The University of Massachusetts Amherst (otherwise known as UMass Amherst or simply UMass) is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system. With approximately 1,300 faculty members and more than 29,000 students, UMass Amherst is the largest public university in New England and is ranked the 29th best public university in the nation.

The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in 111 undergraduate, 75 master's and 47 doctoral programs in nine schools and colleges. The main campus is situated north of downtown Amherst. In a 2009 article for MSN.com, Amherst was ranked first in Best College Towns in the United States. In 2012, U.S. News and World Report ranked Amherst among the Top 10 Great College Towns in America. It is also a member of the Five College Consortium.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is categorized as a Research University with Very High research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In fiscal year 2014, UMass Amherst had research expenditures exceeding $200 million.

The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The system includes four universities, a medical school and a satellite campus. The system is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and across its campuses enrolls 73,000 students.

The UMass system is ranked 57th in the World in 2015 for its Innovative Achievements according to Reuters and was ranked 91-100 in the world by reputation in 2015 by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

In 2012, the state of Massachusetts introduced $607 million in new bond funding to advance high-quality instructional and research facility projects throughout the UMass system. In 2012, research expenditures for the UMass system were close to $600 million.

System

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship and largest school in the UMass system. It was also the first one established, dating back to 1863, when it was founded as the Massachusetts Agricultural College. The University of Massachusetts Medical School was founded in 1962, and is located in Worcester. The University of Massachusetts Boston, originally established in 1964, was merged with Boston State College in 1982. In 1991, the University of Lowell and Southeastern Massachusetts University joined the system as the University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, respectively.