Breaking Down Language Barriers
Academics
With 14 academic departments and 12 world-class research centers, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs, our students have the opportunity to study with the best scholars, thinkers, and artists.
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As the creative and cultural heart of UMass Amherst, HFA brings together scholars and artists from a wide range of disciplines.
Undergraduate Major Programs
Master’s Programs
Doctoral Programs
Minors
HFA Senior Recognition Ceremony
Let's celebrate you! Get all the details for the 2024 College of Humanities & Fine Arts (HFA) Senior Recognition Ceremony.
The World is Our Classroom
In HFA, student learning expands far beyond the classroom. Take a peek inside Collecting 101: Acquiring Art for the University Museum of Contemporary Art, where students learn the inner workings of museum acquisition—and conclude the semester by choosing a piece of artwork to purchase for the museum’s permanent collection.
Distinguished Faculty
In 2023-24, our College had the distinct honor of celebrating not one but two faculty members selected as part of the Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series: Department of Music and Dance faculty members Jeffrey Holmes, professor of piano and trumpet, and Ayano Kataoka, professor of percussion. For this achievement, the two received the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest recognition bestowed upon faculty by the campus.
Alumni Who Uplift
Aretha Miller ’92 has a legacy of lifting others up. Born in Jamaica, Miller enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and it immediately became her second home. Now, she continues her work to make education more accessible for the next generation.
Get ahead this summer with online classes
In the spotlight
Digital technology gives new life to this music and poetry. This is what makes working on the Tasso in Music Project so rewarding.
In the news
From Classroom to Conservation: UMass Amherst Art Students Collaborate with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Environmental Art Project
UMass Amherst students recently partnered with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to create an extensive library of graphics for educational materials.
Sophia He, Linguistics, and Jarrel De Matas, English, Named Student Speakers for UMass Amherst Commencement 2024
Linguistics major Sophia He and English PhD Student Jarrel De Matas will represent the undergraduate and graduate classes of 2024 at Commencement.
Afro-Am PhD Student Olivia Haynes Awarded Freedom on the Move Data Fellowship at Cornell University
Olivia Haynes, doctoral candidate in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, has been awarded a Freedom on the Move Mellon Data Fellowship.