history, and Juana Valdés, art, have been named to the 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Peter Gizzi Wins 2024 T.S. Eliot Prize for Best Poetry Collection

The judges announced Gizzi, professor of poetry in the UMass MFA for Poets and Writers program, as the winner for his poetry collection, “Fierce Elegy,” at a Jan. 13 award ceremony in London.

In my experience, UMass offers all the advantages of a big state school, in terms of resources and opportunities, along with the attention and guidance from faculty that you’d expect at a smaller school.

Milo Van Mooy ’26

Outstanding Academics

Nationwide in Food Science & Technology, U.S. News & World Report

Nationwide in Agricultural Sciences, U.S. News & World Report

#13

Artificial Intelligence, U.S. News & World Report

Public University in New England, U.S. News & World Report

Nationwide in Linguistics, QS World University Rankings

#10

Nationwide in Hospitality & Leisure Management, QS World University Rankings

Supercharge Your Degree

Commonwealth Honors College

Experience the advantages of a small college environment combined with access to the opportunities and resources of a nationally recognized research university.

The 2023 cohort of UMass Community Scholars.

Civic Engagement & Service Learning

Work alongside communities to address real social challenges—earning academic credit while strengthening your degree with hands-on experience, critical perspective, and the skills to lead meaningful change.

Integrated Concentration in Stem

This undergraduate certificate program aims to inspire a diverse generation of innovators with the attitudes and skills needed to solve the problems facing society.

Partner Internships

UMass Amherst partners with organizations across industries to give you hands-on experience—through internships, research, and community-based work that help you explore careers and build real-world skills early.

UMass Amherst Graduate School dissertation writing bootcamp

4+1 Master's Degree Programs

UMass 4+1 accelerated master's programs allow you to earn your bachelor’s degree plus your master’s degree in a combined effort.

Residential Academic Programs

First-year and transfer students come together in shared living-learning communities—where you take a small course with your peers, build connections quickly, and strengthen your academic foundation from the start.

Here, Opportunity Stands Tall

At the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, you have access to the tallest academic library in the world—looming large at 286.5 feet tall with nearly six million volumes inside. But it’s more than its scale. It’s where you’ll dive into new subjects, follow your curiosity, and access technology and resources to deepen your thinking.

Learn More About UMass Amherst Libraries

Summer campus photo showing the library from across the pond with the fountains spraying

Collective Learning Power

Through the Five College Consortium, UMass Amherst students can tap into the extensive resources of our flagship research campus while taking courses and working with faculty at four top-ranked, private liberal arts colleges nearby.

Learn More About the 5 Colleges

Go Deeper

Majors & Minors

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Tuition & Costs

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