The international curriculum at Tufts draws from a host of disciplines, permitting a flexible course of study without sacrificing the structure that defines academic rigor and excellence. This flexibility allows the Tufts student to tailor his or her education to meet personal interests or professional career goals. The collaborative nature of the interdisciplinary model allows students to choose from an array of related courses which will enhance their degree programs and enrich their overall academic experience.
Anthropology
Anthropology at Tufts provides students not only with a strong background in critical thinking, analysis, and writing, but also with first-hand experience through original field research. The combination of intellectual community, disciplinary breadth, global and local understanding, hands-on research and public engagement makes anthropology a strong liberal arts major and an excellent preparation for both graduate school and a wide range of careers.
Archaeology
Tufts offers a general interdisciplinary undergraduate major in archaeology, incorporating courses from the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Students in archaeology combine course work with firsthand experience in recovery, conservation, and interpretation of material remains. The archaeology program has affiliations with several summer field schools, including the Murlo excavation in Italy, the Talloires/Mt. Musièges excavation in France, the Old Sturbridge Village Field School, and the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology.
Archaeology Field School: Programme for Belize Archaeology Project
Each summer, lecturer Laurie Sullivan leads Tufts and University of Massachusetts students in an Archaeology Field School on the Programme for Belize Rio Bravo Conservation Lands in northwestern Belize. Students participate in first-hand field excavation and laboratory research in a tropical rainforest setting that was the site of Maya occupation from ca. 900 B.C. to 900 A.D. They investigate social and political organizations through the excavation of small site centers and large ceremonial centers.
Art and Art History
The wide range of courses offered by the department is designed to familiarize students with important artists, traditions and themes in world art and visual culture. Some courses focus on individual achievements, great artists and schools, while others explore significant periods, such as the Renaissance or the 1960s, or themes that cross time and cultures, such as the treatment of nature or the fear and destruction of images (inconoclasm and iconophobia). Artistic style and culture from a number of regions are explored, with course offerings such as Japanese Architecture, Contemporary Art in Africa, and Latin American Cinema.
Asian Studies
The Asian Studies major provides students with a strong foundation in an Asian language and expertise drawn from a variety of disciplines. Tufts students who have majored in Asian Studies have pursued careers in international organization, government, business, and teaching.
Center for International Environmental and Resource Policy (CIERP)
Established in 1990 to support the growing demand for international environmental leaders, the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy's mission is to educate students to become policy and decision-makers who will keep environmental concerns at the forefront of the national agenda. Through the Center, students develop the skills necessary to formulate effective environmental strategies and solutions.
Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies
Established in 1989, The Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies has since served as New England's focal point for scholarship on the South Asian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean rim. With an emphasis on history, culture, literature, religion, politics, economics and diplomacy, it is committed to promoting interdisciplinary approaches to the study of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, which together make up the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Classics
Classics at Tufts constitute an interdisciplinary study of the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, Near East, and Europe. The Department of Classics is dedicated to the study of Greek and Roman culture and to clarifying and assessing its continuing impact on contemporary life. The role of the individual in relation to contemporary society, as the study of Classics shows, can be examined through the history, archaeology, art, architecture, science, philosophy, religion, mythology, and especially through the literatures of Greece and Rome.
Comparative Religion
The Department of Comparative Religion investigates the various expressions of religion encountered in human experience around the world. Students study the field of religion in both its functional and theoretical aspects. Courses explore the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. Courses are designed to give a broad cultural appreciation of religion in accordance with the principles of a liberal arts education.
Department of Romance Languages
The Romance languages all derive from the Latin spoken in different parts of the Roman Empire. Courses in French, Spanish, and Italian give students an understanding of the spoken and written language and promote the reading and appreciation of each nation's literature. Students may deepen their linguistic sensibilities and expand their horizons by studying, through a Romance language, a civilization different from but connected to their own. Students may major in French, in Spanish, or in Italian Studies, and may minor in Italian.
Drama and Dance
The Department of Drama and Dance provides a liberal arts approach to the creative, historical, and aesthetic dimensions of the theater arts. It fosters critical thinking and challenges the imagination in the study and performance of theater arts. Drama and dance have forever been powerful forces in the world, an imaginative mirror through which we can better understand psychology, politics, religion, and gender. The Drama and Dance department offers many study abroad opportunities, such as the British American Dramatic Academy, the London College of Fashion Design, and Tufts-in-Madrid, a strong theater program for students fluent in Spanish.
Economics
The mission of the department is to teach students to be critical thinkers and to use the discipline of economics to analyze important economic, political and social issues, ranging from international economic relations, development, growth, and income inequality, to education, housing and competition policy. Department courses, with continuing interaction with other scholars at Tufts and elsewhere, help mold future community leaders. Classes, collaborations, faculty research, and other study opportunities are available for students in the area of international economics.
Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Programs Abroad
Students of the ECE Department can participate in study abroad programs, usually during junior year, at University College London or elsewhere.
EPIIC
The Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program is a carefully integrated multidisciplinary program which, through its innovative and rigorous curricula and projects, prepares undergraduates to lead their communities -- local, national and global. Each year, EPIIC explores one broad global dilemma and provokes students to explore its complexity. High intellectual engagement, passion, and genuine objectivity have been the standard of EPIIC: the cornerstone of Tufts University's international relations education for the 21st century.
Flowers of the Alps
Flowers of the Alps is a biology and environmental studies course offered at the Tufts campus in Talloires, France, during the first Summer Session. The course focuses on the Savoy region's world-class display of montane and alpine floral diversity. Sessions highlight outstanding representatives of important plant families, their human and ecological relevance, and the design of dichotomous keys. Outdoor field sessions are devoted to recognizing species in their native environment, evaluating shifts in alpine vegetation, and enhancing agricultural diversity in the region's farm community.
Friends of Israel
Friends of Israel (FOI) is a student organization committed to educating the Tufts community about Israeli culture. FOI was founded with the hope that its members could play a role in the crucial task of building a brighter future for the world. Although Friends of Israel is a political organization due to the nature of relevant issues, the organization does not have official positions on the conflict in the Middle East. It does, however, hold hopes for an end to all violence, and looks forward to a future in peace.
German, Russian and Asian Languages and Literature
The department offers graduate and undergraduate courses in German, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, as well as Hebrew and Arabic language classes. Courses in literature and programs in Judaic Studies, Asian Studies, and Eastern European Studies are also offered.
Hummingbird Cay Tropical Field Station
The Biology Department collaborates with the Environmental Studies Program to offer a unique off-campus program at Hummingbird Cay (HBC) Tropical Field Station on a remote privately-owned island in the Bahamas. Each March, up to 15 students attend HBC for ten days of research and seminar activities related to the international aspects of climate change, disturbance ecology, land and water use, waste management, and ecotourism.
International Letters and Visual Studies (ILVS)
International Letters and Visual Studies joins the study of literature, film and visual arts in an international context. The undergraduate major is designed for students who have a strong interest in global issues and who wish to study the literature, cinema or visual art of two or more cultures, to explore the interaction of cultures, and to gain theoretical insight on the discourses of literature, film, the visual sign, gender, and culture.
International Relations
Since its inception, the Program in International Relations at Tufts has devoted itself to two intertwined objectives: the promotion of responsible, engaged citizenship through international education and dialogue, and the fostering of intellectual excellence through a curriculum that integrates disciplines in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences without compromising academic rigor. In the process, it has grown into one of Tufts most popular majors and earned a reputation that extends well beyond the university.
Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies is an interdisciplinary minor which encourages students to integrate the varying disciplinary perspectives of the arts, literature, social sciences, and history, along with the study of languages of the area, into a coherent view of Latin America. The program recognizes the fact that Latin American Studies is increasingly important in the world and for the United States in particular.
Latino Studies
Because Latino Studies, like Latinos themselves, reside at the intersection of what is Latin American and what is "American," the minor in Latino Studies allows students to focus on either Latinos' connections with Latin America or their location within the United States' racial and sociopolitical context. The minor thus serves as a "bridge" that encourages students to connect the theories, methodologies and content of the two supporting programs in new, intellectually exciting and productive ways.
Mechanical Engineering Study Abroad
The Mechanical Engineering Department offers the opportunity for selected students to study for one or two terms (typically during junior year) at the University of Sussex in England and the Institut National des Sciences Appliquees de Lyon in France. Although these are the only programs with which the department has formal arrangements, students have attended accredited engineering programs in other universities (e.g., University of London, University of New South Wales).
Middle Eastern Studies
Middle Eastern Studies is an interdisciplinary program that encourages a significant immersion experience in one or more Middle Eastern cultures. The program gives students an opportunity to study the history and culture of the Middle East as well as areas of the world whose territories were part of Middle East empires or were under the influence of such civilizations in pre-modern and modern times.
Music
The Tufts Department of Music is committed to a vision of musical studies that recognizes the increasing globalization of music. In all of its activities -- graduate and undergraduate curricula in western music, world music, and composition; performing ensembles and its new community music programs -- the department seeks to create an environment in which the vast diversity of musical cultures in the United States and around the world is appreciated and valued.
Office of Programs Abroad
Tufts University has been offering foreign study programs to undergraduates for four decades, and at present runs its own programs for juniors and seniors to study in Chile, China, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, London, Madrid, Oxford, Paris, and Tübingen. Students may also choose from hundreds of approved programs run by non-Tufts providers.
Peace and Justice Studies
The Peace and Justice Studies program (PJS) provides an interdisciplinary structure for examining the paths and obstacles to achieving global peace. The program brings intellectual and experiential inquiry to the fundamental interrelationship of peace and justice. Four overlapping areas are emphasized: the study of the causes of war and the techniques of war prevention; the origins, strategies, and visions of social movements seeking social justice and ecological sustainability; the theory and practice of conflict resolution along a continuum from individual disputes to international diplomacy; and the study of peace culture, particularly the contributions of education and literature in developing the traditions of nonviolence and ethical social behavior.
Political Science
Faculty in the Department of Political Science teach in four subfields spanning the globe: American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory. The department offers courses on regional politics in Africa, East Asia, Latin America, Western Europe, and the Middle East, as well as courses that cross regional boundaries and emphasize general themes such as democratization, political economy, and state building. International relations covers national security policy, American foreign policy, international political economy, international law and organizations, and the relationship of domestic to foreign policy.
Russian and East European Studies
The Russian and East European Studies major offers students training in the history, politics, literature, and arts of Russia and other East European nations, as well as a grounding in contemporary oral and written Russian. (Training in some other Slavic languages is available as independent study.) The major is designed for students intending to pursue careers in which familiarity with Russia and Eastern Europe is an attractive or necessary asset, or for students planning to enter graduate school in law, business, or diplomacy with a specialization in Russian and East European affairs. The area concentration also prepares students for graduate work in Russian and East European studies.
Tropical Ecology / Conservation - Bio181ww/Envi181ww
This fall semester seminar and field trip, listed under both Biology and Environmental Studies, provides 12 students with an in-depth understanding of terrestrial tropical ecology and first-hand experience in tropical Central America. After the fall semester, students travel to Costa Rica for a two-week field experience conducting hands-on research, hiking, and collecting data.
Tufts-in-Chile
The Tufts-in-Chile program allows undergraduates (usually juniors) with at least five semesters of Spanish classes to study at the University of Chile in Santiago, one of the region's leading universities, for the fall semester or the full academic year. Students are fully integrated into the life of the university and are able to take regular courses in any of its faculties.
Tufts-in-China
The Tufts-in-China program offers undergraduates (usually juniors) with at least four semesters of Chinese classes the chance to spend the fall semester in Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, one of the top universities in China. There is a saying in Chinese: "In heaven there is paradise; on earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou." The combination of the city of Hangzhou and the renowned Zhejiang University makes Tufts in China a unique program for students of Chinese language and culture.
Tufts-in-Ghana
The Tufts-in-Ghana program, which takes place in the fall semester, offers undergraduates (usually juniors) the chance to study at the University of Ghana (Legon), located just outside the booming metropolis of the capital, Accra. Since English is the language of instruction at the University of Ghana and is widely spoken throughout the nation, there are no language prerequisites.
Tufts-in-Hong Kong
The Tufts-in-Hong Kong program is affiliated with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and offered to undergraduates (usually juniors) in the spring semester. HKU evolved from the former Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded in 1887. No language experience is needed to apply.
Tufts-in-Japan
Tufts-in-Japan offers undergraduates (usually juniors) with at least two semesters of Japanese classes the chance to spend the spring semester or a full academic year in Kanazawa, one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. Located on the Japan Sea (facing Korea and China), Kanazawa is an ancient castle town that was the administrative center of the Kaga Domain, the largest and most affluent in the entire country, during the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868). Students take classes at the newly rebuilt Kanazawa University, one of the leading national universities. By night, students are able to enjoy Korinbo's colorful nightlife.
Tufts-in-Madrid
The Tufts-in-Madrid program, run jointly with Skidmore College, offers undergraduates (usually juniors) with at least six semesters of Spanish classes the opportunity to study at one of two Tufts-affiliated universities: the Autonomous University of Madrid or the University of Alcalá, 16 miles east of Madrid.
Tufts-in-Oxford
Tufts-in-Oxford offers undergraduates (usually juniors) in high academic standing the chance to spend a year studying at Pembroke College, a 400-year-old, 400-student strong division of Oxford University.
Tufts-in-Tübingen
Tufts study abroad program in Tübingen, Germany, a town of 80,000 not far from Stuttgart, offers a full year or one-semester program for undergraduates (usually juniors) with at least two years of German classes. The program of 20 students, is completely integrated into the German university system, offering courses at Eberhard-Karls University, founded in 1477.
Tufts in Talloires Summer Program
Tufts in Talloires, a six-week summer program for undergraduates at Tufts and other universities, offers dynamic and diverse courses taught by Tufts faculty. Students choose two courses from a selection designed to take advantage of Talloires' ideal location in the center of Europe as well as its striking alpine setting, which inspires reflection and thought. In addition to course work, a wide variety of optional outdoor activities, weekly hikes in the Alps, field trips, and organized events offer students the opportunity to explore France's unique Savoy region.
