ACCOMMODATIONS
Participants who requested accommodation support will be housed in a dormitory of the Commonwealth Honors College on the UMass Amherst campus:
Maple Hall, 151 Commonwealth Ave, Amherst, MA 01002
The apartments are a few minutes walk from the Lederle Graduate Research Tower, where lectures will be held. For more information, see below. The phone number for Summer Conference Housing is 413-687-1230. Here is the website for the dorm.
Other accommodation options include Hotel UMass right in the center of campus. There are many other hotels nearby in Hadley, a short bus ride from campus via PVTA's route B43. For example, the Hampton Inn and the Howard Johnson all have easy access to UMass campus. There are also AirBnb properties available in Amherst and Northampton.
PARKING
Participants staying at on campus will have parking passes provided upon check in, if they let Owen know in advance. The parking lot is 25. If participants staying in the accommodation would like to pull up closer to the dorm to unload their belongings, they may do so with their hazard lights on and then move their cars to the designated lot afterwards.
Participants not staying in the accommodation may park in the Campus Center Parking Garage. If you would like a parking pass for free parking in the garage, please e-mail the organizers to request one.
MEALS
There will coffee and tea available for all the talk periods, and pastries and bagels will be served in the morning from 9 am each day.
Food is available on campus at the Blue Wall food court or at the Worcester Dining Hall. Up-to-date information for summer 2026 is here. There are also a variety of restaurants available in downtown Amherst, a 20 minute walk or 5 minute bus ride from campus. On weekends, food is available to purchase at Harvest Market in the Campus Center from 8am to 9pm.
ON-CAMPUS ACCOMMODATION
For participants staying on-campus, check-in will take place starting at 11AM on Sunday before the summer school begins at each dormitory. There, each participant will receive their rooming information, an access card to get into the building and their apartment, as well as a physical key to their individual room. Linen packets will be provided and include 2 sheets, 1 pillow with case, a blanket and 2 towels. Check out time is by 2pm on Saturday after the summer school ends, at the latest.
While bathrooms are stocked with toilet paper, participants should plan to bring hand soap, shampoo, and any other personal necessities. There is a CVS within a walk or bus ride from campus at which you can purchase any essentials that you need, located at 76 N Pleasant Street.
There are coin operated laundry facilities in each building however we recommend using a guest card to avoid running into issues. Guest cards can be purchased for $1 at transfer stations (one located in Campus Center near Harvest Market entrance) and load money onto the card to be used multiple times. These cards can also be used for printing materials from the library. Learn more here.
24/7 SCH Staff Available: There are conference housing staff members working 24/7 during the summer. The main number to reach them at is 413-687-1230 and can be used for any housing related needs that might arise during your stay. Please use this number if there are any lockouts, if you run out of toilet paper or have any general issues or maintenance needs.