Tufts University Employer Newsletter — July 2024: Arts Edition

Dear Employer Partners,

We hope you survived the summer heat wave! In this month’s newsletter, we highlight our Arts, Communications, & Media career community and our partnership with the School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts (SMFA). The SMFA offers BFA and Combined Degree (BFA+BA/BS) undergraduate programs, as well as graduate and non-degree programs, with areas of study that run the gamut from painting and sculpture to performance to virtual reality.

Students work with faculty across two campuses that together encompass almost 450,000 square feet of classroom, library, and studio space. The school is closely connected with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and part of Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences. Graduates go out into the world as highly skilled scholar-artists ready to make a difference. We hope you will consider hiring our student artists!

Sincerely,

Employer Relations Team
Supporting the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and The School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts

Meet Katie Sullivan, Career Advisor for Arts, Communications & Media

My name is Katie Sullivan and I oversee the arts, media and communications career community at the Tufts Career Center.  This means I get to work closely with the students attending Tufts’ art school, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA). I love working with SMFA students. They are passionate and creative outside-the-box thinkers. The SMFA prides itself on its long-standing history and uniqueness. There are no majors and no letter grades. 

Free from the constraints of traditional majors or a rigid curriculum, students have space to experiment and explore.  This is one of the many reasons our SMFA graduates are known for being flexible self-starters who can thrive in ambiguity.  The SMFA also offers a highly-selective 5-year combined degree program, where students are able to combine their BFA with a BA or BS — a combination that yields both academic and creative skill sets.

We look forward to partnering with employers this coming academic year and hope that you find the information provided in this newsletter helpful to learn more about Tufts talent in our School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.

Katie Sullivan, Assistant Director, Tufts Career Center

Arts, Communications & Media Career Community

School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts (SMFA) — Curriculum Overview

SMFA offers an open curriculum design where students do not declare majors; rather, they work directly with their academic advisors and faculty to make a curriculum tailor-made to support them in their art practice while preparing them for their goals beyond school.

Students are able to explore various artforms and mediums from animation, installation, ceramics, sound, and visual and material studies. Students have access to various studios and labs to put their learning into practice and to have support of faculty, staff, and mentors.  

The SMFA also offers both a combined degree program as well as a Master of Fine Arts degree and other graduate degrees. The SMFA’s combined degree program leads to both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree—a combination that yields academic and creative skill sets in our graduates. The MFA degree program offers a studio-based curriculum that emphasizes advanced interdisciplinary practice, creative collaboration, and rigorous academic discourse.

The school serves both undergraduate and graduate students in the following areas:

  • Animation
  • Ceramics
  • Digital Media
  • Drawing
  • Film & Video
  • Graphic Arts
  • Installation
  • Metals
  • Painting
  • Performance
  • Photography
  • Print & Paper
  • Sculpture
  • Sound
  • Virtual Reality
  • Visual & Material Studies

Learn more about SMFA programs and courses here.

2024-2025 Preview of Employer Engagement Events

We have an exciting lineup of employer-related events for SMFA students this coming year.   Our yearly signature event, Portfolio Review Day, is held every April and brings fine artists and employers to SMFA campus to review student portfolios.  We also host an annual employer tabling event in the fall (JET Day) and this year we’re excited to partner with our engineering community for our first-ever Design Networking Night in November.  If you’d like additional information about any of these events, please contact Sarah Reinbrecht, Asst. Director, Employer Relations at sarah.reinbrecht@tufts.edu.

  • Design Networking Night (for Creatives & Engineers), Thursday, November 7, 6 – 8 pm, Tufts Medford campus – This event is for employers and alumni to share career pathway and industry insights and also provide more information about organizations, their internships and jobs, and ways for students to learn about the range of opportunities for creatives and engineers in the Design industry sector.
  • J.E.T Day – Jumbo Employer Thursdays for the School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Thursday, October 17, 11 am – 2 pm, SMFA on the Fenway in Boston — This is a tabling event where employers can connect with students, showcase organizations, and highlight opportunities for students in the arts.  Space is limited to 5-6 employers, so if you are interested in joining us, please act quickly.
  • Arts, Communication, and Media Networking Night, Wednesday, March 26, 6 – 8 pm, Tufts Medford campus — For students across the School of Arts & Sciences and the SMFA at Tufts to hear about industries and career pathways. We will send out additional details via our employer newsletter for those interested in joining.     
  • SMFA Portfolio Day, Thursday, April 10, 2 – 5 pm, SMFA on the Fenway in Boston — We offer a Portfolio Day during the spring semester to connect our undergraduate art students with employers and alumni that are willing to provide constructive feedback on their artist statements, samples of artwork, and their general branding and presentation skills. Students and employers have found the event beneficial for learning about the strengths of our students as well as for employers to essentially meet and pre-interview students for future opportunities for internships and full-time roles.   

SMFA Student Spotlights

For Julie Francois, it’s not unusual for images from the past to resonate in the present. A senior at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, Francois works in a variety of mediums, including photography, graphic arts, printmaking, and painting, to explore Black history and the inherited legacies that can shape individual identities.

Her focus on archival material began with a search through old family photos during her sophomore year at Tufts, and blossomed into an exploration of the Tufts archives, searching for photos that could represent the experiences of Black Jumbos. “I started to see how archival material could unite people of color and unite people across generations,” Francois explains.

Learn more about the the artwork that now hangs in the Africana Center, the interests that drive Francois’s artmaking, and the importance of representing Black experiences in art. 

Leyla Mandel, BFA + BA ‘26, completed the Summer Scholars Program in the summer of 2023. Mandel’s project, a documentary about fishermen in Urla, Turkey, took her all the way to the boats of the fishermen in Turkey and all the way back to Boston and Medford to edit her film. Along the way, she deepened her understanding of the Turkish economy and climate change.

In the Summer Scholars Program, students are supervised by a faculty member of their choosing. Mandel chose to work with Tina Wasserman, Senior Lecturer in Visual and Material Studies. “The resulting film that Leyla made far exceeded my expectations,” says Wasserman. “With her expressive camera work and her deeply observational style, she has made a truly beautiful and meaningful film that encompasses numerous timely issues including migration, family histories, sustainability in food economies and so much more.”

Read more about Mandel’s project here.

Fall 2024 In-Person Career Fair on Friday, September 27th

We are thrilled to be hosting an in-person Career Fair again following our successful fairs this past year. We will be welcoming up to 200 employers across various industries in the Tufts Gantcher Center. Lunch will be provided.

Registration Fees for Fall 2024 In-Person Career Fair:  

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT of $50.00 for those who register by August 5th, 2024

Learn more and register here!

New Assistant Director — Meet Sarah Reinbrecht

I am joining the Tufts Employer Relations team as the Assistant Director, Employer Relations. Before Tufts, I worked at Colorado College as a Career Consultant. In that role, I worked with students and employers focusing on Business and Technology opportunities. In addition to overseeing various recruiting events, I planned and implemented networking and upskilling events to further engage employers and alumni.

I received both my Master’s in Public Administration and my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies from Clark University. I am excited to be back in Massachusetts, and I look forward to engaging employers as a member of the Tufts Employer Relations team.

I will be working with the Arts, Communications & Media, Education, Nonprofit & Social Impact, and the Finance, Consulting, Business & Entrepreneurship career communities and look forward to working with employers in those sectors. You can reach me via email at sarah.reinbrecht@tufts.edu to set-up a time to meet with me.

🗞 Tufts in the News

Highlighted articles about Tufts University:

📖 What We’re Reading

 Employer Resources

Team Contact Information by Industry

If you are interested in connecting with Tufts Career Center, please send us an email. We will respond to you as quickly as possible and look forward to hearing from you. Our staff members support undergraduate and graduate students and alumni in the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the School of Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts only.

Please check out our Employer Relations website for all information including policies (e.g. offers to students) and other great information about engaging with Tufts University.

Sue Atkins, Associate Director, Employer Relations

  • Healthcare, Life Sciences, & Environmental Science
  • Engineering, Technology & Physical Sciences
  • Sports & Leisure
  • Government, Politics, International Affairs, & Law
  • Partnership Programs @ Tufts

Sarah Reinbrecht, Assistant Director, Employer Relations

  • Non-Profit, Education, & Social Justice
  • Consulting, Finance, Entrepreneurship, & Business
  • Arts, Entertainment, Communications, & Media (Creative Careers)

Willa Mayo, Recruitment Coordinator, Employer Relations

  • Main point of contact for Employer Relations Team
  • Assisting with virtual events, interviews, job/internship/co-op postings
  • Career Fair Events
  • Handshake Questions
  • Newsletter Content & Distribution
By Willa Mayo
Willa Mayo Recruiting Coordinator, Employer Relations
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