BFA Graduation Requirements

BFA students are required to complete a total of 120 credits to graduate. Of these, 76 credits must be in studio coursework and for which 9 courses must meet the Studio Level requirement (beginning in Fall 2025). Within this requirement, students have the freedom to choose those courses that will best help them realize their artistic vision and voice. This process is a fluid and organic one, and will shift and change over the course of a student’s undergraduate experience.

To earn a BFA degree at Tufts University, all students must:

• Earn a minimum of 120 credits.
• Complete 76 credits of studio coursework. (Nine courses must meet the Studio Level Requirement detailed below.)
• Complete 42 non-studio credits of coursework.
• Satisfy the residency requirement of eight full-time semesters, according to the stipulations outlined in The Bulletin.

Studio Level Requirement (Beginning Fall 2025)

For additional guidance in navigating SMFA’s open curriculum, the SMFA faculty developed a new Studio Level requirement for undergraduate students matriculating in Fall 2025 and later.

In addition to the above overall studio credit progress, students must complete the following number of introductory, intermediate, and advanced level studio coursework by certain semesters to graduate with the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. These courses can be completed in any medium of your choosing.

• 3 Introductory Level BFA Studio courses by the end of their second semester of study
• 3 Intermediate Level, including Int/Adv Level and Open to All Level, courses by the end of their 6th semester of study
• 3 Advanced Level courses in their last three semesters of study (semesters 6-8 for BFA students). 

Advising Understanding BFA Graduation Requirements

BFA Course Requirements