University of Massachusetts Amherst

UMass Amherst is a selective research and land-grant university located in Amherst. It is the flagship campus of the UMass system. UMass Amherst has nearly 20,000 undergraduate students in over 90 areas of academic study, as well as 5,700 graduate students.

History
Originally named Massachusetts Agricultural College, the university was founded in 1863 to provide instruction to Massachusetts citizens in the "agricultural, mechanical, and military arts." As enrollment grew and the college expanded, with support from the commonwealth, M.A.C. was renamed Massachusetts State College. In 2003, UMass Amherst was legally designated the flagship campus of the state system. UMass Amherst is currently in the middle of a massive expansion project which will cause the size and population of the university to nearly double from its numbers in 2004. The project, mandated by governor Mitt Romney, is intended to take over the role of the state's community college system, which is in the process of being consolidated and, eventually, dismantled.

Taking Courses at UMass
Hampshire students are generally cautioned against taking introductory classes at UMass as they tend to be very large, impersonal and lecture style. However, Umass offers great opportunities to take graduate level courses.



Current Course Offerings
A list of courses open to Hampshire students for the Fall 2009 semester can be found here.