When Amherst officially opened in 1821, it had one building, a president, two professors and 47 students. The College has grown over time, but an Amherst education is still personal, dynamic and rigorous. Our professors are among the foremost authorities in their fields and they work with students every day, in and out of class, as teachers, advisers and mentors.
Robert Howard '76 looks back at June 22, 1921, to a remarkable speech given at Amherst’s centennial celebration by the College’s then-president, Alexander Meiklejohn.
Course catalogs are more than lists of classes; they're a window into the intellectual life of a time and place. For example, in the 1840s, Amherst had three terms instead of semesters, and in the 1920s students still had to study Latin.
Many changes are in store for those who study Spanish, from language learning to cultural studies and more.
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At this smaller afternoon event, hosted by Professor Austin Sarat, the Justice shared her thoughts about the most recent Supreme Court term.
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One professor, three students, countless hours of research and a singular TV detective.
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An Amherst professor collaborated with a student on a new, boundary-breaking project for religious studies scholars.
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On course-specific, College-funded trips, Amherst students go deeper into their studies while also building new friendships.
Learn MoreAt Amherst’s founding, there were no academic departments and only one course of study—the ministry. Over time, the curriculum expanded to include majors in the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities. During the summer of 2020, Amherst student research interns explored the origins, popular classes and long-serving professors in a handful of Amherst academic departments. We’re happy to share their findings.
By Anna Smith '22
The study of Greek and Latin was once the heart of Amherst College and academia at large, from coursework to fraternities to the theater, even before the Amherst classics department came into existence. These ancient languages also dictated who enrolled at Amherst, as when the College first opened in 1821, there was no standardized test or application process. Instead, prospective students in the 19th century were given examinations in a variety of subjects. The game Would You Get Into Amherst in 1842? uses Greek and Latin exercises from the period to simulate these examinations.
The Departments of Greek and Latin were two of the first departments at the College after its curriculum was reorganized in 1884. Until the 1933-34 academic year, all students were required to study Latin prior to graduation. This required knowledge of ancient languages led to a greater sense of commonality, as this knowledge was used in commencement addresses, fraternal organizations and the theater. Staged readings or performances in Greek were performed across campus as late as the 1970s, and small class sizes often resulted in close relationships with professors. However, the study of ancient languages is traditionally associated with elitism and privilege, and this sense of commonality was fostered through the exclusion of students who had not studied the ancient languages. As Harold Wade ’68 wrote in the 1976 book Black Men of Amherst, “few blacks had a background in the classics,” leading to a prevailing sense of whiteness within the College. In the academic year 1945-46, the College dropped the ancient language entrance requirement, but many of these sentiments remained.
Amherst’s faculty is made up of distinguished professors in every field who regard teaching as a calling and an art. These award-winning scholars, artists, and scientists have prepared thousands of Amherst graduates for successful lives and careers.
Rose Olver came to Amherst in 1962 as the first woman to hold a tenure-track position on the faculty. More than 50 years later, she is the first woman to have her portrait hang in Johnson Chapel.
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Professor Follette and colleagues were the first group of scientists to ever directly image a planet still in the process of forming, otherwise known as a protoplanet.
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Professor Henderson’s recent book takes a close look at pop culture and legislation and the role they play in fostering myths about African American families.
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and emeritus professor of political science, Taubman taught at Amherst from 1967 to 2015.
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Professor Cobham-Sander’s has taught a popular “Digital Africas” course that examines the impact of computer technology and the internet on African literature. In 2017, the course blossomed into a three-day symposium attracting international scholars and experts on emerging African writing.
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Dr. Goldsby's research has been crucial in developing a system for producing human polyclonal antibodies that could be used to prevent or treat antibiotic-resistant infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer and diseases resulting from bioterrorism.
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Amherst’s legendary professor of English and the inventor of one of the College’s most famous courses, English 1-2. In English 1, Theodore Baird would enter class through a window and ask whether the window shouldn’t therefore be called a door.
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Professor Rodriquez incorporates documentary filmmaking into his teaching, and in a 2018 course, he worked with students to conduct oral histories of Puerto Ricans in nearby Holyoke, Mass. Then went to Puerto Rico to interview relatives of the Holyoke interview subjects. The result is a 22-minute documentary film.
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