Tufts Blogs

Sitting in front of my portal late last August in the sweltering summer, I was overwhelmed and excited by the limitless variety of classes. Navigating the portal itself was a challenge, as I began planning my packed schedule with several back up plans. As a Combined Degree student, I am working towards both a Bachelor's of Fine Arts and a Bachelor's of Arts in just 5 years. I was interested in art history and art but the intersection of international relations and art was intriguing. In the first semester, I focused on expanding new interests through my distribution requirements. For instance, in social sciences I completed Introduction to International Relations, where I was among around 200 students in a lecture hall along with a 30 student recitation. This class brought surprises as we had challenging discussions about topics like the application of the Thucydides Trap in today’s political scene. After this course, I realized that I am not interested in furthering pursuing this subject area, but I continuously apply its expansive method of thinking in my history and anthropology classes. 

Simultaneously, as someone that was not interested in sciences, it was a breeze to complete my natural sciences requirements with the Geology department’s Dynamic Earth course. Rather than sitting in final exams, for our final project I wrote a report about sedimentary rocks that I collected on a hike at home in Vancouver. My favorite fun fact now is that I can identify up to 10 types of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks! It was refreshing to learn in an experiential setting outside of typical STEM courses such as Physics and Chemistry. 

At the School Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), within our interdisciplinary curriculum, I unlocked a series of new skills such as coding an interactive website, screen printing T-shirts, wood working, welding and applying typography skills through museum visits. In my first two semesters, I enrolled in Multiples, Rituals, and Actions (print class), Graphic Arts Toolbox, 3D Foundations (sculpture class), and Visualizing Curatorial Matters (graphic design and curation course). I gained access to several studios in a short amount of time because of our open structure that allows first years to utilize those spaces without mandatory introduction courses. It felt like I was collecting Pokémon! Furthermore, our art classes were highly collaborative as I became close friends with my peers during design projects to rewrite and design artworks in the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition “Deep Waters: Four Artists and the Sea." My professors being leading professionals in their fields became one of my greatest support systems, while we discussed inspirations and career insights into the art, design, and museum fields. I will admit, it took some time to find a balance between my five classes spread across Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in academic Medford classes to Tuesdays and Thursdays in five hour SMFA classes; overtime, I found the groove. The accessible SMFA shuttle service also became a great place to catch up on some sleep and homework in between both campuses! 

No matter how many semesters I complete, and how many classes I enroll in, my excitement in our diverse program remains one of my driving forces!