Frost Library
On the north side of the quad is the Robert Frost Library. Dedicated in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy in one of his last public appearances, the library is named in recognition of poet Robert Frost’s 40 years of service and teaching at Amherst. Serving as both a college library and a Federal Depository Library, Frost contains more than 1.5 million volumes and more than 130,000 electronic and print journal titles, as well as extensive and varied holdings of rare and historical materials housed in the library’s Archives and Special Collections. In addition to 22 specialized research/reference computers, Frost Library offers over 70 PC and Mac stations, audiovisual facilities, extensive individual and group study areas and the Frost Café, one of the college’s newest campus gathering spots for students and faculty.
Media Gallery
Amherst College Library
Five College Consortium
⭐ Five College Consortium
The Five College Consortium is the official name of the result you get when you put four liberal arts colleges and one major university—Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst—within 10 miles of one another.
Academic Support
With the Five College Consortium, students have access to a broad and diverse set of courses. To decide on each semester's course load, Amherst students work closely with faculty advisers who are knowledgeable and helpful about Five College courses. Amherst students can take up to half of their courses at the other four colleges.
Programs and Certificates
Amherst students can participate in Five College certificate programs and various shared majors (listed below). The consortium also has four centers for specialized study: The Center for Crossroads in the Study of the Americas, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Five College Center for the Study of World Languages and the Five College Women’s Study Research Center.
Certificates:
African Studies
Asian/Pacific/American Studies
Buddhist Studies
Coastal and Marine Sciences
Culture, Health, and Science
Ethnomusicology
Five College Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
International Relations
Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies
Logic
Middle Eastern Studies
Native American and Indigenous Studies
Queer and Sexuality Studies
Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES)
Sustainability Studies
Certificates:
African Studies
Asian/Pacific/American Studies
Buddhist Studies
Coastal and Marine Sciences
Culture, Health, and Science
Ethnomusicology
Five College Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
International Relations
Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies
Logic
Middle Eastern Studies
Native American and Indigenous Studies
Queer and Sexuality Studies
Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES)
Sustainability Studies
Building Community
Most clubs, intramural sports and extracurricular activities on the Five College campuses are open to all Five College students. The Five College Calendar of Events includes events from all five campuses that are open to the public. Each campus also has an events calendar. Food is another great way to build community: Amherst students who are taking a course on another campus at mealtime can always arrange to eat on that campus.
Library System
The Five Colleges have reciprocal borrowing agreements that allow members of the Amherst College community to borrow materials using their Amherst College Library ID card, giving our students access to a library system with over 11 million items. There's even a tool that searches the Five Colleges catalog and most of our research databases at one time!
