Class of 2022 most diverse in history, receives record-breaking financial aid

The first-year Class of 2022 is the most diverse in university history, according to an Aug. 29 Tufts Now article.

Of domestic students in the Class of 2022, 37 percent identify as students of color, compared to 32 percent of students in the Class of 2021.Five percent of the students identify as black, seven percent identify as two or more races, eight percent identify as Hispanic and 17 percent identify as Asian. Furthermore, 202 students identify as first-generation college students. Eleven percent of the class are international students. 

Almost half of the students in the School of Engineering identify as female, reaching near gender parity.

Jianmin Qu, dean of the School of Engineering, noted that last year’s class in the School of Engineering was 44 percent female, while this year’s entering class is 49 percent female. Qu noted this was well above the national average of around 20 percent.

“We are excited and proud to see this growth in the number of new women engineers entering the Class of 2022,"  Qu told the Daily in an email. "It is our hope that our efforts at improving gender diversity in engineering education will result in gender diversity in the workforce, in STEM fields in particular, as our women graduates move on to become successful engineers, leaders, researchers and scholars."

The Class of 2022 received the most financial aid in school history. The total amount of need-based grants was $25.8 million. This increase came with an 3.76 percent increase in tuition and fees from the previous year.

The Class of 2022 also includes 95 students enrolled in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts (SMFA), including 53 students enrolled in the BFA + BA/BS combined degree program. 

Furthermore, Tufts’ 1+4 Fellowship program, a gap year of community service led by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, enrolled 20 students, who will matriculate after serving abroad or in the United States.

Karen Richardson, dean of admissions and enrollment management, told the Daily in an email that the university is committed to recruiting a diverse class, like the Class of 2022. She also noted that the diversity of the first-year class will add to the Tufts’ experience.

“The Class of 2022, based on their experiences growing up in other parts of the world, having attended different types of schools, and having had different life experiences, will add to the rich fabric that already exists here on campus," Richardson said. "We’re proud of this class. It represents all that is good about Tufts, and we’re excited to see how our newest community members learn and grow during their time here."