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The Combined Degree (BFA + BA/BS) program offers you a unique opportunity to simultaneously pursue your academic and artistic interests by earning two degrees in five years.

Your first year at SMFA is full of newness. You're acclimating to a new school, new schedule, new city, and new friends. We know it's a big change, which is why we work to help you adapt and connect to the academic and support resources of both campuses.

Before your first semester starts, you’ll begin working with your Advising Deans. They are here to learn about your experiences and goals and connect you to the courses, faculty, and studio and academic resources that support your ambitions on both campuses.

While many students come to SMFA with a strong technical foundation in one or more mediums and are eager to jump into more conceptually and technically challenging studio courses, other students are choosing studio courses in their first year that will help them to build foundational skills in the mediums of their choosing or introduce them to methods of making they’ve never explored before.

At the end of each semester at SMFA, you’ll participate in a Review Board where you’ll work with faculty and peers to discuss your developing body of research and work as a whole to help clarify your next steps.

In addition to taking studio courses on the SMFA campus, Combined Degree students will explore a wide range of academic departments and classes as they complete the degree requirements for the BA/BS degree on the Medford/Somerville campus. Students are encouraged to identify a course of study that complements or enhances their artistic practice. 

Throughout your four-to-five years at SMFA at Tufts, you’ll build on the relationship with your Advising Deans, BA/BS major advisor, and faculty mentors as they help to track your degree progression and make sure your path through the program meets your individual needs and interests. You will be connected with artistic and academic opportunities to encourage your development through the program. You can choose to take advantage of a wide range of study abroad opportunities, including Tufts' two Studio Art Study Abroad programs, as well as build professional experience with the assistance of our career services staff who are specialists in the arts.

Suggested Semester Course Load for First-Year Combined Degree Students

First-Year Writing Requirement 3 credits
Language/Culture course 3-4 credits
Course in a possible BA/BS major field, or other course of interest 3-5 credits
Studio Art Courses at SMFA 8 credits
Total 17-20 credits
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