Tufts Students Are Diverse in More Ways Than One
The energy of the Tufts community is due in no small part to the mix of people. Jumbos come from a range of backgrounds and bring diverse talents, opinions, interests, and experience to the table. It almost makes more sense to talk about "diversities" rather than "diversity."
Current Students
Meet the Interns!
Meet the Diversity interns who help Admissions build an intentional community.
Read MoreTufts Queer History Project
For historic moments in the civil rights movement for gay, lesbian, queer, and transgender students at Tufts through 2006, check out the student-created timeline.
See Timeline
Diversities
Geographic Diversity
Tufts students come from most of the fifty states and nearly seventy countries – from Cape Cod to the Florida Keys, from Long Island to the Rio Grande Valley, from Brazil to Bahrain.
About 16 percent of Tufts students come from overseas, bringing with them a different culture and often a different language. The International Center serves as an academic and social resource for international students, working to raise intercultural awareness, increase knowledge of immigration laws affecting the Tufts international community, and advocate a campus climate that respects cultural differences.
Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Tufts students are racially and ethnically diverse. Each year, approximately 30 percent of students identify as students of color. Student-run clubs and organizations on campus include the African Student Organization, the Arab Students Association, Association of Latin American Students, Caribbean Club, Chinese Students Association, Emerging Black Leaders, Filipino Cultural Society, the Hellenic Society, Hindu Students Council, Japanese Culture Club – and the list goes on.
Socioeconomic Diversity
Since 1852, Tufts has been committed to the vision of its founders to educate all people, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Today, more than 40 percent of Tufts students are financial aid recipients and 10 percent receive Pell grants. Approximately 10 percent of students are the first in their family to attend college. Tufts meets the full demonstrated need of all admitted students. Read more.
Sexuality and Gender Diversity
You’ll find about a 50:50 ratio of women to men (and men to women) on the Tufts campus. Women take especially strong roles in the sciences and engineering. One third of Tufts engineering students are women, and the dean of the School of Engineering, Linda Abriola, is one of only a handful of female deans of an engineering school in the country. In the School of Arts and Science, Tufts women’s studies major is open to women and men interested in an interdisciplinary approach to studying the history of sexuality, queer theory, and the way gender roles influence social, political, and economic life around the world.
Beyond the classroom, the LGBT Center supports the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, faculty, staff, and alumni in an environment that’s welcoming and safe. The closely affiliated Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA) and Rainbow House also regularly sponsor speakers, movie nights, and other social and educational events for LGBT students and allies. The greater Boston area is particularly welcoming to its large number of LGBT students. Massachusetts not only is famous for being the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, but also has some of the strongest antidiscrimination statutes in the country.
Religious Diversity
Tufts students are Christians and Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs, atheists and agnostics. The University Chaplain provides interfaith services and programs and serves as an umbrella for religious life at Tufts. On campus, you’ll find weekly Buddhist, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish (Reform and Conservative), Hindu, Muslim, Protestant, and Quaker services. Off campus, the Medford/Somerville area is home to a number of religious communities.
Student religious groups include Buddhist Sangha, Hillel, Muslim Students Association, Orthodox Christian Fellowship, Protestant Student Fellowship, and the Christian Fellowship, among others.
Tufts professors in the Department of Religion are specialists on Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Chinese religions, Christianity, and Islam. The Judaic studies major combines the study of the languages, religion, culture, and history of the Jewish people.
Intellectual Diversity
The heart of our diverse community is a student body with different ideas, opinions, and perspectives. In the classroom, Tufts students are engineers and artists, scientists and writers. Outside the classroom, Tufts students are Democrats, Republicans, socialists, athletes, photographers, ROTC cadets, journalists, volunteers, dancers and a cappella singers. All have an intellectual curiosity and passion for ideas that drives discussion in class and out.
The Group of Six
The Group of Six is a collection of centers that work together and independently to develop knowledge of and appreciation for diversity at Tufts. Staff members at each center advise and advocate for specific constituencies and serve as resources for all students, faculty, and staff. They are the Africana Center, the Asian American Center, the International Center, the Latino Center, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, and the Women’s Center.