We believe that all students should graduate from Tufts University prepared to contribute to civic life as informed, ethical, and engaged citizens, regardless of their academic majors or career aspirations. And we believe that all students should understand the foundations of a strong democratic society; that they should have the capacity to address difficult social issues by thinking creatively and testing new solutions; and they should possess a sense of responsibility for each other, their communities, and the world.
Tisch College works with students across the university—in all disciplines and at all schools. Whether they are motivated by academic interests, professional ambitions, or personal passions, each year hundreds of students interact directly with Tisch College, acquiring the values, knowledge, and skills to be active citizens. Through our courses, internships, and programs, many students have transformational learning experiences that inform their views of themselves and the world, that shape their future trajectories, and that enable them to become effective agents of change.
Start your Tufts education with a transformational and immersive experience that combines travel, service, social and environmental justice, education, and personal growth. Tufts Civic Semester will take place in Peru and Thailand in the Fall of 2024.
Take courses that focus on critical reflection, ethical thinking, and action for social change, within and between societies. Tufts offers the first major and two minors in Civic Studies.
Our unique three-year leadership development program combines academic coursework, fieldwork in local communities, skill-building, and critical reflection. Apply to be a Tisch Scholar in your first or second year.
Find a summer internship with a nonprofit organization, community-based advocacy organization, or governmental agency.
Explore our global offerings of immersive field-based learning about civil society and the infrastructures of democracy.
Get involved in programs that bring together Tufts students, faculty, and incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people to facilitate responses to mass incarceration and racial injustice.
Students develop leadership skills, volunteer for community service projects, join advocacy efforts, and build community in many other ways while at Tufts. The university publicly recognizes graduating students who engaged in meaningful service and leadership activities during their time at Tufts by inducting them into the Honos Civicus Society.
Join a Student Organization Track Your Civic Engagement Graduate with Honos Civicus