Breaking Down Language Barriers

Linguistics PhD student Claudia Matachana studies language discrimination experienced by Puerto Rican Spanish speakers.

Claudia Matachana headshot outside Herter Hall

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Aaron and Ele Magnetic Resonance survey

As the creative and cultural heart of UMass Amherst, HFA brings together scholars and artists from a wide range of disciplines. 

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Undergraduate Major Programs

23

Master’s Programs

9

Doctoral Programs

26

Minors

Attendees at Catherine Coleman Flowers event with Catherine Coleman Flowers at center

The Fight for Environmental Justice

White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Catherine Coleman Flowers recently delivered a powerful keynote address highlighting the intersectional nature of climate change.

UMass Amherst Collecting 101 students head to Boston

The World is Our Classroom

In HFA, student learning expands far beyond the classroom. Take a peek inside Collecting 101: Acquiring Art for the University Museum of Contemporary Art, where students learn the inner workings of museum acquisition—and conclude the semester by choosing a piece of artwork to purchase for the museum’s permanent collection.

Jeffrey Holmes Ayano Kataoka

Distinguished Faculty

This year, HFA has the distinct honor of celebrating not one but two faculty members selected as part of the Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series: Department of Music and Dance faculty members Jeffrey Holmes, professor of piano and trumpet, and Ayano Kataoka, professor of percussion. For this achievement, the two have received the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest recognition bestowed upon faculty by the campus.

Aretha Miller

Alumni Who Uplift

Aretha Miller ’92 has a legacy of lifting others up. Born in Jamaica, Miller enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and it immediately became her second home. Now, she continues her work to make education more accessible for the next generation.

Smiling student at career fair

Funding Your Future

Submit your application through AcademicWorks to be automatically matched with or invited to apply for hundreds of scholarship opportunities within the College of Humanities & Fine Arts, your department, or the university.
Explore scholarship opportunities

In the spotlight

Charmaine A. Nelson

For me, the work of Slavery North is teaching people about slavery in these specific regions, making this field more accessible to scholars doing the work, and asking the question: Which countries and regions have been allowed to forget their participation in slavery?

Charmaine A. Nelson Provost Professor of Art History, Founding Director of Slavery North Initiative
Student at senior recognition ceremony

Make a gift to HFA

Support the College of Humanities & Fine Arts in a way that’s personally meaningful to you. Your generosity positively affects the lives and futures of our bright, talented students—and helps shape our future.
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