University of Massachusetts

Amherst, Massachusetts
United States of America

Language of instruction

English

   Generally available as a second or third preference.

The University of Massachusetts, Amherst offers the choices of a large, diverse campus with the community feel of a small college. Founded in 1863, UMass is the largest public research university in New England and is currently ranked 29th among the USA’s top public universities. It's also a haven for satisfying student cravings – in 2017 UMass Amherst was ranked number 1 nationally for "Best Campus Food".

UMass is located in the rural college town of Amherst, one hour north of Hartford, two hours west of Boston and three hours from New York City. Hiking, biking, museums, music, theatre, history, food, and farms – it’s all in Amherst.

Semester dates

UQ SemesterHost SemesterDates
Semester 1Spring SemesterJanuary–May
Semester 2Fall SemesterSeptember–December

View UMass's academic calendar.

Exchange deadlines

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:
Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:
Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)
Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)

Full-time study load

Undergraduate: 12 credits at UMass is equivalent to 8 UQ units.
Postgraduate: 9 credits at UMass is equivalent to 8 UQ units.

Host university requirements

GPA
You will need a minimum cumulative GPA of 4.5 to study at UMass.

Study Options
Not applicable to this university. However, you will usually be expected to take the majority of courses (at least 50%) within a single faculty.

Find courses

Search UMass's course catalogue (click “Search Classes/Catalog” under the heading Catalogs & Schedules) as well as the program webpages.

Crosscheck the courses you found in the host course catalogue with the Credit Precedent Database to see if UQ credit has previously been granted. The database should be used as a general guide only. Few courses from each host will be in the database and many course precedents in the database may have expired. Note, the credit precedent database does not replace the host course catalogue. If a course is not listed in the CPD, you can still ask for it to be assessed on your study plan.

Study areas taught in English

Undergraduate
Animal studies
Anthropology
Archaeology
Architecture and Design
Art history
Biological sciences
Business information systems
Chemical engineering
Chemistry and biochemistry
Chinese
Civil engineering
Classical languages
Communication, digital media and PR
Design
Earth and Geographical Sciences
Economics
English
English literature
Environmental engineering
Event, hospitality, hotel and tourism management
Film, TV and media
Finance
Food science
French
German
Health sciences
History and ancient history
Innovation and entrepreneurship
International business
Italian
Japanese
Journalism
Korean
Law
Leadership and Management
Linguistics
Marketing
Mathematics and statistics
Microbiology
Modern languages and linguistics
Nutrition science
Philosophy
Physics
Political science
Psychology
Russian
Sciences
Sociology
Spanish
Postgraduate
Animal studies
Biological sciences
Biomedical science
Business analytics
Business information systems
Chemistry and biochemistry
Chinese
Data Science
Development
Earth and Geographical Sciences
Economics
Engineering
Food science
French
Geotechnical engineering
German
Health sciences
History and ancient history
Humanities and social sciences
Italian
Japanese
Leadership and Management
Linguistics
Materials engineering
Mathematics and statistics
Microbiology
Modern languages and linguistics
Nutrition science
Philosophy
Physics
Political science
Psychology
Regional and town planning
Sciences
Sociology
Spanish

Exchange deadlines

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:
Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:
Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)
Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)

Accommodation

UMass guarantees on-campus housing for undergraduate exchange students as long as deadlines and instructions are met.

Currently there is no on-campus housing available to post-graduate students.

Off-campus housing information is available to undergraduate and postgraduate exchange students.

Cost of living

UMass provides estimated semester expenses for exchange students on their fact sheets (see overview tab).

Additional Mandatory Fees

UMass has additional mandatory fees, of which the Student Activity fee and Technology Fee are applicable to exchange students, which are outlined on the undergraduate tuition rates page. These fees cannot not be waived.

Financial support

A range of funding for student exchange including scholarships, grants and loans are available to UQ students.  

Insurance

Students approved to participate in a Semester-based Exchange are automatically covered by UQ’s Travel Insurance for the country of their host university only.

For more information, read the Student Travel Insurance Policy Summary on UQ’s Travel Insurance web page (login required).

If you plan to travel outside of your host country, you should purchase additional insurance.

All exchange students are required to purchase UMass Student Health Benefit Plan. Exchange students are not eligible to waive this requirement.

Exchange deadlines

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:
Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:
Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)
Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)

Organise your visa

It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct visa for the country where you will be studying. As the Global Experiences team is not a visa-issuing authority we cannot provide visa advice.

UMass has F-1 and J-1 visa and immigration information 

Contact the US Embassy and Consulates for more visa information.

Travel risk levels

The University of Queensland cannot and does not allow students to travel to any country with a risk level of 3 (Reconsider your need to travel) or above, as assessed by the Australian Government.

If a country's risk level changes to 3 or above, experiences to that country are suspended until the risk level improves.

Find out the risk level and travel advice, and sign up to receive updates for your host country on the Smartraveller website.

Exchange deadlines

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:
Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)

Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:
Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)
Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)