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To earn the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, a student must complete 120 credits are required. Every student will have a major, and major requirements will vary, but a typical major consists of 10-15 classes, and a typical class is worth 3 or 4 credits.

Beyond the primary major, students select the classes of their choice, sometimes opting for a second major (about a third of all students will have a double major) or a minor (about half of all students will have a minor), while fulfilling several general education requirements: writing, language, world civilizations, and distribution. We summarize the requirements below. For a comprehensive look at the requirements for graduation, please see the Tufts Bulletin. 

Foundation and Distribution Requirements 

First-Year Writing Requirement
English 1, English 3, or exemption due to course equivalents
English 2, English 4, Philosophy 1, exemption due to A or A- in English 1 or 3, or exemption due to course equivalents
Language or Culture Requirement
Part 1: Competence equivalent to three semesters of college language classes
  • Can be fulfilled by a language placement exam, course equivalents, or three classes in a language other than English
Part 2: Competence equivalent to three additional semesters of college language or culture classes
  • Can be fulfilled by a language placement exam, course equivalents, three additional classes in a language other than English, or three classes related to a single culture taught in English
World Civilizations Requirement
1 class on a non-Western civilization or the interaction between non-Western and Western civilizations. The class may overlap with the language requirement or distribution requirement, but not both.
Distribution Requirements
2 classes in the humanities, 1 of which can be a course equivalent
2 classes in the arts, 1 of which can be a course equivalent
2 classes in the social sciences, 1 of which can be a course equivalent
2 classes in the natural sciences, 1 of which can be a course equivalent
2 classes in the mathematical sciences, 1 of which can be a course equivalent
*no more than 2 of the distribution classes may be from a single department

Click here to explore real courses that students have used to fulfill distribution requirements. 

Tufts University

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Bendetson Hall
2 The Green
Medford, MA 02155

617-627-3170

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