Academics
In Five College majors, departments and programs, our campuses collaborate to enhance academic offerings and support vibrant intellectual communities for students and faculty members.
Five Colleges coordinates dozens of multi-campus academic programs that give students and faculty members the opportunity to engage with people and access resources beyond their home campus. Browse the full list of programs below, or use the filter to focus your search based on the kind of program and academic area. Follow the links to explore other academic opportunities.
Five College Academic Programs
African Studies
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Drawing on the expertise of more than 50 faculty members across the campuses, students pursuing the Five College African Studies certificate work closely with a faculty advisor to plan a uniquely tailored course of study.
American Sign Language
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ASL is available to students of all five of our campuses.
Anthropology
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The study of anthropology is greatly enriched by the presence of a large and varied range of scholars at the five campuses who meet regularly, share their research, and lecture in each other's classes.
Arabic Language Initiative
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The Five College Arabic Language Initiative allows students at each of the five campuses to develop a concentration of study devoted to the Arabic language and culture.
Architectural Studies
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The objective of the Five College Architectural Studies program is to cultivate concerned architectural designers and thinkers through a flexible yet rigorous interdisciplinary course of study.
Asian Pacific American Studies
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The Five College Asian/Pacific/American Studies Certificate Program enables students to pursue concentrated study of the experiences of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the Americas.
Astronomy
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By linking teaching and research programs we offer a rich and diverse environment for studying and doing astronomy.
Biomathematical Sciences
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The daunting complexities of biological phenomena from neurological development to ecosystem carbon fluxes require development of new modeling and analytic approaches.
Buddhist Studies
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With one of the largest concentrations of scholars of Buddhist Studies in the United States, the Five Colleges provide an excellent environment in which to study Buddhism.
Coastal and Marine Sciences
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The Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program offers an interdisciplinary marine-related curriculum to undergraduate students enrolled in the five campuses.
Cognitive Neuroscience
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This program is designed for students interested in gaining experience within the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Community-Based Learning
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Community-Based Learning brings together students, faculty & community organizations to work on projects that provide rich experiences for students & tangible benefits to the community.
Creative Writing
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Five College Creative Writing promotes collaboration and community among writers on all five campuses.
Culture, Health, and Science
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The Five College Program in Culture, Health, and Science (CHS) allows undergraduate liberal arts students to explore human health, disease, and healing from interdisciplinary perspectives.
Dance
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Five College Dance comprises the dance departments and programs of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Early Music
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The Five College Early Music Program offers a variety of opportunities to engage with the rich and varied repertoire of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music.
East Asian Languages Program
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The East Asian Languages Program supports the study of East Asian languages at the Five Colleges through events such as language and culture programs, workshops and seminars, and professional development opportunities.
Ethnomusicology
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The Five College community is home to a diverse, vibrant group of students, scholars, and performers working in ethnomusicology, the anthropology of music, and related disciplines.
Film and Media Studies
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The Five College Film Council works to coordinate the study of film and video at all five campuses.
Geology
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Geology students and faculty members from the Five Colleges share research lab facilities equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, learn together in classes across all campuses, and explore settings around the world on joint field trips.
Hebrew Language Initiative
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The Five College Hebrew Language Initiative enables students on all five campuses to study the Hebrew language. Courses are offered through Smith and UMass Amherst and open to all five college students.
History
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The University of Massachusetts Amherst/Five College Graduate Program in History represents an extraordinary collaboration between the faculties of five distinguished campuses.
International Relations
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The Five College International Relations Program is a unique collaboration of disciplines and institutions that forms a rich interdisciplinary undergraduate international relations learning environment.
Korean Language Program
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The Five College Korean Language Program allows students at each of the five campuses to develop a concentration of study devoted to the Korean language and culture.
Languages
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Students at Five College campuses can study more than 60 languages; among the most offered anywhere in the country.
Latin American Studies
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The Five College Certificate in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies enhances the more traditional major/minor available at the individual schools & complements the student's field of study.
Logic
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The Logic Certificate Program brings together aspects of logic from different regions of the curriculum: philosophy, mathematics, computer science and linguistics.
Middle Eastern Studies
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Students design a program that will meet their intellectual, academic and prospective professional needs in conjunction with an advisor from their home institution.
Multicultural Theater
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The Five College Multicultural Theater Committee, supported by the Five College Theater chairs and Five Colleges, Inc., is charged with furthering multicultural perspectives in theater in our community.
Music
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At the Five Colleges, each music department has its own identity, its own range of offerings, and a particular emphasis that sets it apart.
Native Amer & Indigenous Stud.
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Students in the Five College Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS) certificate program benefit from a wide range of courses exploring Native American & Indigenous Studies.
Queer, Trans, Sexuality Stud.
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The Five College Queer, Trans, & Sexuality Studies certificate provides students an opportunity to critically examine the relationship between sexual and gender identities, experiences, cultures & communities.
Reprod. Health Rights Justice
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The Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice (RHRJ) certificate assists students in developing a strong understanding of the conditions that influence reproduction in the U.S. & transnationally.
Russian E. Euro. & Eura. Stud.
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The Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (REEES) Certificate Program offers students an opportunity to draw on rich resources across the Five Colleges.
Statistics
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The Five College Statistics Program was created in 2011 to enable statistics faculty members at the five campuses to coordinate and integrate resources to better serve our statistics and data science students.
Sustainability Studies
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Five College Sustainability Studies brings together several programs to encourage the study and application of sustainability across all five campuses in the consortium and beyond.
Faculty Resources
The Five College consortium supports a wide range of collaborative opportunities for faculty members, including more than 35 different faculty seminars, funding opportunities for special projects, and field reserves for teaching and research. To get involved with any of the academic groups and committees, please contact the program coordinator or the Five College staff liaison.
Academic Programs Year in Review
Academic Programs Year in Review
Click the links below to read about Academic Programs events and programming in the 2023-2024 academic year.
Academic Programs Year in Review Archive
Click here to view the e-pub for the 2022-23 Academic Programs Year in Review!
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