In July 2025 UMass will join the Mid American Conference as a full member, retaining affiliate status in sports where the MAC does not compete.

The university was founded in 1863 under the provisions of the Federal Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act to provide instruction to Massachusetts citizens in "agricultural, mechanical, and military arts.

[23] In the 1880s, Goodell implemented an expansion plan, adding the College Drill Hall in 1883, the Old Chapel Library in 1885, and the East and West Experiment Stations in 1886 and 1890.

"[28] From World War II to 2023, the imagery on the official seal of the university was nearly identical to the state flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

When UMass Boston was founded in 1963, it was initially reckoned as an off-site department of the Amherst campus and was headed by a chancellor who reported to the president.

Co-curricular service programs include the Alternative Spring Break, Engineers without Borders, the Legal Studies Civil Rights Clinical Project, the Medical Reserve Corps, Alpha Phi Omega, the Red Cross Club, the Rotaract Club, UCAN Volunteer, and the Veterans and Service Members Association (VSMA).

[49] A team of scientists at UMass led by Vincent Rotello has developed a molecular nose that can detect and identify various proteins.

The research appeared in the May 2007 issue of Nature Nanotechnology, and the team is currently focusing on sensors, which will detect malformed proteins made by cancer cells.

[50] Also, UMass Amherst scientists Richard Farris, Todd Emrick, and Bryan Coughlin led a research team that developed a synthetic polymer that does not burn.

These chemicals have recently been found in many different areas from homes and offices to fish, and there are environmental and health concerns regarding the additives.

[65] The university has several buildings (constructed in the 1960s and 1970s) of importance in the modernist style, including the Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center and Hotel designed by Marcel Breuer, the Southwest Residential Area designed by Hugh Stubbins Jr. of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, The Fine Arts Center by Kevin Roche, the W.E.B.

Du Bois Library by Edward Durell Stone, and Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium by Gordon Bunshaft.

[72] The purpose of the substation is to supply electricity to the university more efficiently and reliably, with estimated savings of $1 million per year ($1,269,551 in today's money).

Programs offered align the strengths of UMass Amherst with the growing demand for talent in areas that drive the Massachusetts economy, including health care, business, computer science, and other STEM specialties On April 6, 2018, Mount Ida College announced that it would shut down and the University of Massachusetts would be absorbing its campus.

[76] Riots occurred after the Boston Red Sox lost the 1986 World Series, won in 2004 and 2007, after the Red Sox were eliminated in the 2003 and 2008 playoffs, after UMass' football team lost in the Division I-AA football championship game in 2006 and after the Patriots first Super Bowl victory over St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI.

As a result, UMass made a statement on February 18 committing to once again allowing Iranian students to apply to the aforementioned graduate programs.

"[80] UMass Amherst replaced the ban with a policy aimed at designing specific curricula for admitted Iranian nationals based on their needs.

While less controversial, this policy has still generated backlash, with one student saying, "This university that's supposed to be so open-minded forcing him to sign a document saying he won't go home and build a bomb or something is just really disappointing to see.

[82] The 9,000-seat Mullins Center, the multi-purpose arena of UMass Amherst hosts a wide variety of performances including speakers, rock concerts, and Broadway shows.

In addition, the Music, Dance, and Theater Departments, the Renaissance Center, and multiple student groups dedicated to the arts provide an eclectic menu of performances throughout the year.

[83]UMass Amherst has a history of protest and activism among the undergraduate and graduate population[84] and is home to over 200 registered student organizations (RSOs).

The SGA also makes formal recommendations on matters of campus policy and advocates for undergraduate students to the Administration, non-student organizations, and local and state government.

In November 2010, "about a quarter of a million pounds of organic matter was moved by hand", using all student and community volunteer labor and no fossil fuels on-site.

Now, the Franklin Permaculture Garden includes a diverse mixture of "vegetables, fruit trees, berry bushes, culinary herbs, and a lot of flowers that will attract beneficial insects.

[88][89][90] Several fraternities had houses on North Pleasant Street until 2007 when several lots owned by Alpha Tau Gamma were sold to the university for $2,500,000 ($3,673,568 in today's money).

[91] Criticism of sexual and alcohol abuse in Greek Life Organizations has appeared repeatedly in Bostonian and national news.

The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the official newspaper of UMass Amherst, is published Monday through Thursday during the calendar semester.

The UMass Amherst Department of Athletics currently sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and indoor and outdoor track & field.

[102] Notable UMass Amherst alumni include Greg Landry, Jeff Corwin, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Taj Mahal, Bill Paxton, William Monahan, Kenneth Feinberg, Bill Cosby,[103] Natalie Cole,[104] Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Rick Pitino, Bill Pullman, Betty Shabazz, Briana Scurry, Jack Welch, John F. Smith Jr., Jean Worthley, Jeff Reardon, Mike Flanagan, Lawrence Mestel, and Richard Gere.

Notable faculty have included Sheila Bair, the former chairman of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Chuck Close, celebrated photorealist; Samuel R. Delany, author and critic; Vincent Dethier, pioneer physiologist; Ted Hughes, British poet laureate; Max Roach, considered one of the most important jazz drummers in history; Lynn Margulis, famed biologist; Stephen Resnick and Richard D. Wolff, heterodox economists; James Tate, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet; and Robert Paul Wolff, in both philosophy and African-American studies.