Hampshire College

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Tours

1. Self-Guided Tour

   Take a self-guided tour of Hampshire College.

   Stops

   1. Admissions Office

      Admissions Office

      Staff members in the admissions office take great pleasure in helping prospective students and their families explore Hampshire.

       

      The admissions office can help you get a close-up look at Hampshire and a feel for our academic program. Classroom visits, interviews, information sessions, and campus tours are all available to help you learn what it's really like to live, work, and study at one of America's most outstanding colleges.

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   2. Red Barn

      The Red Barn

      Not many people realize that the Red Barn, like the Yurt, originated as a student project. In Spring 1971 (the first year the College was open) a group of students with professor Norton Juster undertook the design for the renovation of the Red Barn. This Humanities and Arts course (HA175) surveyed the site and existing structure, conducted a survey of the Hampshire community to determine its preferences for use of the building, and made plans for its renovation.

      Events and Weddings

      Rustic, quaint, and full of charm, the Red Barn at Hampshire College is an elegant and unique venue for meetings and special events of all kinds.

       

      While the barn is host to a variety of College-sponsored events throughout the school year, it is also available to non-College guests to use for a variety of events, including bar mitzvahs, birthday celebrations, memorial ceremonies, retirement parties, baby and bridal showers, wedding ceremonies and receptions, corporate meetings and events, holiday celebrations, and much more.

       

      Our experienced and helpful event services staff assist clients in coordinating all details associated with events at the Red Barn and provide a high-level of customer service.

       

      We invite you to schedule a tour of the barn and inquire about available dates for your next special occasion. 

   3. Health and Counseling Services

      Health and Counseling Services

      Hampshire Health and Counseling Services provides confidential medical and mental health care for all students to encourage a healthy and integrated mind and body.

       

      Hampshire College Health and Counseling Services is accredited by the AAAHC (Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care).

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      APPOINTMENT

   4. Blair Hall

      Blair Hall

      Home to student financial services, student employment, treasurer’s office, and business offices.

       

      The financial aid office is on the first floor of Blair Hall, and staff members are available to work with you on financial aid needs.

       

      Student accounts is also located on the first floor, and staff are available to assist with tuition and fee payments, as well as billing and payment options.

   5. Yurt

      Yurt

      How does the Hampshire campus come to have a yurt? The answer lies in the imagination of a group of Hampshire students.

       

      This project, student-initiated, student-designed and student-constructed, originated in 1993 as a group independent study project.

       

      The Yurt is now both a meeting and classroom space and houses Yurt Radio, Hampshire's internet radio station.

       

      From taking a class there to hosting your own radio show, the Yurt offers hands-on media experience for all Hampshire students.

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      CAMPUS

   6. Franklin Patterson Hall (FPH)

      Franklin Patterson Hall (FPH)

      Franklin Patterson Hall (FPH) is a center of Hampshire activity, with a wide variety of community meetings, panels, film screenings, lectures, and other events held in the Main Lecture Hall or other spaces throughout the building.

       

      Located at the heart of campus, Franklin Patterson Hall houses the School of Critical Social Inquiry, lecture halls, seminar classrooms, and the faculty/staff lounge.

       

      The School of Critical Social Inquiry (CSI) includes students and faculty interested in a diverse array of fields such as Africana studies, anthropology, Asian studies, history, psychology, economics, sociology, politics, law, philosophy, and education, as well as many more.

       

      The School encourages you to put theory into practice through community-based internships and College-wide programs such as Community Partnerships for Social Change, Civil Liberties and Public Policy, Environmental Studies, Population and Development, Peace and World Security Studies, and Critical Studies in Childhood, Youth, and Learning, as well as other programs and initiatives.

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   7. Merrill Student Life Center

      Merrill Student Life Center

      The Dakin and Merrill Area office is the hub of both the dorms: here, students can find vacuums and cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies, and more.

       

      Located just across the way in the Dakin Student Life Center, the Dakin Living Room (DLR) is a large furnished room with a television, many couches and chairs, and bookcases. Identical to the Merrill Living Room across the quad, the DLR is used for various programs and gatherings throughout the year, and can be reserved by students through the area office. Similarly, the Dakin Kitchen, attached to the living room by a small conference/dining room, is available for student use.

       

      The housing operations office (HOO) is also located in the Merrill Student Life Center, next to the Merrill living room.

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   8. Merrill House

      Living at Hampshire

      Hampshire is a residential learning community, with a seamless flow of academic, social, and personal life. Students live in five residences on campus, each of which has common areas, along with area coordinators to help with programs and events.

      Merrill House

      Merrill House is one of Hampshire College's two traditional-style residence halls (Dakin is the other) and houses approximately 250 students in single and double rooms. The majority of hallways are coed, with some designated single sex.
      
      As an entering student, you can request designations related to noise, gender, or themes (for example, a quiet hall).

       

      A common lounge serves as a gathering place for residents of each hallway. All lounges are equipped with a fridge, colorful furniture, a flat screen television, and a striped chalkboard wall.

       

      The Merrill-Dakin quadrangle is a popular outdoor meeting place surrounded by the residence halls as well as the dining commons. Hall activities vary according to student interests, but are likely to include movie and open-mic nights, alumni conversations, or arts and crafts nights.

       

      Learn more about Merrill House »

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   9. Dining Commons

      Dining Commons

      Hampshire Dining aims at nothing less than redefining what the college dining experience can be. Hampshire’s food service provider, Bon Appetit Management Company, builds menus that are based on the seasonality and availability of local produce. They proudly serve antibiotic free chicken, turkey, and beef. Only cage free shell eggs that are certified by Humane Farm Animal Care, Food Alliance or Animal Welfare Approved are used. Seafood is often purchased locally and always follows the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program.   

       

      Our salad bar showcases local produce, a variety of composed salads, and six house made salad dressings and vinaigrettes, and house baked croutons. House made soups are made daily from scratch using our own slow simmered stock. There is an artisan sandwich bar, and interactive stir fry station, vegetarian and vegan options as well as an entire Made Without Gluten station equipped with its own Panini press, waffle iron, toaster and microwave.

       

      Bon Appetit purchases 40 crop shares from Hampshire’s Farm Center and incorporates local fresh produce in every meal.

       

      The Dining Commons is very proud to compost not only kitchen prep waste but also post-consumer waste.

      In addition to serving the campus community, food is used to teach students, communicate values, and experiment with new models of production and delivery that may help solve global resource challenges.

       

      Dining Commons hours and menus »

   10. Dakin Student Life Center

       Dakin Student Life Center

       The Dakin Student Life Center houses Campus Leadership and Activities and the Dakin and Merrill area office.

        

       The Dakin and Merrill Area office is the hub of both the dorms: here, students can find vacuums and cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies, and more.

        

       Located just across the way in the Dakin Student Life Center, the Dakin Living Room (DLR) is a large furnished room with a television, many couches and chairs, and bookcases. Identical to the Merrill Living Room across the quad, the DLR is used for various programs and gatherings throughout the year, and can be reserved by students through the area office. Similarly, the Dakin Kitchen, attached to the living room by a small conference/dining room, is available for student use.

        

       Request
       INFORMATION

       Visit
       CAMPUS

   11. Dakin House

       Living at Hampshire

       Hampshire is a residential learning community, with a seamless flow of academic, social, and personal life. Students live in five residences on campus, each of which has common areas, along with area coordinators to help with programs and events.

       Dakin House

       Dakin is one of Hampshire's two traditional-style residence halls (Merrill is the other) and houses approximately 280 students in single and double rooms. The majority of hallways are coed, with some designated single sex.

        

       As an entering student, you can request designations related to noise, gender, or themes (for example, a quiet hall). A common lounge serves as a gathering place for residents of each hallway. All lounges are equipped with a fridge, colorful furniture, a flat screen television, and a striped chalkboard wall.

        

       The Merrill-Dakin quadrangle is a popular outdoor meeting place surrounded by the residence halls as well as the dining commons. Hall activities vary according to student interests, but are likely to include movie and open-mic nights, alumni conversations, or arts and crafts nights.

        

       Learn more about Dakin House »

        

       Request
       INFORMATION

       Visit
       CAMPUS

   12. Jerome Liebling Center for Film, Photography, and Video

       Jerome Liebling Center for Film, Photography, and Video

       The Liebling Center is the home of Hampshire’s film, photography, and video program and the Leo Model gallery.

        

       Faculty mentors and state-of-the-art facilities—including film- and video-editing suites, imaging and sound labs, an electronic music recording studio, a photography studio, gallery space, and a screening room—enable students to develop their artistic visions while mastering technical challenges of their chosen fields. 

       
       From the film industry to investigative photojournalism, countless graduates have gone on to high-level careers based on the skills they honed at Hampshire.

        

       Hampshire alums have won Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, Academy Awards, and the International Documentary Association’s Outstanding Documentary Cinematography Award—to cite but a few of their many honors.

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   13. Music and Dance Building (MDB)

       Music and Dance Building (MDB)

       The Music and Dance Building is Hampshire’s hub for music and dance performance. Two dance studios, a recital hall, soundproof practice rooms, a recording studio, and a music library provide countless opportunities for your creativity to flourish amidst a supportive community of students, faculty, and staff.

        

       Music Program

       Hampshire’s Music Program is unique in its approach to music performance, scholarship, composition, theory, and improvisation. Hampshire College's music program encourages students to engage in an interdisciplinary process to understand music as a creative expression and its role in culture.

        

       Hampshire’s music offerings include topics in ethnomusicology, musicology, popular music, jazz, and electronic and computer music as well as courses in improvisation, composition, and music theory. Students are also encouraged to take a wide range of courses through the Five College consortium.

        

       Dance

       Students can concentrate in specific areas such as choreography and performance; dance history and criticism; or somatic studies; or combine dance with other fields such as theater, film, anthropology, psychology, kinesiology, education, or religion. Final projects might involve choreographing and producing a concert of original work, or undertaking in-depth research and writing.

        

       The Hampshire Dance Program and Five College Dance Department have a very active program for students interested in other applications of dance studies or related fields as well, including such areas as dance and technology; somatics and expressive arts; dance education; and community outreach.

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   14. Arts Barn

       Arts Barn

       As an art student at Hampshire College, independent work will be the center of your education. In the classroom, students are asked to consider how practice and concept manifest in visual form.

        

       Visual arts concentrators have an ongoing dialogue with the arts faculty, who are actively working in their respective fields.

        

       Graduates working in the visual arts have the unique opportunity to conceptualize, create, and install a professional-level exhibition in the Hampshire College Art Gallery.
       
       The Arts Barn is a 16,000-square-foot facility equipped with three large classroom spaces, faculty offices, a sculpture studio, and individual studio spaces for Division III students and some Div II students concentrating in the arts.

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   15. Center for Design

       The Center for Design

       If you want to turn ideas into action, you may need to build a few things along the way.

        

       Located in the Lemelson Building, the Center for Design is a design and fabrication resource open to all students.

        

       The Center for Design contains a fabrication shop equipped for working with metals, plastics, and other materials. It also houses an electronics lab, design equipment for manual and computer-aided drafting and modeling, and sewing equipment for soft goods fabrication.

        

       Staff members supervise the shop, provide one-on-one design and fabrication instruction, and conduct group workshops and trainings.

        

       Students from across the College use the Center for Design for both academic and personal projects, working in mechanical design, sculpture, the sciences, theater, film and photo, and more.

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   16. Cole Science Center (CSC)

       Cole Science Center (CSC)

       Cole is home to the School of Natural Science (NS), which strives to provide a transformative, student-centered education based on inquiry and collaboration. I

        

       As a student you can concentrate in almost every imaginable branch of science, from astronomy and bioengineering to marine ecology, genetics, premedical sciences, green chemistry, and sustainable agriculture or engineering.

        

       Division III projects are substantial investigations that often result in publications or presentations at scientific meetings. Resources include labs furnished with research-grade equipment and a two-story solar greenhouse.

        

       The faculty are committed to curricular innovation by pushing traditional pedagogical boundaries in order to accomplish this goal.

        

       Cole Science Center is also home to the administrative offices of the President and Dean of Faculty.

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   17. Harold F. Johnson Library Center

       Harold F. Johnson Library

       The Harold F. Johnson Lbrary houses the College’s print and media collections as well as computer labs, advanced media, making & production facilities, IT services, the Hampstore, post office, an art gallery, and Career Options Resource Center.

        

       The library’s basic collection of roughly 135,000 print volumes and 40,000 CDs, videos, films, DVDs, and slides is augmented by the combined 9 million volumes offered through the Five College library system. As a student, you will have access to the many online journals, articles, and ebooks that the College subscribes to. Additional and unique resources available in the library include archival collections, zines, games, and a lending seed library.

        

       Students and faculty alike have access to Hampshire’s extensive media, making and production facilities in advanced media, which contain a television studio and digital video editing and audio production suites.

        

       Hampshire’s main computer lab and the computer diagnostic center are located on the third floor of the library.

        

       The Career Options Resource Center is a crucial resource for students. Staff can help you with internships, fellowships, graduate school admission, and employment. They offer workshops on many real world skills. Career counseling is also offered to Hampshire alums.

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   18. Robert Crown Center (RCC)

       Robert Crown Center (RCC)

       Inside the RCC, you can do laps or practice kayak rolls in the pool, climb with friends in the bouldering cave, enjoy a pickup game of basketball, consult with the staff of Hampshire’s Outdoors Program and Recreational Athletics (OPRA), or just hang out. You can join an intramural squad or an intercollegiate athletic program.

        

       Facilities include a competition-size pool, 12,000-square-foot playing floor, 30-foot climbing wall, sauna, bike maintenance workshop, and games areas.

        

       An extensive equipment inventory gives you access to tents, ice- and rock-climbing equipment, skis, mountain bikes, canoes, kayaks, and other items that allow you to explore many sports and recreational options.

        

       The RCC is also home to the Bridge Café and student lounge, and connects to the library via the bridge.

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   19. Greenwich House

       Living at Hampshire

       Hampshire is a residential learning community, with a seamless flow of academic, social, and personal life. Students live in five residences on campus, each of which has common areas, along with area coordinators to help with programs and events.

       Greenwich House

       Greenwich House is one of Hampshire's "mod"-style housing areas. Greenwich mods are two-story apartments that house students generally in their second through fourth years. Every mod has four to seven residents, living in two to five single rooms and one double. Every mod contains a common living/dining room, a kitchen, and one to two bathrooms.
       
       Eight mods are arranged in a circular form, or "donut," with a central common space. The Goodread Library (made up of books donated by faculty, staff, and students), Centrum Gallery, Spiritual Life Center, and Queer Community Alliance (QCA) are all based in Greenwich House.

        

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   20. Writing Center

       Writing Center

       Home both to the Writing Center and to the School for Interdisciplinary Arts. The Writing Center provides a comfortable, friendly space for faculty office hours and numerous informal literary activities.

        

       As its name suggests, the School for Interdisciplinary Arts takes an integrated, multidimensional approach to the arts and art making. Students and professors work across boundaries of art forms such as theatre, sculpture, creative writing, literature, theatre for young audiences, creative drama, art and technology, and all areas of arts and social action.

        

       In the Writing Center you can get help with all aspects of the writing process. Instructors work with you on ongoing writing projects, including course papers, Division II papers, or your Division III retrospective.

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   21. Emily Dickinson Hall (EDH)

       Emily Dickinson Hall (EDH)

       Emily Dickinson Hall houses the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, which unites faculty and students interested in a range of disciplines including art history, studio arts, ancient studies, American studies, media studies, philosophy, literature, film, photography, video, history, classics, dance, digital imagery, comparative religion, music, architecture, environmental design, cultural studies, and critical theory.

        

       EDH also houses the architecture and graphic media arts studio, a hub of the Five College Architectural Studies Program. Through a combination of historical, practical, and theoretical approaches, Hampshire’s design students examine the aesthetic, social, and scientific arenas in which architecture and the environment operate.

        

       The School for Interdisciplinary Arts also has a strong presence in EDH. You can find theater and creative writing faculty here.

        

       The Performing Arts Center in EDH includes two “black box” theaters, where dozens of student productions are staged each year. At Hampshire, production is at the heart of the theatre program.

        

       As a first-year student, you can get involved immediately by collaborating with more advanced students, both on stage and behind the scenes. Collaboration in the theatre program is strongly emphasized, and participation of non-theatre concentrators is welcomed.

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   22. Enfield House

       Living at Hampshire

       Hampshire is a residential learning community, with a seamless flow of academic, social, and personal life. Students live in five residences on campus, each of which has common areas, along with area coordinators to help with programs and events.

       Enfield House

       Built townhouse style, Enfield’s “mods” are two- and three-story apartments that generally house students in their second through fourth years. Each mod has five to eight residents, living in one double and up to six single rooms. Every mod contains a common living/dining room, a kitchen, and one to two bathrooms.

        

       The Area Office for both Greenwich and Enfield House is located in Enfield, as are the Center for Feminisms and the Wellness Center.

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   23. Hampshire College Farm

       Hampshire College Farm

       The Hampshire College Farm is a working farm and thriving educational center, providing agricultural programs for the College, local community members, and school groups.

        

       With an eye toward the cultural, sustainable, and nutritional aspects of food production, the Hampshire Farm is dedicated to educating future generations of healthy, ethical food producers and consumers.

        

       The farm includes 15 acres of vegetable fields, 65 acres of pasture and hay, 5 barns, 2 high tunnels, 1 propegation greenhouse, and 1 sugar shack.

       The farm produce over 60,000 pounds of produce a year, and grow over 40 varieties of vegetables. That produce goes directly to the Hampshire College community through our 200+ member CSA, dining commons, and the Hampshire College Marketplace. The farm also produces pork, beef, turkey, eggs, honey, and maple syrup.

        

       From studying animal behavior to agriculture, Hampshire students in a wide variety of fields use the Hampshire Farm as a hub for investigating the intellectual, political, and scientific issues surrounding food production.

       
       Learning at Hampshire doesn't end in the classroom. Students here live their educations and, with the internship and work-study opportunities at the Hampshire Farm, can grow their educations from the seed to the table and beyond.

        

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   24. National Yiddish Book Center

       National Yiddish Book Center

       Hampshire alumnus Aaron Lansky started rescuing Yiddish books while a Division III student. Since then, he has been involved in the recovery and preservation of more than one million Yiddish volumes.

        

       Hailed as the "the greatest cultural rescue effort in Jewish history,” in recent years the Yiddish Book Center has developed innovative educational programs that open up these books to new generations of readers, students, and scholars.

   25. Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

       Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

       The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book.

        

       The museum’s 40,000-square-foot building houses three galleries dedicated to rotating exhibitions of picture book art from around the world; a hands-on art studio for creating masterpieces of one’s own; an auditorium for performances, films, and lectures; a comfortable library for reading and storytelling; a café serving simple and delicious fare; and a museum shop stocked with creative gifts and old and new picture book favorites.

        

       Although the museum is not operated by Hampshire, student work opportunities are available. The museum is free to Hampshire students!

   26. Early Learning Center

       The Early Learning Center

       The Hampshire College Early Learning Center is a college-based early childhood center serving children eight weeks to five years of age through an infant, toddler, and preschool program.

        

       It is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach, an arts-infused, inquiry-based method of working with young children.
       
       As a Hampshire student, you can be involved with the center through student observation, research, and work-study opportunities.

   27. Multisport Center

       Multisport Center

       The Bay Road Tennis Club and Multisport Center, on the campus of Hampshire College, is open during the academic year, September through mid-May. The facilities include:

        

       •  4 DecoTurf indoor tennis courts
       •  1/8 mile indoor track
       •  1900 sq. ft. fitness and weight room
       •  Court overlook area
       •  Men's and women’s locker rooms with showers 

   28. Prescott House

       Living at Hampshire

       Hampshire is a residential learning community, with a seamless flow of academic, social, and personal life. Students live in five "houses" on campus, each of which has common areas, along with housing directors to help with programs and events.

       Prescott House

       Prescott House is one of Hampshire's three "mod"-style residences. Mods are one- and two-story apartments that usually house students in their second, third, and fourth years.

        

       Each mod has 4 to 10 residents, all in single rooms. Prescott House, one of the smaller living areas, has approximately 210 residents.

        

       Prescott Basics
       Every mod contains a common living/dining room, a kitchen, and one to two bathrooms. Many mods contain a bedroom called a “cathedral” room. Cathedral rooms have tall ceilings that create a more spacious feel. The other unique room style offered in some Prescott mods is the “loft” room.

        

       Loft rooms are divided into upstairs and downstairs areas, allowing a student to separate their space into a bedroom and a study area. 
       
       Prescott also has one “suite"-style living area. The suite houses six residents, and has one of the largest doubles on campus. Residents of the suite must be on a full meal plan because, unlike the mods, it has a refrigerator but no kitchen facilities.
       
       Prescott Area Office
       The Prescott area office is a hub of activity in Prescott. The area office is staffed by the area coordinator, who has principal responsibility for the overall functioning of the living area as well as resident student staff, known as resident advisors.

        

       The Prescott area office also makes available a variety of items to improve the quality of campus living, including some cleaning supplies, vacuums, games, hand carts, trash bags, toilet paper, etc. Check with the area office for availability and procedures. 

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   29. Lebrón-Wiggins-Pran Cultural Center

       Lebrón-Wiggins-Pran Cultural Center

       The Lebrón-Wiggins-Pran Cultural Center provides a range of programs and resources to support and promote the success of students of color and international students, including the peer mentorship program, multicultural student groups, social justice programs, faculty talks, writing workshops, study nights, film screenings, art events, dialogues, and musical performances.

        

       Programs and resources are also offered to the larger campus community for engagement in issues related to race, culture, and under-representation, with the underlying goal to effect social change.

        

       The Office of Multicultural and International Student Services (MISS) and international student advising are housed in the Cultural Center. MISS provides a network of comprehensive services and innovative programs that support and advance the intellectual, personal, cultural, and social development of students of color and international students.

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   30. Event Services and Summer Programs

       Weneczek House

       Weneczek House is home to the event services and summer programs office, as well as the Culture, Brain, and Development Program (CBD).

        

        

       Event Services and Summer Programs

       The event services and summer programs office is staffed by event professionals who are committed to working with the Hampshire community, external organizations, and private individuals to plan events and programs on the campus of Hampshire College.

        

       Our staff provides organizational and logistical services that are timely, professional, flexible, and customer-driven.

       
       Using a "one-stop shop" model, event services coordinates the efforts of internal and external service-providers to ensure the overall success of events and a high level of customer satisfaction.

        

       Hampshire College is the ideal venue for meetings, conferences, and special events. In addition to finding an appropriate meeting or event space, our staff provides logistical support for individuals and organizations planning events on campus. Our services include, but are not limited to, room set-ups, audio/visual support, catering, equipment rentals, floral arrangements, signage, security, and parking.

        

       Event services contracts and coordinates all residential and non-residential summer camps and programs held on the Hampshire College campus. Learn more »

        

        

       Culture, Brain, and Development Program

       The Foundation for Psychocultural Research-Hampshire College Program in Culture, Brain, and Development (FPR-HC CBD) is an innovative interdisciplinary program that encourages faculty and students across all disciplines at the College to bridge intellectual divides by incorporating psychobiological and sociocultural perspectives into their research and teaching/learning. At the core of the CBD Program is the idea that human beings are both thoroughly biological and thoroughly cultural creatures, and that both of these forces interact and influence our development, growth, and activities.