College Highlights

Brandeis University

From the Fiske Guide: 

Founded in 1948 by members of the American Jewish community who sought to expand access to education, Brandeis is an elite institution seeking top students of all faiths and backgrounds. Academic specialties range from the natural sciences to music and Near Eastern and Judaic studies. Has one of the top programs in neuroscience at a midsized research university. Competes with Tufts in the Boston area. 

Brandeis University, founded to provide educational opportunities to those facing discrimination, has always had a reputation for intense progressive thought. Now it’s being recognized as a rising star among research institutions, hosting more than 30 on-campus research centers, and is expanding its experiential- and service-learning offerings. The only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored college in the nation, Brandeis appears to be focusing less on maintaining its Jewish identity and more on attracting a well-rounded, eclectic group of students from all backgrounds. 

Set on a hilltop in a pleasant residential neighborhood nine miles west of Boston, Brandeis’s attractively landscaped 235-acre campus boasts many distinctive buildings. The music building, for example, is shaped like a grand piano; the theater looks like a top hat. The 24-hour Shapiro Campus Center includes a student theater, electronic library, and bookstore. The Shapiro Academic Building houses the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life; the Mandel Center for Jewish Education; conference rooms; and faculty offices. Undergraduates enter the School of Arts and Sciences, which offers more than 40 majors and 50 minors through its departments and interdepartmental programs. About half of the students graduate with double majors. The Brandeis core curriculum is rooted in a commitment to developing strong communication, digital literacy, foreign language, and quantitative-reasoning skills and an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective. Freshmen must take a writing seminar and attend at least one of several Critical Conversation events held throughout the year, in which professors from different disciplines discuss major issues in a moderated setting, in an effort to “model civil discourse.” 

Neuroscience, biochemistry, chemistry, and physics are top-notch programs; economics, biology, business, and psychology enroll the most students. The university caters to premed students with special advisors and access to internships and research opportunities. With the largest faculty in the field outside of Israel, Brandeis is virtually unrivaled in Near Eastern and Judaic studies; Hebrew is a specialty. The program in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies is strong too. A growing number of interdisciplinary programs are becoming increasingly popular, particularly the international and global studies major and the health: science, society, and policy major. 

Fifty-eight percent of classes at Brandeis have fewer than 20 students, and a junior says, “Professors are very accommodating and are good lecturers and discussion leaders.” All incoming freshmen are assigned a student advisor, an academic advisor, and a faculty advisor. “Peer advisors are super cool because they have lived through the Brandeis experience and are truly a wealth of information,” explains an American studies major. 

Rising juniors and first-semester seniors have the opportunity to earn credit through study abroad related to their majors. Forty percent of undergrads take advantage of more than 200 off-campus programs in nearly 60 countries, including two university-run summer programs: an economics program in Copenhagen and a studio art and art history program in Siena, Italy. Undergraduates have numerous opportunities to conduct original research with faculty, and some even publish their work in academic journals. The Justice Brandeis Semester allows groups of 10 to 15 students to earn credits while focusing on topics of personal interest, such as bio-inspired design, ethnographic fieldwork, or mobile app and game development. The linked courses feature fieldwork, internships, or research under faculty supervision. “Brandeisians are friendly!” cheers a sophomore. “Everyone here is very warm and always willing to meet new people.”

Twenty percent hail from foreign nations. Three chapels on campus-Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant-are placed so that the shadow of one never crosses the shadow of another. It’s an architectural symbol that students say reflects the realities of their diverse campus community. Less than half of undergraduates are Jewish. Muslim students, with an enrollment of more than 200, have their own dedicated prayer space, as do followers of Dharmic religions. African Americans make up 5 percent of the student body, Hispanics 8 percent, Asian Americans 14 percent, and multiracial students 4 percent. Social justice is a big emphasis on this progressive campus. “Students care a lot about women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, intersectionality, race relations, and a number of other issues,” explains a theater arts major. 

With one of the highest tuition rates in the country, Brandeis began meeting the full demonstrated financial need of all undergraduates in fall 2019. It also offers merit scholarships averaging $14,500 to qualified students, although there are no athletic awards. Housing options include traditional quadrangle dormitories, where freshmen and sophomores live in singles, doubles, or triples. Juniors and seniors can opt for singles, suites, or apartment-style housing. “Housing on campus improves as you get older,” one student observes. Freshmen and sophomores are guaranteed housing, while upperclassmen play the lottery each spring. Seventy-six percent of students live on campus, and the rest find affordable off-campus housing nearby. 

“The social life is lively, with on-campus productions, events, and activities predominantly occupying students’ free time,” says an anthropology major. Brandeis hosts more than 250 student clubs; some of the largest include the Waltham Group (a community service organization), the Campus Activities Board, and Triskelion (an LGBTQ+ social group). The unofficial fraternities and sororities that have colonized at Brandeis are clamoring for recognition from the school but hardly dominate the social scene. Weekends often feature live entertainment at the on-campus Cholmondeley’s Coffee House (a.k.a. Chums) and small dorm parties. Annual events include ’DEIS Impact, a social justice festival; the Springfest outdoor concert; and the 24-Hour Musical, in which students learn and produce an entire musical in just 24 hours (“It’s a total disaster, but it’s hysterical,” says a sophomore). Also well attended are the homecoming soccer match and carnival and the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. The possibilities for off-campus diversion are nearly infinite, thanks to the proximity of Boston and Cambridge, which are accessible by the free Brandeis shuttle bus or a nearby commuter train. (

Few private universities have come as far as Brandeis so quickly, evolving from the bare 235-acre site of a failed veterinary/medical school to a modern research university of more than 100 buildings, a $1 billion endowment, and ever-growing academic opportunities. At the same time, it has cultivated a highly supportive atmosphere. One student sums it up this way: “Brandeis is a haven for students who are seeking academic challenge and an environment where social justice is revered, where they can hold leadership roles and collaborate with professors.”