University of Massachusetts–Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, in Amherst in the Pioneer Valley. It opened in 1863 as Massachusetts Agricultural College, a land-grant school, and grew into a public research university. The campus covers about 1,450 acres. Students also take part in the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges.

Nine schools and colleges span the arts, sciences, engineering, and professions. Graduate strengths include the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, polymer science and engineering, food science, linguistics, public health, and the Isenberg School of Management. Research infrastructure includes the Institute for Applied Life Sciences and shared Five College libraries and courses that graduate students in the humanities and social sciences often use.

Enrollment is about 32,000, including roughly 7,000 graduate students. International students are a substantial minority, especially in STEM master's and doctoral programs, and come from more than 100 countries. Faculty number about 1,400. Alumni include General Electric chief executive Jack Welch, astronaut Catherine Coleman, and actor Richard Gere, who attended the campus.

Graduate study covers the M.A., M.S., M.B.A., M.P.H., M.F.A., Ed.D., and Ph.D., combining coursework with supervised research on a semester calendar. Doctoral students in the sciences and engineering are typically funded by assistantships. Amherst is a small college town; daily life runs between campus, downtown, and the other Four Colleges a short bus ride away.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, University of Massachusetts–Amherst lists 168 graduate programs across 44 subjects: 92 master's programs and 71 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in education, public health and biology. University of Massachusetts–Amherst holds rank 84 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.