Hello, and welcome!
First time visiting our site? We’re excited you stopped by. Second time? Welcome back! Third? Fourth? Fifth? We’re glad you can’t get enough of Tufts.
You could probably spend days reading every single admissions and student blog, doing a deep dive into every corner of our website or watching every video. But we know you’re busy people, and we want to give you a few suggestions on where to get started.
So here’s what we think you should know about Tufts!
First, let’s give you the basics:
The Schools
Tufts is composed of three undergraduate schools and quite a few graduate schools. For undergraduates, the ones you’ll want to know are:
- the School of Arts and Sciences (home to ~4,800 students, and a wide range of majors + minors)
- the School of Engineering (home to ~1,200 students, 6 departments, and 16 majors)
- and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (the "SMFA," where ~600 students can pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts or a 5-Year Combined Degree (BFA+BA/BS) program)
The Location(s)
The School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering are located in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, about five miles away from downtown Boston. The Medford/Somerville campus is about one mile from Davis Square, a bustling center of the Somerville community.
The SMFA is located in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, adjacent to the Museum of Fine Arts.
The location affords students great opportunities for internships, jobs, and fun outings with friends or visitors. Some of our favorites: Dave’s Fresh Pasta sandwiches, duck boat tours, a Red Sox game at Fenway, the Museum of Fine Arts, the historic Freedom Trail, or candlepin bowling in Davis Square.
Our Mascot
Jumbo, the Elephant. You can come to campus to hear our tour guides tell his story (it is quite the story), or visit him on our virtual tour.
Research
Tufts is one of the nation’s top research universities, earning the highest classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the university's output of research activity. And as one of the smallest and most undergraduate-focused research universities with this classification, Tufts encourages faculty to collaborate with undergraduate students in a wide-range of innovative research spanning every field and discipline.
Our Community
Everyone will have a unique experience at Tufts based on the classes, extracurricular activities, and events that they choose. But the campus vibe of intellectual playfulness, collaboration, and kindness are pervasive in every experience. These are a few of the themes you’ll encounter on the Tufts campus:
Building Inclusive Communities: Jumbos come from all corners of the world, bringing distinct stories, interests, and perspectives. But they have some things in common—they’re community-minded and passionate. You’ll meet your closest friends in the residence hall common room, through extracurricular activities, in that inspiring seminar class, and in the dining hall. You’ll find people who will lift you up on the tough days and celebrate with ice cream on the impossibly good days.
Civic Engagement: Tufts students are constantly looking for ways to make the world a better place. Maybe you’ll participate in the Civic Semester program or volunteer with the Leonard Carmichael Society, home to 30+ service groups on campus. Maybe you’ll become a Tisch Scholar, completing fieldwork in our local communities. Maybe you’ll join the 65% of students who graduate and go on to work “for the greater good.” Whatever your path, you’ll find that knowledge is most powerful when you’re applying it to something outside of you.
Collaboration: Ideas are meant to be built upon, questioned, and shared. Tufts students understand this. They are kind, compassionate, open-minded people who work with each other and professors on innovative research, a cappella arrangements, campus publications, and socially-minded conferences. An idea born over coffee in the Campus Center may turn into the next big thing!
We invite you to learn more about the people, activities and traditions that make up Tufts: