Amherst College
Amherst College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
Amherst College Featured Rankings
- #1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Massachusetts 2026
- #1 Small Colleges in Massachusetts
- #2 Physics Liberal Arts Colleges
- #2 Economics Liberal Arts Colleges
- #2 Earth Sciences Liberal Arts Colleges
- #2 Math Liberal Arts Colleges
- #2 Liberal Arts Colleges for Biology Degrees
- #3 Sociology Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Computer Science Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Political Science Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 English Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Chemistry Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Majors
- #3 Philosophy Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 History Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Religious Studies Liberal Arts Colleges
- #3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges 2026
- #4 Best Small Colleges 2026
- #5 15 Colleges with the Happiest Freshmen
- #5 Anthropology Liberal Arts Colleges
- #5 Most Influential US Universities by State
- #6 Best Colleges in Massachusetts
- #6 Private Colleges in Massachusetts 2026
- #6 Political Science Colleges and Universities
- #8 Sociology Colleges and Universities
- #9 Psychology Colleges and Universities
- #9 Economics Colleges and Universities
- #10 Best Biology Colleges and Universities
- #31 Best Undergrad Private Colleges
- #35 Best Undergrad Colleges 2026
About Amherst College
Featured Alumnus
Joseph Stiglitz ranks among our Top Influential Economists Today.
Amherst College was founded in 1821. It is a four-year, liberal arts college with an enrollment of over 1,850 undergraduates.
Amherst offers some 850 courses in 36 different academic disciplines. Among the most popular programs are those in mathematics, in economics, and in psychology. Amherst does not offer online courses.
Amherst is associated with six Nobel laureates:
- Physics—Henry W. Kendall
- Physiology or medicine—Herman J. Muller, Harold Varmus, and Jeffrey C. Hall
- Economics—Joseph Stiglitz and Edmund Phelps
Other distinguished Amherst connected individuals include the following:
- Mathematician, Stephen C. Kleene
- Computer scientist, David S. Johnson
- Philosophers—F.J.E. Woodbridge, Barry Loewer, and William Lycan
- Poets—Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Archibald MacLeish, James Merrill, and Richard Wilbur
- Novelists, Chris Bohjalian and David Foster Wallace
- Genre authors—Scott Turow, Dan Brown, Harlan Coben, and Julie Powell
- Translators—Howell Chickering, Robert Fagles, David Ferry, Stephen Mitchell, and B. Alan Wallace
- Nonfiction author, Ted Coover
- Literary scholars, William H. Pritchard and Ilan Stavans
- Film director, David O. Russell
- Actors, Burgess Meredith, Jeffrey Wright, Rob Brown, Hamish Linklater, John Michael Higgins, Matt Besser, and Stephen Collins
- Comedian, Larry Miller
- Cartoonist, Bill Amend
- Stage magician, Teller (Raymond Joseph Teller)
- Musicologist, Philip Gossett
- Astronomers, Raymond Smith Dugan and Andrew Ingersoll
- Physicists, Arthur Zajonc and Henry Way Kendall
- Chemists, William Summer Johnson and Paul D. Bartlett
- Geneticist, David Suzuki
- Microbiologist and taxonomist, Carl R. Woese
- Botanist and agronomist, William Smith Clark
- Blood transfusion pioneer, Charles R. Drew
- Physician and bioethicist, Ezekiel Emanuel
- Architects, William Rutherford Mead and John S. Hagmann
- Historians—Preserved Smith, H. Stewart Hughes, Henry Steele Commager, Joseph M. Hall, Jr., and Perez Zagorin
- Indologist, Robert Thurman
- Psychologist, James Olds
- Political scientist and biographer, William Taubman
- Sociologist, Talcott Parsons
- Economist, John Bates Clark
- Minister and abolitionist, Henry Ward Beecher
- Librarian and Dewey Decimal System inventor, Melvil Dewey
- Frozen food pioneer, Clarence Birdseye
- Stockbroker and Merrill Lynch co-founder, Charles E. Merrill
- Legal scholars—James Boyd White, Lawrence Douglas, and Hadley Arkes
- Science journalist, Daniel Goleman
- Former US Supreme Court Chief Justice, Harlan F. Stone
- Former US Senator, Thomas Eagleton
- Current US Senator, Chris Coons
- Former Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou
- Current Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta
- 30th US President, Calvin Coolidge
Amherst is regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) (formerly known as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges [NEASC]).
According to Wikipedia, Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts. The institution was named after the town, which in turn had been named after Jeffery, Lord Amherst, Commander-in-Chief of British forces of North America during the French and Indian War. Originally established as a men's college, Amherst became coeducational in 1975.
Amherst College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,727 | 9% | 97% | 93% | 1535 | 34 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does Amherst College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $73,830 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $2,424 |
| 30K - 48K | $3,063 |
| 48K - 75K | $13,814 |
| 75K - 110K | $17,999 |
| 110K+ | $49,700 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do Amherst College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former Amherst College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $95,161 a year, and 90% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
Amherst College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads |
|---|---|
| 2,049 | 2,049 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is Amherst College?
Amherst College is located at Boltwood Avenue, Amherst, MA 01002-5000.
How Safe is Amherst College?
Relative to its enrollment, Amherst College has a violent crime rate of 0.52% and a property crime rate of 0.26%. Amherst has a violent crime rate of 0.16% and a property crime rate of 0.32%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is Amherst College Known For?
Amherst College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Economics
- Literature
- Law
- Political Science
- Education
- Sociology
- Chemistry
- History
- Religious Studies
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Physics
- Philosophy
- Biology
- Psychology
- Anthropology
- Earth Sciences
Amherst College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much Amherst College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
Amherst College ranks #33 in the U.S. and #107 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesAmherst College ranks #35 in the U.S. and #95 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesAmherst College ranks #42 in the U.S. and #133 worldwide for influence in Law.
Amherst College ranks #50 in the U.S. and #163 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesAmherst College ranks #53 in the U.S. and #178 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesAmherst College ranks #61 in the U.S. and #175 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesAmherst College ranks #61 in the U.S. and #269 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesAmherst College ranks #64 in the U.S. and #165 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesAmherst College ranks #64 in the U.S. and #281 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.
religious-studies-hub DegreesAmherst College ranks #69 in the U.S. and #277 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesAmherst College ranks #70 in the U.S. and #205 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesAmherst College ranks #70 in the U.S. and #292 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesAmherst College ranks #72 in the U.S. and #234 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesAmherst College ranks #80 in the U.S. and #234 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesAmherst College ranks #85 in the U.S. and #167 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesAmherst College ranks #114 in the U.S. and #319 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesAmherst College ranks #119 in the U.S. and #459 worldwide for influence in Earth Sciences.
earth-science DegreesWho Are Amherst College's Most Influential Alumni?
Amherst College's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Sociology, Economics, and Literature. Here are some of Amherst College's most famous alumni:
- Joseph Stiglitz
- An American economist, professor, and recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
- Talcott Parsons
- An American sociologist.
- Stephen Cole Kleene
- An American mathematician and theoretical computer scientist.
- Carl Woese
- An American microbiologist.
- Daniel Goleman
- An American psychologist & journalist.
- John J. McCloy
- An American lawyer and banker .
- Edmund Phelps
- An American economist.
- John Bates Clark
- An American neoclassical economist .
- Henry Ward Beecher
- An American clergyman and activist .
- B. Alan Wallace
- An American author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter, and Buddhist practitioner.
- John C. Reynolds
- An American computer scientist .
- Dan Brown
- An American novelist. Dan Brown is author of The Da Vinci Code.
Who Are Amherst College's Most Influential Faculty?
Amherst College's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Sociology, Economics, and Literature. Here are some of Amherst College's most famous faculty:
- Lawrence Douglas
- An American legal academic.
- Dan Chiasson
- An American writer.
- Alexander George
- An American philosopher.
- Philip Donoghue
- A British paleontologist.
- Koby Altman
- An American basketball executive.
- Amanda Folsom
- An American mathematician.
- Manuela Picq
- A Franco-Brazilian journalist.
- Alicja Gescinska
- A Philosopher.
- C. Josh Donlan
- An American ecologist.
- Richard Beaudoin
- An American composer.
