What really happens at Amherst College? It’s one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country; known for its academic rigor, its history, and that distinctive shade of purple that seems to color everything from scarves to sunsets.
But is it all books and nerdy library addicts running around campus?
Scroll through the college’s website, and you’ll find clues.
Another layer entirely: a captivating visual archive that tells a thousand stories of hope, exploration, and never-ending motion.
We gathered five of our favorite Amherst College photo essays, stretching from 2024 into 2025. Together, they form a portrait of life beyond the grades, classes, and packed academic calendars.
Photographers Maria Stenzel, Slate Taylor ’25, and Tetsuya Tanaka ’28, along with other talented contributors, reveal Amherst College through lenses of poetry, architecture, community, and celebration.
You’ll find Emily Dickinson’s autumn light falling over Johnson Chapel, the construction of a new Student Center and Dining Commons, murals painted with local seniors, and the joyful chaos of first-year students moving in with heirloom Garfields and purple pompoms.
1. Amherst College in the Fall
Introduced with Emily Dickinson’s poem “Autumn,” this series pairs verse with vivid imagery.
Students walk past golden trees and sunlit chapel towers, leaves swirl in the Wildlife Sanctuary, and the campus glows in that brief, perfect window before winter.
2. Under Construction: Student Center & Dining Commons (SCDC)
Photographed by Maria Stenzel with text by Amanda Huhmann, this feature offers a peek at Amherst’s future; a building that embodies connection, creativity, and sustainability.
From terraces overlooking the Holyoke Range to a planned theater and Winter Garden, every rendering hums with anticipation.
3. Amherst College Year in Review: 2024
This one moves like a calendar come to life.
There’s snow and sunlight, poetry and science, commencements and concerts. It’s the heartbeat of a year on campus, with students, staff, and parents alike contributing to the rhythm.
4. Community, Centered
Here, Amherst College’s classrooms spill into Western Massachusetts itself.
Students collaborate with museums, senior centers, and local organizations through courses that blend scholarship and service. The images radiate mutual learning; community in both directions.
5. Amherst College, Orientation 2024
We end with beginnings. Move-in day unfolds in a blur of fog, cheers, and family hugs.
Photographer Slate Taylor ’25 captures faces full of nerves and hope as the newest Mammoths arrive, greeted by purple-clad upperclass students who’ve perfected the art of making noise.
A visual walk through Amherst College
Each of these collections tells a story on its own, but together they trace a college that has a long history, questions the present, and looks ahead with energy and intent.
Browse them all on Amherst College’s website and see how the purple spirit carries through every frame. You might just find yourself wanting to visit, camera in hand.
Main Photo: A collage of scenes from around Amherst College | Courtesy Amherst College. All photos by Maria Stenzel, Amanda Huhmann, Madeline Levine, and Slate Taylor. Courtesy of Amherst College.
