Overview
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst or simply UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest, largest and the flagship campus in the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as an agricultural college. It is also a member of the Five College Consortium, along with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and Hampshire College.