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Amherst College Degrees and Honors Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MA.00011

Scope and Contents

The Amherst College Degrees and Honors Collection consists chiefly of the diplomas for degrees awarded to Amherst graduates and other individuals associated with the College, mostly in the 19th century. All printed on vellum, but their physical condition varies widely; water and mold damage are evident on many of the early nineteenth century documents. Although some are for the degree of Master of Arts, the bulk are Bachelor of Arts. Honorary doctorates, as well as a few honorary Masters degrees, make up the balance of the Amherst College awarded degrees. The text of all of the Amherst diplomas is in Latin. The remainder of the degrees and certificates in this collection were awarded to Amherst College alumni by other institutions, both educational and civic. Dates in parentheses following degree recipients' names indicate the year of undergraduate degree from Amherst. Additions to this collection are expected.

Dates

  • Creation: 1825-1956

Conditions Governing Access

In general, there is no restriction on access to the Amherst College Degrees and Honors Collection for research use. Particularly fragile or valuable items have been replaced with copies.

This collection is housed in off-site storage and requires advance notice before use. Please contact Archives and Special Collections.

Extent

3.5 Linear feet (7 flat boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The bulk of the collection is made up of diplomas and certificates awarded by Amherst College to Amherst graduates, as well as honorary degrees awarded to individuals associated with the College. The remainder of the degrees and certificates were awarded to Amherst College alumni by other institutions both educational and civic.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by last name of recipient.

Related Materials

The Clubs and Societies Collection includes certificates of several College organizations, including the Antivenean Society, a temperance society that was active at Amherst College during the mid-nineteenth century.

Physical Description

(3.5 linear feet)

Processing Information

The Degreees and Honors Collection is an artificial collection created by the Archives and Special Collections department of Amherst College out of materials from other collections.

Listed:
1994 Sep-Nov
By:
Peter Weis, Archives Assistant
Status
Completed
Author
Peter Weis
Date
2002
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Sponsor
Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Repository Details

Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299