University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Amherst, MA · Public · 23,671 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$85 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$10,164
$30,000 – $48,000	$10,456
$48,000 – $75,000	$12,932
$75,000 – $110,000	$18,964
Over $110,000	$30,793
All incomes (average)	$22,383

Sticker tuition and fees: $17,772 in-state, $40,449 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use University of Massachusetts-Amherst's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$16,726
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$16,726
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$1,440
Other expenses, off campus	$1,440

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (5,580 of them) in 2022–23; 87% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	75%	$12,343
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	18%	$5,179
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	74%	$10,214
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	47%	$5,299

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 60%
Average SAT: 1423
Median ACT: 31
Students with Pell grants: 20%
Graduation rate (6yr): 83%
Freshman retention: 92%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $71,631
Median debt at graduation: $22,763
International undergrads: 1,834 (7.7%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $85
Students per faculty member: 17 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 81%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 650–730
SAT Math: 660–770
ACT composite: 30–33

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Required
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 50,424
Admitted: 29,129
Enrolled: 5,286

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business17%

Biology & Life Sciences10%

Social Sciences9%

Computer Science8%

Psychology8%

Engineering7%

Health & Nursing5%

Agriculture4%

Communications & Media4%

Mathematics & Statistics3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (55)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Psychology, General	599	$39,951	$51,274national $50,706	$21,500
Computer Science	462	$96,878	$123,519national $107,009	$20,500
Economics	413	$55,297	$80,434national $82,686	$21,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	353	$70,409	$92,623national $68,257	$19,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	323	$71,584	$96,995national $83,343	$20,500
Biology, General	321	$45,212	$72,726national $57,214	$22,500
Communication and Media Studies	288	$42,529	$60,891national $56,359	$19,725
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	229	$50,062	$63,383national $55,693	$20,000
Marketing	229	$58,927	$86,299national $69,303	$19,500
Mathematics	213	$65,340	$83,338national $69,562	$20,651
Public Health	195	$42,993	$63,854national $58,808	$21,500
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	177	$42,550	$74,422national $62,172	$23,500
Political Science and Government	169	$34,855	$60,726national $63,293	$21,693
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	164	$34,405	$54,215national $55,012	$21,437
Mechanical Engineering	142	$76,176	$96,999national $92,135	$24,212
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	141	$50,665	$77,853national $65,466	$22,975
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	140	$47,830	$73,238national $54,562	$21,146
Accounting and Related Services	133	$66,052	$100,516national $76,194	$21,500
English Language and Literature, General	131	$35,265	$48,475national $48,590	$19,500
Non-Professional Legal Studies	111	$32,323	$69,269national $61,959	$21,500
Sociology	106	$37,430	$56,960national $52,657	$21,382
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	100	$85,138	$90,309national $88,910	$23,120
Civil Engineering	97	$73,437	$88,076national $86,517	$23,389
Architectural Sciences and Technology	95	$76,611	$93,156national $70,074	$21,500
Journalism	88	$35,930	$52,011national $56,278	$20,500
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	87	$41,213	$73,242national $53,072	$21,500
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs	78	$33,653	$57,461national $49,880	$21,500
Computer Engineering	76	$94,252	$113,083national $109,015	$26,413
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	74	$73,535	—national $93,451	$22,500
Education, General	71	—	—national $49,808	$25,375
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	70	—	—national $55,000	$21,000
History	68	$39,097	$56,597national $50,680	$19,000
Hospitality Administration/Management	61	$58,032	$70,916national $56,726	$21,500
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	58	—	—national $49,984	$20,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	56	$85,737	$101,091national $100,647	$24,741
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	53	—	$63,620national $58,928	$23,250
Agricultural Production Operations	47	$32,173	$42,520national $53,588	$22,325
Nutrition Sciences	47	$33,895	$63,019national $60,053	$21,500
Fine and Studio Arts	47	—	$46,027national $41,367	$26,222
Anthropology	46	—	$31,186national $46,676	$23,250
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	45	$52,200	$66,642national $62,582	$22,390
Physics	45	—	$72,596national $76,786	$25,540
Computer and Information Sciences, General	42	$58,347	—national $92,374	$20,500
Music	41	—	—national $42,892	$27,000
Chemical Engineering	38	$81,017	$97,990national $98,158	$23,391
Chemistry	33	—	$78,373national $65,120	$23,198
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	33	—	—national $39,775	$21,218
Animal Sciences	28	$37,724	$59,543national $49,634	$21,500
Industrial Engineering	27	$82,123	$97,791national $98,442	$27,000
Social Sciences, Other	23	—	—national $56,812	$15,000
Plant Sciences	22	—	$51,912national $56,567	$20,500
Sustainability Studies	20	—	—national $57,887	$18,625
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	17	$45,633	$59,298national $44,115	$22,300
Landscape Architecture	17	—	$64,477national $66,387	$25,500
Food Science and Technology	14	—	$77,771national $70,873	—

Associate degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	13	—	$57,093national $45,283	—

Undergraduate certificates (9)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Data Analytics	188	—	—	$21,500
Natural Sciences	42	—	—	$26,875
Criminal Justice and Corrections	37	—	—national $57,702	$21,500
Social Work	37	—	—national $43,190	$23,250
International Relations and National Security Studies	29	—	—national $103,583	$23,250
Real Estate	26	—	—national $46,762	$22,375
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	20	—	—national $32,800	$20,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	—	—	—national $34,631	$25,250
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	—	—	—national $44,570	$27,000

Master's degrees (23)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	525	$138,584	$165,473national $103,485	$35,690
Computer Science	320	$125,872	$154,099national $145,571	$26,022
Data Analytics	271	$73,486	—	$19,131
Accounting and Related Services	153	$82,340	$109,628national $95,833	$21,824
Public Health	82	$73,333	$84,978national $82,751	$23,280
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	62	$106,958	—national $133,654	—
Data Science	55	—	—	$20,500
Public Policy Analysis	30	$56,212	$82,435national $93,020	$20,500
Mechanical Engineering	29	$95,406	—national $115,974	—
Architectural Sciences and Technology	27	$59,069	—national $77,466	$27,844
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	27	—	—national $67,030	$36,432
Civil Engineering	24	—	$87,779national $98,323	—
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	23	—	$74,899national $74,607	—
Music	21	$40,257	$38,489national $48,285	—
Human Resources Management and Services	21	—	$98,155national $83,558	—
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	19	$100,550	$100,729national $84,750	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	17	$50,700	$51,558national $55,035	—
Nutrition Sciences	17	$29,827	—national $67,126	—
Geography and Cartography	17	$68,403	—national $79,784	$17,762
Sustainability Studies	14	$47,236	$68,841national $76,897	—
Fine and Studio Arts	7	—	$46,477national $49,079	—
Education, General	3	$59,002	$67,432national $65,824	$20,500
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	—	$71,604	$91,064national $124,807	—

Doctoral degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	7	$120,192	$126,453national $138,131	$64,000
Education, General	0	$68,817	$110,816national $87,373	$38,535

Post-baccalaureate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	—	—	—national $58,414	$21,442

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 209 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 374 Whitmore Building 181 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA 01003
Phone: (413) 545-0111
Institutional accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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