Academics
As a large research institution and the state’s flagship campus, the University of Massachusetts Amherst offers “immense resources and opportunities” for enrollees. Students at this university can choose from over 110 majors. Many are eager to sign up for exciting courses such as a botany class where undergrads visit a “new garden where food is made for [the] dining halls” or a “bookbinding class,” and even a “science course called the science of craft where [students] get to learn how to blacksmith, make pottery, brew, and blow glass.” There are also “many niche seminars for first-year students that allow them to explore their identities and eccentric interests.” In addition to “unique and interesting courses,” undergrads say “the ongoing research and new ideas coming from here are amazing.” With access to “new facilities and very high-tech labs” and “great research opportunities” from professors who “eagerly accept undergraduate assistants,” many agree that “school keeps [them] busy, but it’s worth it.” And if there’s somehow not enough for students to do at Amherst itself, there’s a free inter-campus bus for those who want to take advantage of cross-registering at one of the four other Massachusetts colleges that the school is in a consortium with. Behind these “very engaging” courses and research opportunities are “kind and knowledgeable” professors. Students note that faculty are “super personable” and make it “easy to ask questions in big lectures with TAs and office hours.” While every instructor’s course is different, the “group-based [and] interactive learning” complements the “big lectures” offered by the school. Students feel that professors are constantly “bringing the class to life with new teaching styles” in order to “make sure that each individual is grasping the material.” Many undergrads indicate that their instructors “obviously care about the subjects [they teach]” and “care about their students’ well-being.” Above all, it feels like professors “want their students to succeed.”
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