Amherst or Brown for computer science: which is the better choice?

For computer science specifically, Brown is usually the stronger choice. It has a larger and more established CS department, many more upper-level and specialized courses, and stronger built-in access to research, labs, and recruiting because of its scale and engineering ecosystem. Amherst can still be an excellent option, but its CS program is smaller and will generally offer fewer subfields and fewer total opportunities on campus.

Brown’s Department of Computer Science is one of the most visible undergraduate-focused CS programs in the country. Students have access to a broad range of areas such as AI, machine learning, systems, theory, graphics, security, HCI, and computational biology, and there are simply more faculty and more advanced classes available regularly. Brown also benefits from being a university with engineering and graduate-level research activity, which tends to translate into more labs, more project-based work, and more ways to plug into research earlier.

Amherst’s advantage is a very different academic environment. Classes are smaller, advising is highly personal, and the college’s open curriculum can make it easy to explore CS alongside math, economics, philosophy, or other fields. Amherst is also part of the Five College Consortium, so students can take courses at places like UMass Amherst, which can expand the menu somewhat, including in technical areas.

If you care most about the depth of the CS program itself, Brown has the edge. If you care most about a small liberal arts college experience with close faculty attention and still solid CS preparation, Amherst is very appealing. For most students deciding on CS strength and opportunities alone, Brown is the better bet.