Amherst College, one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the nation, is located in Amherst, Massachusetts—a town of about 35,000 residents in the western part of the state. The college community includes around 1,800 students from 48 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 54 countries around the world, along with about 1,000 staff and faculty members. The scenic 1,000-acre campus features a 500-acre wildlife sanctuary and the Book and Plow Farm ; three museums: Emily Dickinson Museum , Beneski Museum of Natural History , and Mead Art Museum ; and multiple educational and cultural venues and resources through the Five College Consortium. Amherst College is committed to ensuring e