Editing Amherst College (section)

==Academics==
Amherst College offers 41 fields of study (with 850+ courses)<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://cms.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments|title=Majors |website=Amherst College|access-date=August 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018234940/https://cms.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments|archive-date=October 18, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> in the sciences, arts, humanities, mathematics and computer sciences, social sciences, foreign languages, classics, and several interdisciplinary fields (including premedical studies<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide1.html |title=Amherst College Guide for Premedical Students |publisher=Amherst.edu |access-date=October 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918110750/http://www3.amherst.edu/~sageorge/guide1.html |archive-date=September 18, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amherst.edu/~drewhealth/pmcourses.html |title=Charles Drew Health Professions Society |publisher=Amherst.edu |date=February 3, 2007 |access-date=October 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309095948/http://www3.amherst.edu/~drewhealth/pmcourses.html |archive-date=March 9, 2012 }}</ref>) and provides an unusually [[Curriculum#Open curriculum|open curriculum]]. Students are not required to study a core curriculum or fulfill any distribution requirements and may even design their own unique interdisciplinary major.<ref name=":2"/> Freshmen may take advanced courses, and seniors may take introductory ones. Amherst College is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Massachusetts Institutions – NECHE|publisher=[[New England Commission of Higher Education]]|url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/|access-date=May 26, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009082139/https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Forty-five percent of Amherst students in the class of 2019 were double majors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Class of 2023 Secondary School Report {{!}} Reports to Secondary Schools {{!}} Amherst College |url=https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts/secondary_school_reports/class-of-2023-ssr-data |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612012423/https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts/secondary_school_reports/class-of-2023-ssr-data |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |access-date=July 31, 2022 |publisher=Amherst College}}</ref> Amherst College has been the first college to have undergraduate departments in the interdisciplinary fields of [[American studies|American Studies]]; Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought; and [[Neuroscience]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/american_studies/history |title=American Studies: History of the Department |access-date=August 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205124917/https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/american_studies/history |archive-date=December 5, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/neuroscience |title=The Neuroscience Program |access-date=August 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081117165244/https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/neuroscience |archive-date=November 17, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> and has helped to pioneer other interdisciplinary programs, including Asian Languages and Civilizations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/asian|title=Asian Languages & Civilizations |website=Amherst College|access-date=April 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320233523/https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/asian|archive-date=March 20, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Amherst&s=all&id=164465#programs |website=National Center for Education Statistics |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Amherst College |access-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124172742/https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Amherst&s=all&id=164465#programs |url-status=live }}</ref>
::Mathematics (40)
::Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (34)
::Research and Experimental Psychology (31)
::Political Science and Government (25)
::History (22)
::Biology/Biological Sciences (21)
::Neuroscience (19)
::American/U.S. Law/Legal Studies/Jurisprudence (19)

The Amherst library is named for long-time faculty member, poet [[Robert Frost]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amherst.edu/offices/student-affairs/handbook/services/libraries#rfl|title=The Amherst College Library |website=Amherst College|access-date=April 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213024810/https://www.amherst.edu/offices/student-affairs/handbook/services/libraries#rfl|archive-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref> The [[Student–teacher ratio|student-faculty ratio]] is 7:1 and 84% of classes have fewer than 30 students.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |title=Fast Facts & FAQs {{!}} The Amherst Story {{!}} Amherst College |url=https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731023030/https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts |archive-date=July 31, 2022 |access-date=July 31, 2022 |publisher=Amherst College}}</ref>

Notable faculty members include, among others, modern literature and poetry critic [[William H. Pritchard]], [[Beowulf]] translator Howell Chickering, Jewish and Latino studies scholar [[Ilan Stavans]], novelist and legal scholar [[Lawrence Douglas]], physicist [[Arthur Zajonc]], [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning [[Nikita Khrushchev]] biographer [[William Taubman]], African art specialist [[Rowland Abiodun]], Natural Law expert [[Hadley Arkes]], Mathematician Daniel Velleman, Biblical scholar Susan Niditch, law and society expert [[Austin Sarat]], Asian American studies scholar and former Director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center [[Franklin Odo]], and [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning composer [[Lewis Spratlan]], professor emeritus of the music faculty.<ref>{{Cite web|title = College Plans to Revitalize Teaching with Mellon Grant {{!}} The Amherst Student|url = http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2016/02/03/college-plans-revitalize-teaching-mellon-grant|website = amherststudent.amherst.edu|access-date = February 9, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160209172822/http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article%2F2016%2F02%2F03%2Fcollege-plans-revitalize-teaching-mellon-grant|archive-date = February 9, 2016|url-status = live}}</ref>

===Reputation and rankings===
[[File:Amherst College Johnson Chapel winter.jpg|thumb|190px|left|Johnson Chapel]]
{{Infobox US university ranking
| Forbes = 24
| USNWR_LA = 2
| Wamo_LA = 6
| THE_WSJ = 8
| ARWU_W = 801–900
}}

Since the inception of the ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' rankings in 1987, Amherst College has been ranked ten times as the first overall among 266 liberal arts colleges in the United States,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2009/08/19/methodology-ranking-category-definitions.html |title=Methodology: Ranking Category Definitions |publisher=Usnews.com |access-date=October 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811013402/http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2009/08/19/methodology-ranking-category-definitions.html |archive-date=August 11, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2022 ranked second, behind [[Williams College|Williams]].<ref name="USNews">{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges |title=National Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=July 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730202725/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges |archive-date=July 30, 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023, Amherst College was ranked as the best liberal arts college and 8th best college or university overall in the United States by The WSJ/College Pulse 2024 Best College Rankings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best U.S. Colleges 2024 - WSJ / College Pulse Rankings |url=https://www.wsj.com/rankings/college-rankings/best-colleges-2024 |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=WSJ |language=en-US |archive-date=September 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914105737/https://www.wsj.com/rankings/college-rankings/best-colleges-2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, Amherst was ranked as the best liberal arts college in the country by ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name="WallStJ">{{cite web |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-liberal-arts-colleges-united-states |title=Best liberal arts colleges in the United States 2022 |date=September 21, 2021 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=July 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729020501/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-liberal-arts-colleges-united-states |archive-date=July 29, 2022 |url-status=live }}.</ref>  ''[[Forbes]]'' ranked Amherst College as the 24th best college or university in the United States for their 2024–25 rankings <ref>{{Cite web |title=Forbes America's Top Colleges List 2024-25 |url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028172147/http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/ |archive-date=October 28, 2011 |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Forbes |language=English}}</ref> and the 16th best college or university in the United States in 2021.<ref name="Forbes">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/|title=America's Top Colleges|date=September 8, 2021|work=Forbes|access-date=July 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731020553/https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/|archive-date=July 31, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Kiplinger's Personal Finance]]'' places Amherst 11th in its 2016 ranking of best value liberal arts colleges in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts&state_code%5B%5D=ALL&id%5B%5D=none |magazine=Kiplinger's Personal Finance |title=Best Values in Private Colleges |date=December 2015 |access-date=March 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518115307/http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts&state_code%5B%5D=ALL&id%5B%5D=none |archive-date=May 18, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Amherst ranked 6th in the 2021 ''[[Washington Monthly]]'' liberal arts college rankings, which focus on contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Liberal Arts Colleges Ranking |url=http://washingtonmonthly.com/2021college-guide/liberalarts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623050155/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021college-guide/liberalarts/ |archive-date=2022-06-23 |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=Washington Monthly |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Academic freedom debate===
The writings of Amherst College political science Professor [[Hadley Arkes]] about [[homosexuality]] led to a dispute in 2013 over whether a college seeking to create a diverse, respectful academic community should speak out when a faculty member disparages community members or should instead remain silent as a way to protect academic freedom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldmag.com/2015/04/hadley_arkes_the_right_stuff|title=WORLD {{!}} Hadley Arkes: The right stuff {{!}} Marvin Olasky {{!}} April 18, 2015|website=WORLD|access-date=April 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924063135/http://www.worldmag.com/2015/04/hadley_arkes_the_right_stuff|archive-date=September 24, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The issue arose when a group of alumni petitioned the college trustees and President [[Carolyn Martin|Biddy Martin]] to "dissociate the institution" from Arkes's "divisive and destructive" views,<ref name="terrasirradient.org">[http://terrasirradient.org/2013/10/18/petition-to-cullen-murphy-chair-of-amherst-college-board-of-trustees/ Petition to the Amherst College board of trustees | Amherst Against Homophobia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103073131/http://terrasirradient.org/2013/10/18/petition-to-cullen-murphy-chair-of-amherst-college-board-of-trustees/ |date=November 3, 2013 }}. Terrasirradient.org (October 18, 2013). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.</ref> focusing particularly on his May 2013 comparison of homosexuality to [[bestiality]], [[pedophilia]] and [[necrophilia]].<ref>[http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2013/the-supreme-court-hears-the-cases-on-marriage.html The Supreme Court Hears the Cases on Marriage] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102194952/http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2013/the-supreme-court-hears-the-cases-on-marriage.html |date=November 2, 2013 }}. Thecatholicthing.org (March 26, 2013). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://amherstmuckrake.com/category/arkes/|title=Arkes {{!}} The Amherst Muck-Rake|website=amherstmuckrake.com|access-date=April 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025114410/http://amherstmuckrake.com/category/arkes/|archive-date=October 25, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The alumni said, "Amherst College cannot credibly maintain its professed commitment to be an inclusive community as long as it chooses to remain silent while a sitting professor disparages members of its community in media of worldwide circulation and accessibility."<ref name="terrasirradient.org" />

Martin disagreed, citing past debates over the college's position on the [[Vietnam War]] and [[apartheid]] in South Africa—issues on which the college initially remained silent but eventually took a public position. In such times, she said, colleges should "avoid taking institutional positions on controversial political matters, except in extraordinary circumstances" and should simultaneously both "protect their communities from discrimination and disrespect" and "cherish a diversity of viewpoints".<ref>[https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/president/reflections President's Reflections | Amherst College] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106021848/https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/president/reflections |date=November 6, 2013 }}. Amherst.edu. Retrieved on April 12, 2014.</ref>

[[File:Kirby amherst.jpg|thumb|right|230x230px|The Kirby Memorial Theater]]

===Five College Consortium===
Amherst is a member of the [[Five College Consortium|Five Colleges]] consortium, which allows its students to attend classes at four other [[Pioneer Valley]] institutions. These include [[Mount Holyoke College]], [[Smith College]], [[Hampshire College]], and the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]]. In addition to the 850 courses available on campus, Amherst students have an additional 5,300 classes to consider through the Consortium (without paying additional tuition) and access to 8 million library volumes. The Five Colleges are geographically close to one another and are linked by [[Pioneer Valley Transit Authority|buses that run between the campuses]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fivecolleges.edu/libraries|title=Libraries|access-date=April 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422052314/https://www.fivecolleges.edu/libraries|archive-date=April 22, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Five Colleges share resources and develop common academic programs. [[Museums10]] is a consortium of local art, history and science museums. The Five College Dance Department is one of the largest in the nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fivecolleges.edu/dance/|title=Five College Dance Department |website=Five College Consortium |access-date=December 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125015005/https://www.fivecolleges.edu/dance|archive-date=January 25, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The joint Astronomy department shares use of the [[Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory]], which contributed to work that won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astro.umass.edu/~fcrao/telescope/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617043407/http://www.astro.umass.edu/~fcrao/telescope/|archive-date=June 17, 2006|title=The Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory|access-date=January 1, 2012}}</ref>

The Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum to undergraduates in the Five Colleges.<ref>{{cite web|title=Five College Coastal & Marine Sciences Program |url=http://www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/marine/ |access-date=January 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111163016/http://www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/marine/ |archive-date=January 11, 2012 }}</ref>