Hampshire Changemakers
The world looks to Hampshire graduates for leadership in hundreds of fields. How will the world look to you?
Hampshire at a Glance
Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, is among the most innovative colleges in the country. Students at Hampshire pursue their passions by designing their own programs of study and recruiting a faculty committee to guide them on their path of intellectual discovery.
Through active, engaged, and collaborative learning, students become creators of knowledge and are encouraged to connect their academic work and the wider world.
Hampshire’s success can be measured in the mainstreaming of many of its experimental ideas in education, and in its roster of alumni achievement: Oscar and Emmy winners, best-selling authors, scientists, historians, Peabody awardees, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipients, and more Ph.D. candidates than any other school of its size.
Financials
| Endowment | $26.5 million (FY24) |
| One year return on investment | 12.7% return (FY24) |
| Annual operating budget | $41.8 million (FY24) |
| Tuition and Fees | View the Full Cost of Attendance |
| Average financial aid package | $51,250 (2023-24) |
| Financial aid budget | $30 million (FY24) |
| Students receiving financial aid | 99% (2023-24) |
| Average student debt upon graduation | $26,911* (2024 cohort) |
| Alumni loan default rate | 0% (2021 cohort) |
*This amount includes both federal and private loan borrowing. As of the 2024 graduating class, the national average for federal student loans only was $38,375.
Admissions
| Acceptance rate | 70% first-year; 74% transfer (2023-24) |
| Average high school GPA | 3.5 (2023-24) |
| Applications received | 2,214 first-year, 175 transfer (2023-24) |
| First-year students | 259 (2023-24) |
| Transfer students | 72 (2023-24) |
| Yield | 16.5% first-year; 55.3% transfer (2023-24) |
Students
| Enrollment | 716 degree-seeking (Fall 2023) |
| Race/Ethnicity | 58.9% White; 13.2% Hispanic/Latino; 6.7% two or more races; 6.7% international; 6.5% Black or African-American; 4.3% race and ethnicity unknown; 3.0% Asian; 0.4% American Indian or Alaska Native; 0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. (Fall 2023) |
| Residential life | 88% of students live on campus (Fall 2023) |
| Number of states represented | 35 (Fall 2022) |
| Number of countries represented | 10 (Fall 2022) |
| Percentage of first generation students | 21.9% (Fall 2023) |
Academics
| Degree offered | Bachelor of Arts |
| Student/faculty ratio | 13:1 (2023-24) |
| Average size of class | 15 (Fall 2023) |
| Number of full-time faculty | 55 full-time,8 part-time (2023-24) |
| Faculty with Ph.D. or other terminal degrees in their fields | 100% (2023-24) |
| Faculty of color | 23% (2023-24) |
| Typical length of study for students who graduate | 84% typically graduate in four years (2022 graduates) |
| Students who take at least one Five College course | 88% (2022 graduates) |
| Students who complete at least two Community-Engaged Learning projects | 100% (2022 graduates) |
| Students who do an internship, research assistantship, or similar activity | 78% (2020-22 graduates) |
| Retention (overall) | 75% (2023) |
| Six-year graduation rate | 63% (2022) |
Outcomes
| We're in the top 2% of institutions for producing graduates that go on to earn Ph.D.s | |
| Graduate institutions most frequently attended | UMass Amherst, Columbia University, NYU, Boston University, UC Berkeley, CUNY Hunter, Harvard, Simmons University, Harvard University, Antioch University, Smith College, The New School, University of Pennsylvania, CUNY Graduate School, UCLA, University of Michigan, Pratt Institute (2022) |
| Alums of record since 1970 (attended at least two semesters) | 20,975 (2024) |
| All graduates since 1970 | 12,916 (2024) |
| Percentage of alumni with jobs or in grad school within six months of graduating | 78% (2020-22 graduates) |
| Percentage of alumni who are entrepreneurs/self-employed | 23% (2020) |
| Percentage of graduates who have made a gift during their lifetime | 66% (2024) |
Fellowships
Hampshire students, challenged by the College to design their own programs of study and present to faculty committees, have a record of earning national awards equal to students of other top colleges and universities. Awards received by Hampshire students and grads include Fulbrights, MacArthur Fellowships, Gilman Scholarships, NEH Fellowships, Princess Grace Awards, National Merit Scholarships, Freeman Asia Scholarships, Gates Millennium Scholarships, Philip Evans Scholarships, Daniels Fund Scholarships, Jack Kent Cooke Scholarships, Critical Language Scholarships, and many more.
Accreditation
Hampshire College is fully accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education to award the Bachelor of Arts degree. Membership in the association indicates that the institution has been carefully evaluated and found to meet standards agreed upon by qualified educators.
On March 24, 2026, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) announced that it would require Hampshire College to show cause at the Commission’s June 2026 meeting why the institution should not be placed on probation or why its accreditation should not be withdrawn because it had reason to believe that Hampshire College may no longer meet its standard on Institutional Resources.
Hampshire College is an independent, not-for-profit institution.
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