School of Engineering

Tufts' School of Engineering excels in innovative education and scholarly research at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Committed to creating engineering leaders, the school offers a climate of academic excellence, groundbreaking research and intimate, student-centered programs.

Photo by Patrick O'Connor for Tufts University

With a new strategic plan in place, The School of Engineering now must secure the resources it needs to sustain and strengthen its academic and research priorities. Toward that end, the school is embarking on an ambitious campaign to raise $150 million to attract and support faculty, provide financial aid to attract the brightest students, and refurbish and build new facilities. All of these objectives are founded on our interdisciplinary approach to engineering education and research.

Our priorities include the following:

Making education possible for deserving students $33M

Increased financial aid resources are needed if Tufts is to attract and accept exceptional engineering students regardless of their ability to pay. A need-blind admissions policy is a top priority. Without need-blind admissions, a Tufts education remains inaccessible to many extraordinary young men and women. Increased financial aid keeps Tufts competitive with the best schools in the nation. Need-blind admission keeps Tufts true to its founding vision.

We also aim to bolster our PhD program. The Dean's Fellows Program supports the recruitment of outstanding graduate PhD applicants; by growing our first-year graduate fellowships, we can significantly increase the school's competitiveness for outstanding graduate students. Interdisciplinary graduate fellowships, in addition, will provide tuition and stipends to exceptional graduate students pursuing interdisciplinary research.

Attracting and keeping the best teachers $25.7M

The School of Engineering currently has only two endowed chairs, seriously limiting our capacity to attract outstanding senior faculty. More endowed chairs will help draw top scholars to Tufts, while offering the means to reward and keep outstanding teachers already on the faculty.

Creating new non-tenure Professor of the Practice positions on the faculty will attract practicing professionals to campus for three- to five-year appointments. These will foster stronger links with industry; enrich the academic program, particularly in engineering design; and offer an opportunity to attract industry or foundation funds.

State-of-the-art facilities $65.3M

A new Integrated Lab Complex will house faculty, researchers, and graduate students from Engineering, as well as collaborating counterparts in A&S and other Tufts professional schools, to create a cutting-edge facility for cross-disciplinary research and education in bioengineering. A new Administrative and Education Complex, adjacent to Anderson Hall, will house a new Institute for Engineering Education Innovation, the Gordon Institute, the Engineering School’s administrative offices, and state-of-the-art teaching facilities.

Initiatives to support education and research $26M

Three new centers -- in bioengineering, environmental sustainability, and engineering education and innovation – will support educational and research programs in the School of Engineering's three strategic areas of interdisciplinary focus, while a fourth will be established to promote diversity and inclusive leadership in engineering and science. Resources will fund staff and workshops and provide seed money for collaborative projects. An endowment is also sought for the highly successful Entrepreneurial Leadership Program that serves students from both Engineering and Arts and Sciences.

Annual giving

Annual giving is the School of Engineering’s first fundraising priority. Funds go directly into the operating budget, providing current-use dollars that directly support teaching and learning. Annual gifts also keep Tufts nimble by allowing us to respond to unforeseen challenges and opportunities.

The Dean's Inner Circle

The Dean's Inner Circle recognizes those alumni who have supported the School of Engineering via the Tufts Fund for Arts, Sciences & Engineering in the prior fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), with a gift of $100 times their number of years since graduation. The Dean's Inner Circle also recognizes those parents and friends who have donated $1500 or more.

Inner Circle members receive special recognition through an extra listing in the donor report and on the Dean's Inner Circle plaque. In addition, the dean has commissioned the School of Engineering coin, which each member receives as a keepsake. The number on the back of the coin represents the location at which a member's name appears within the Inner Circle portion of the recognition wall, with the lowest number associated with the individual who has contributed the largest gift.

During your next visit to campus, please visit the Anderson Hall lobby to see the plaque that honors the Dean's Inner Circle members.

Meeting every challenge

We are ready to cultivate global thinkers who will tackle today's most pressing problems with both creativity and conscience. We will strive to further the aspirations of our citizen-engineers --technical professionals who will apply their knowledge toward the enrichment and enlightenment of their communities and the world around us.

Your investment in the campaign will be an investment in people with the skills, the knowledge and the passion to find tangible solutions to the troubling issues our society faces today. Our engineering graduates and faculty will radically alter the fields of health and medicine, breaking new ground and saving lives. They will pursue closer balance and harmony between the natural and built environments. They will develop teaching methods and technologies that will serve as models for engineering education in the world.

These are blueprints for our future. You can help us build the vision.

Arts, Sciences & Engineering

The Dean's Inner Circle

Join the Dean's Inner Circle by giving $100 multiplied by the number of years since your graduation.