A Student’s Guide to the Commonwealth Honors College: CHCRC

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Welcome to the new recurring blog series, ‘A Student’s Guide to CHC!’ In this blog series, our writers are highlighting the key elements of the Honors College, including helpful resources, academic opportunities, places to eat and study, fun events, and more! We hope this guide will help any incoming or prospective Honors students as they start their journey at CHC.

This blog is all about the Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community (CHCRC). The CHCRC offers a place for Honors students to call home on the large UMass Amherst campus. Culminating around the main Commonwealth Honors College Building, the CHCRC is in the heart of campus.

Amenities Near CHCRC

CHCRC has quick access to the Honors classrooms, as well as proximity to important landmarks such as the Campus Recreation Center and the W.E.B Du Bois Library. The Campus Recreation Center is a three-story gym complete with basketball courts, an indoor track, and at least three of every machine you need for a killer workout. In addition to this, the rec center hosts numerous group fitness classes each day, ranging from 7 a.m. spin class to 8 p.m. Zumba. This is a great resource for stress-relief and community building! The rec center is available for use to all UMass Amherst students. 

You might remember this fun fact if you took a tour of UMass Amherst before arriving this past August: The W.E.B. Du Bois Library is the tallest academic library in the world. This red brick, 28-floor building contains over four million books, the Procrastination Station (a small café with coffee and pastries), and plenty of quiet study areas. The bottom floor of the library contains the Learning Commons, a space for group and individual studying complete with computers, printers, and IT help. Du Bois Library also hosts the Digital Media lab for students interested in music and media production.  

Student playing basketball at the recreation center at the University of Massachusetts

Students in one of the recreation center's many classes at the University of Massachusetts

Student using gym equipment at the University of Massachusetts

Dorm Details

The CHCRC features six residential halls - two first-year halls including Sycamore and Oak, and four multi-year halls, including: Birch, Elm, Linden, and Maple. The first-year dormitories are typically set up with double rooms and a few singles. Each roommate in a room has a desk, closet, and small dresser of their own. The multi-year dormitories have suite-style rooms with a communal living space and bathroom, and either four singles, two doubles, or one double and two singles. Each building, first and multi-year, also have communal study and entertainment spaces and occasionally a communal kitchen. These are truly some of the nicest dorms on campus.

"Each building, first and multi-year, also have communal study and entertainment spaces and occasionally a communal kitchen. These are truly some of the nicest dorms on campus." 

Elm House also houses a few classrooms on the basement floor. These are used by faculty during the day, but remain open after hours. Students are able to use these spaces well into the evening to study or meet with fellow students. But be careful! The doors automatically lock after 7 p.m., so don’t accidentally lock your things inside. Bring a door stop if you intend to be there later in the day.  

Aside from the residential halls, the CHCRC also includes the infamous Roots Café! Roots is such a great place for you and your friends to just hang out and get some good food! It has hands down one of the best quesadillas on campus, and their coffee is a strong contender for being one of the best as well. Roots offers grab-and-go meal swipes for breakfast during the weekdays. These typically include your choice of toasted bagel, breakfast sandwich, or oatmeal, coupled with fruit, yogurt, or breakfast pastry — complete with coffee, juice, or milk.

Inside Tip from Caelyn:

Roots tends to be heavy handed on sweetener and flavorings for their coffees. I would recommend asking for light flavoring or sweetener; unless of course, you have a sweet tooth, then enjoy as normal! Their iced caramel latte continues to highlight my mornings.

The Bloom Honors Advising Center is also centrally located in the Commonwealth Honors College; the advisors there are very welcoming and will help answer any and every academic query you have regarding the Honors curriculum. This building is also home to the brand new Honors Hub, a study space for students, which opened during Fall 2022.

Academic advisors from the Bloom Advising Center provide guidance and support for your Honors academic experience, campus academic and co-curricular opportunities, scholarships and research funding, and your Honors Thesis.

There’s also a lot of greenery in and around the CHCRC. There are numerous quads outside the CHC dorms that have outdoor seating and beautiful views of the CHCRC and the athletic fields. In addition to this, you will notice that there are a number of daffodil beds around this area. These flowers are planted in the fall so they will be ready to bloom in the spring, a tradition started by Priscilla Clarkson, a previous dean for the Honors College. This year, the daffodil planting will be open to all CHC students and staff, and will take place on October 30 from 1-3 p.m.

Overall, the CHCRC creates a space for Honors students to live, relax, eat, study, and access resources that are right in their backyard!