Photo of Alon Confino

In Memoriam: Alon Confino

The history department mourns the passing of Alon Confino, director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies and professor of history and Judaic and Near Eastern studies. Alon was an internationally renowned scholar and a beloved colleague.

Person in flannel jacket and sunglasses studies outside

Major in History

History majors work closely with our nationally recognized faculty to explore the past in all its intricacies, while developing the ability to think critically and to write and speak eloquently.

Person in black sweater looks at historical documents

The MA and PhD Programs

The UMass/Five College graduate program in history grants students access to the exceptional resources of five campuses to provide professional training that combines intellectual breadth and historical focus.

Person working with shoes

The Public History Program

The Public History Program at UMass Amherst aims to train graduate students to work on historical projects with a broad range of audiences and institutions, as well as to prepare them for entry level positions in museums, archives, historic preservation agencies and many other places that engage the insights and methods of historians.

Collage with the text "What Are Universities For?"

The 2024-25 Feinberg Series

What Are Universities For? Struggles for the Soul of Higher Education

Presented by the UMass Amherst History Department and partners, the 2024-25 Feinberg Series brings together students, scholars, and community organizers to trace the historical roots of the crises in U.S. higher education and propose solutions for debt-saddled students, resource-starved communities, and others whose lives and futures depend on this bedrock social institution.