Loading...

Contact: Sheila Brennan and Vanessa Blais, Coordinators
Office: 613 Goodell
Phone: (413) 545-5352
Email: 5collreg@acad.umass.edu
Website: http://ualc.umass.edu/

UMass students may elect to take courses off campus at Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, or Smith colleges. These institutions join with the University of Massachusetts Amherst to form the Five College consortium, combining academic activities in selected areas to extend and enrich their educational resources.

Certain programs are operated jointly, including Five College departments in Astronomy and Dance, and certificate programs in African Studies, Asian/Pacific/American Studies, Buddhist Studies, Coastal and Marine Sciences, Culture, Health and Science, International Relations, Latin American Studies, Logic, Middle Eastern Studies, and Native American Indian Studies. The institutions also support Five College joint faculty appointments in several areas of study.

Degree-seeking UMass students in good standing may register for courses at any of the other colleges at no additional cost beyond normal lab or instructional fees. To be eligible, UMass students must be at least second-semester freshmen and enrolled in at least one regular three-credit course at the university.

  Approval by the student’s adviser is required if the course is related to the requirements of the student’s major or minor. Permission of the instructor at the host institution is required when enrollment is limited, if consent is normally required, and during the university’s Five College registration period. 

Students can apply for interchange courses— during the registration period, or during the pre-registration period specified for the University of Massachusetts Amherst students in the Five College Academic Calendar. Five College course offerings and program information can be found in the Five College Course Catalog at www.fivecolleges.edu. Registration instructions can be found at http://ualc.umass.edu. When taking courses off campus, students are governed by all the rules and regulations of the host institution. (Arrangements for grades for Hampshire College courses must be made with the instructor.) Grades earned at the other four colleges are recorded on the student’s University transcript and factored into the University grade point average. Free bus transportation among the five institutions is available.

Five College registration materials are available as a downloadable form on the student’s SPIRE account and are processed through the Five College Interchange Office in 613 Goodell. Office hours are posted. For complete information about consortia programs and courses offered at all five institutions, visit www.fivecolleges.edu.