What were you madE for?
You were made to make progress.
To make connections. Do you want to make something new? So do we.
Hampshire College
is a small, progressive, residential liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts.
We were founded in 1965 to radically reimagine liberal arts education. Today, we’re more unconventional than ever, and we’re organized in a way that’s different from any other college.
Hampshire’s model is designed to change and to respond to the most urgent issues facing humanity.
Non Satis Scire: “To Know Is Not Enough”
Our motto since 1965
Your college experience will be unlike anyone else’s
DESIGN YOUR OWN EDUCATION
Unbounded by traditional disciplines, you’ll create something new. Choose the classes that interest you, and add independent work, internships, and other activities outside the classroom, free from cookie-cutter requirements.
NARRATIVE EVALUATIONS, NOT GRADES
Instead of letter grades, get constructive written feedback from faculty. Receive personal, purposeful assessment designed to prompt real self-reflection and growth.
MEANINGFUL PROJECTS
Develop almost any project you want, in collaboration with professors and peers. Write a research paper, stage a theatrical production, start a business, breed pigs, compose a rock opera, build a yurt . . . if you can imagine it, you can make it happen.
LEARNING COLLABORATIVES
Explore the pressing issues facing society today in Learning Collaboratives, where students, staff, and faculty imagine better futures through coursework, projects, events, and more.
A DIFFERENT WAY OF SEEING THE WORLD
Your time here is fueled by your curiosity and passion. Graduate with the skills you need to invent, adapt, and make a difference. Plus, you’ll be part of a worldwide community of alumni.
I saw the potential in an education system that could enable students to craft a major uniquely their own.”
— ISAIAH BROWN 20F
THE FREEDOM TO SHAPE YOUR OWN CURRICULUM
What can you study here?
In short, anything you want.
You have the freedom to blend multiple interests or go deep on one.
Instead of choosing a pre-set major, follow your interests as they evolve, and design your own concentration to investigate what fascinates you the most.
SEE OUR AREAS OF STUDY: HAMP.IT/AREASOFSTUDY
Our divisional system provides the structure for you to become an active producer of knowledge, not a passive consumer of information.
DIVISION I YEAR ONE
• Build the skills for research, reflection, introspection, and writing.
• Learn across a range of disciplines and approaches.
• Start to explore project-based learning.
• Choose courses free from gen-ed requirements.
DIVISION II YEARS TWO & THREE
• Choose faculty advisors to guide your process.
• Dig in on more advanced projects and grow your skills.
• Deepen connections on and off campus, explore field study, and pursue internships.
DIVISION III
YEAR FOUR
• Design and execute a meaningful year-long project from beginning to end.
• Push your learning further and take risks.
• Immerse yourself in your work alongside friends, collaborators, and mentors.
• Embrace the opportunity to say “I made that” that no other college offers.
RECENT DIV III PROJECTS:
“Playing Politics: How Video Games Shape Power at Home and Abroad”
“The Mathematics of Discrimination: Algorithmic Decision-Making in the Criminal Justice System”
“Tell Them: A Psychological Horror Film”
“HCHC: The Revival and Decolonization of Hardcore Music at Hampshire College”
“Structures of Water: Creative Nonfiction Investigations of Economics, Biology and Language”
“Environmental Science and Fish Conservation”
Campus Resources
Academic Support and Advising
The hub for academic services keeps you on track, offering support and programming to students and faculty at all divisional levels. Your advisors know the College’s curriculum and help you pursue your passions.
THE HAROLD F. JOHNSON LIBRARY
The heart of campus. People, technology, and information to help incubate your ideas. Resources for all your research and projects: books, journals, movies, music, data, and images. The building also houses many creative and collaborative spaces : an art gallery, media labs, and meeting rooms.
Accessibility Resources and Services
Support is available for students with physical, learning, sensory, psychological, developmental, and other disabilities. Relationship-building, coaching, accommodation, and referrals . We also support you if you cannot or do not want to disclose.
PURPOSE-DRIVEN CAREER Support
Life is a process, not a linear path. Staff and peer mentors in our career office help you creatively weave your interests and values into meaningful work. Eighty-six percent of Hampshire students participate in an internship or other relevant work experience.
Writing SUPPORT
Take your writing to the next level , whether you’re working on a course paper, writing up lab results for an experiment, or drafting your first short story. Faculty and staff in our writing center offer coaching, workshops, and formal courses to help you say what you want to say.
ArtS Facilities
There’s a space for every creative expression . Studios for painting, drawing, and sculpture work. Dance studios, including a fully equipped performance space. Music classrooms, a recital hall, soundproof practice rooms with pianos, and a multi-track recording studio. Darkrooms, film editing facilities, animation labs, and digital media labs. An architecture studio. A black box theater.
COLE SCIENCE CENTER
Our science building was designed for interdisciplinary work . No walls between labs, equipment on wheels for easy movement and access. Labs for microbiology, environmental science, biology, chemistry, physics, neuroscience, and animal behavior.
A Collaborative Modeling Center for mathematical computations and visual and physical models. A greenhouse and community space for research in hydroponics, aquaculture, and marine ecology.
One of the country’s most exciting and active college towns
Western Massachusetts is a cultural hub of art, music, and food. Home to dozens of museums, concert venues, bookstores, restaurants, and 200+ miles of bikes trails — it’s the perfect blend of city and country. You can explore the foothills of the Berkshires, take a bus to Boston, or hop on the train to New York City.
Hampshire is part of the Five College Consortium along with Amherst, Smith, and Mount Holyoke Colleges and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
You can cross register for classes, join clubs, try out for club sports and performing arts groups, borrow books, attend events, and dine at any of the other four schools.
• Expanded course options: more than 7,000 from which to choose taught by some 2,000 faculty members.
• One of the largest library collections in the country: 28 libraries with more than nine million books.
• More than 900 student organizations and activities and 3,000 events each year open to all.
• A free bus system that connects the Five Colleges and three towns.
• Active recruiting by almost 500 companies.
• 30,000+ potential new friends.
MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE
see for yourself.
— YAHUI LIU 21F
Healthy, Happy, and SUPPORTED.
Health and Counseling Services
> Immunizations and prescriptions; diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses and injuries; case management and coordination of specialist care; genderaffirming hormone therapy, counseling, and medical care.
> A diverse group of mental health clinicians who are available for brief consultations, short-term psychotherapy, crisis support, ADHD/ADD coaching and medication management, and group therapy.
At Hampshire, you’ll discover yourself and find community. You’ll learn to balance friends, activities, and opportunities with your pursuit of learning.
HOUSING
Live in a single room in a dorm your first year; then, you can move to one of our three apartment-style spaces we call mods. We offer a number of residential communities based on identities or common living and learning goals.
DINING SERVICES
Dining highlighting fresh, local ingredients (many from our campus farm!) and accommodating varied dietary needs. Cafeteria-style dining with to-go options in the Dining Commons, coffee shop service at the Kern Kafé, and à la carte dining at the Bridge Café. Grab supplies and snacks at the campus store, through a Hampshire Farm share, or at the student-run Mixed Nuts Food Co-Op.
Campus Safety and Wellbeing
Fosters a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment, prioritizing physical and emotional well-being. Rooted in justice and equity, emphasizing nonclinical mental health support, de-escalation, and effective communication. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES, GROUPS, AND Resources
An eclectic range of campus events and activities, including dozens of student groups, such as Design Conspiracy, Circus Club, Fermentation Club, the Wool People, Climbers Coalition, and the Blacksmith Guild.
CHECK OUT OUR STUDENT GROUPS & ACTIVITIES: ENGAGE.HAMPSHIRE.EDU
Lebrón-wiggins-Pran CULTURAL CENTER
A place for multicultural community-building , individual expression, leadership fostering, and the exchange of ideas. We work to examine how race and culture intersect with other social identities and their impact on how we see ourselves and the world.
Queer Community Alliance Center
A student space that supports our vibrant and intentional LGBTQIA+ community with programming, resources, and community building. We offer a welcoming environment with events such as movie and game nights.
THE YURT
Designed and constructed in 1993 as a group independent-study project, the Yurt currently houses the campus radio station.
Outdoor Programs, Recreation, and Athletics
Combine your outdoor and physical learning experiences with the rest of college life. There are plenty of ways to explore the outdoors — multi-day trips, semester-long classes, and any time on campus. We have 800 acres of meadows and woods full of trails, a nearby mountain range, and local mountain-biking trails. Tennis courts, soccer fields, indoor track, weight room, climbing wall, sauna, pool, and more.
Hampshire FARM
A living lab. Research and study sustainable agriculture, animal behavior, local food systems, and ethical land stewardship. More than 75,000 pounds of produce from 15 acres of land, plus 65 acres in pasture and livestock production. Farm food is provided to local community share holders and our dining commons.
Center for Design
A dynamic makerspace open to all for both personal and academic design and fabrication projects. Work in various materials and processes, including computer-aided design, machining, welding, sewing, sheetmetal work, electronics, plastics thermoforming, wrought-iron work, blacksmithing, glasswork, general mechanics, sewing, and plasma cutting.
Learning for You— Made Affordable
We are committed to making Hampshire affordable for you and your family. We accept the brightest, most creative, and passionate students, regardless of their ability to pay.
Types of support:
> MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS
> FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID
> TRANSFER SCHOLARSHIPS
> HAMPSHIRE GRANTS
> STATE GRANTS
> STUDENT EMPLOYMENT
Great financial aid
Many colleges base financial aid awards largely or partly on test scores. We believe aid should be used to support students who most need assistance, not just good test takers.
of Hampshire students receive financial aid
All students are considered for substantial merit aid, renewable each year after maintaining satisfactory academic progress.
Students seeking additional financial aid must complete a financial aid application. These forms are used to determined a student’s financial need for institutional financial aid. The information is sent to Hampshire College when our school code is added to your form.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at fafsa.gov.
• T he FAFSA school code for Hampshire College is 004661.
U.S. CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS COMPLETE THE INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS COMPLETE THE
Complete the CSS Profile online at cssprofile.collegeboard.org.
• T he CSS Profile school code for Hampshire College is 3447.
Hampshire grads Are Leaders in hundreds of fields.
MANNY CASTRO
Manny Castro 02F, executive director of the New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) organization, in Queens, N.Y., was recognized with a $200,000 grant from the David Prize, which supports New Yorkers with the plans and vision to make a difference in the lives of the city’s residents.
1 in 4 of our graduates starts a business or nonprofit
KEN BURNS
Award-winning documentarian Ken Burns 71F has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical films ever made. He has won 16 Emmys, been the recipient of the Academy of TV Arts & Science Lifetime Achievement Award, and holds more than 30 honorary degrees.
9 in 10 alums receive a job offer within six months of graduating
LUPITA NYONG’O
Actress Lupita Nyong’o 03 received an Academy Award for her performance in 12 Years a Slave. Other credits include Black Panther, the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Us, and the Broadway play Eclipsed. In 2019 she published the #1 New York Times bestselling children’s book Sulwe
One of the top 20 colleges for entrepreneurs
Hampshire is in the
of the nation’s colleges whose graduates go on to earn a research doctorate
ELLIOTT SMITH
Singer songwriter Elliott Smith 87F formed the band Heatmiser with classmate Neil Gust while at Hampshire. He went on to release five acclaimed solo albums and was nominated for an Oscar for his song “Miss Misery,” from the film Good Will Hunting
They have won Pulitzer and Hillman Prizes and Emmy, Academy, Peabody, and Grammy Awards. 2 OF 3 graduates earn an advanced degree within ten years of commencement
FIND MORE NOTABLE ALUMS: HAMP.IT/CHANGEMAKERS
NOELLE COCOROS
Noelle Cocoros 96F is an epidemiologist and research scientist at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and serves on an executive committee that guides the operations of a national public health system for the U.S. FDA.
of students complete Campus and Community-Engaged Learning that combines academics with impact on campus, locally, or globally
DISTINGUISH YOURSELF FROM THE HERD. WE DID.
Start building your own path today. Get in touch.
Apply Now
The Hampshire admissions process is entirely test-free. We’ve never required SATs or ACTs, and now we won’t even accept them. Instead, we take a holistic look at your application, to see what makes you who you are.
FIND DETAILS & DEADLINES FOR:
> FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
> TRANSFER STUDENTS
> INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
> HOMESCHOOL AND UNSCHOOL STUDENTS
> JAMES BALDWIN SCHOLARS
