Tufts University is a private nonprofit research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, with institutional roots dating to 1852. Chartered in Massachusetts in 1852, Tufts began as a small liberal-arts college on Walnut Hill and developed into a private research university with campuses in Medford/Somerville, Boston, Grafton, and Talloires, France. Academically, the institution is shaped by arts and sciences, engineering, fine arts, international affairs, medicine, dentistry, biomedical sciences, nutrition, veterinary medicine, civic life, and interdisciplinary research. Undergraduate students encounter liberal-arts, engineering, and fine-arts pathways with distribution requirements, majors, research, internships, studio work, civic engagement, and strong cross-school combinations. Graduate and professional education extends into master’s, doctoral, and professional study through Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Fletcher, Medicine, Dentistry, Nutrition, Biomedical Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine. Teaching commonly combines seminars, lectures, laboratories, design, studio practice, research, fieldwork, clinical education, and civic engagement, allowing students to move from foundational coursework into increasingly specialized academic, professional, creative, or research work. Research at Tufts is particularly visible in biomedicine, nutrition, engineering, human-robot interaction, international affairs, public health, sustainability, veterinary medicine, social science, and the arts. The institution supports this activity through Medford/Somerville laboratories, SMFA studios, Boston health-science facilities, the Grafton veterinary campus, Fletcher School centers, libraries, and interdisciplinary institutes. Tufts University undergraduates in areas such as Anthropology and Applied Mathematics can pursue faculty-guided research, projects, fieldwork, studios, clinical experiences, or other experiential formats supported by their programs, while graduate students work within deeper disciplinary or interdisciplinary research settings. Student life includes residence halls, student organizations, arts, athletics, public service, research, entrepreneurship, global study, and close access to Boston. The setting matters because the Medford/Somerville campus offers a residential university setting minutes from Boston, while health-science and arts campuses provide direct access to hospitals, museums, design communities, policy institutions, and employers. At Tufts University, advising and student life in Medford and Somerville complement academics through organizations, cultural programs, athletics, public service, entrepreneurship, and career preparation tied to the campus community. Admissions and affordability are institution-specific. Tufts meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for every admitted undergraduate regardless of citizenship, and beginning with the fall 2026 entering class, U.S. undergraduates from families earning under $150,000 with typical assets attend tuition-free under the Tufts Tuition Pact. Tufts University tuition can vary by residency, school, degree level, enrollment status, or cohort when the university publishes separate pricing structures. For Tufts University graduate students, funding varies by program; areas such as Bioengineering and Computer Engineering may use assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, research support, or external awards under their published rules. Overall, Tufts University combines a close-knit undergraduate environment, engineering and liberal arts, major international and health-professional schools, and direct access to Greater Boston. Tufts University's academic structure supports choices ranging from Anthropology to Applied Mathematics, while individual schools retain their own requirements and student communities. The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts gives visual-art students a specialized studio environment connected with the wider university.