How to Reach Us

Amherst is located on the western side of Massachusetts, about 90 miles west of Boston, and 90 miles north of New Haven, CT.

By car:

From the west: Take I-90 W towards Springfield/Albany. Take exit 63 following directions for Amherst/UMass. Take state route 181N towards Belchertown and then route 9 W towards Amherst. When you arrive in downtown Amherst, the university is located just one mile north.

From the east: Take I-90 E towards Boston. When you arrive in Springfield, take I-91 N (exit 45 on the left) towards Greenfield/Brattleboro. Get off at exit 25 and follow direction for state route 9 towards Hadley/Amherst. After 6 miles you'll arrive in downtown Amherst. The university is located just one mile north.

From the north/south: Take I-91 . Exit in Northampton towards route 9 E (from the north exit 26, from the south exit 25). Take route 9 E towards Hadley/Amherst. After 6 miles you'll arrive in downtown Amherst. The university is located just one mile north.

There will be parking available on campus, parking details will be confirmed and shared with you before the start of the school.

By air:

The closest airport is Hartford/Bradley International Airport (BDL). From there there are several transportation companies, including Valley Transporter (https://valleytransporter.com) and Go Green (https://gogreencabnoho.com/). Car sharing services (Uber/Lyft) are also available.

Particularly for international flights, it may be easier to fly into Boston Logan airport (BOS). To reach Amherst from Boston, there are bus services operated by Peter Pan Bus: https://peterpanbus.com) . It is also possible to fly into New York and reach Amherst via Peter Pan Bus.

Since NSF is funding the travel, the Fly America Act applies. This law requires all travelers receiving support for the conference to book their flights through a US air carrier, although the flights can be provided by partner airlines. For more details, visit see UMass Amherst's Fly America Policy and UMass Amherst "Fly America and Open Skies Agreements" Decision Tree . (Note the importance of a designator code for the US airline on all legs of the trip.)

Other public transit:

It is also possible to reach UMass by coach, train or a combination of the two.

Amtrak (https://www.amtrak.com) trains connect from Washington DC and New York to Northampton, via New Haven, and CTrail: https://www.hartfordline.com) trains connect from New Haven to Springfield.

Most coach schedules (Greyhound: https://www.greyhound.com, Peter Pan Bus: https://peterpanbus.com) reach Springfield.From there, PVTA local buses (https://www.pvta.com) or car sharing services can be used to reach Amherst.

There are also few scheduled trains and coaches that directly reach Northampton (Peter Pan Bus/Greyhound/Amtrak) and Amherst (Peter Pan). Please check on the respective websites for up to date information on their timetables.

Accommodations

Participants who requested accommodation support will be housed in UMass Amherst North Apartments. The apartments are configured in groups of four bedrooms, with each group having a shared living room, kitchen, and two bathrooms. The apartments are a ten minute walk from the center of campus, where lectures will be held. Other accommodation options include the 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, the Econolodge and the Howard Johnson all have easy access to UMass campus. There are also AirBnb properties available in Amherst and Northampton.

Reimbursment

If we've offered you travel support, please keep all of your travel receipts. Your receipts must include proof of purchase (so, for instance, boarding passes or confirmation e-mails that do not include proof of payment are not needed). After the summer school we will provide an online reimbursement form for you to complete to begin the travel reimbursement process.

Due to NSF grant stipulations, all travelers receiving support for the conference must book their trip using a U.S. airline carrier. For more details, see UMass Amherst's Fly America Policy and UMass Amherst's Fly Decision Tree. (Note the importance of a designator code for the US airline on all legs of the trip.)

Visas

If you are traveling internationally and will require a visa, we recommend visiting the U.S. Department of State website to learn about the different visitor visas available and how to apply for a visa. Information on the U.S. Department of State's Visa Waiver Program can be found here.