The Fletcher School is now offering a graduate certificate in business for juniors and seniors at Tufts. The program is designed to equip students with skills in finance, marketing and supply chain management, among other competencies. It offers a unique opportunity for undergraduates to earn a graduate-level certification while complementing a wide variety of majors.
To receive the certificate, students must complete four courses: three core courses focused on problem solving fundamentals and one elective. These courses count toward the 120 credits required for an undergraduate degree and are included in regular tuition at no additional cost.
Undergraduates may begin pursuing the certificate as early as fall 2025 or spring 2026.
Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fletcher's dean of global business, explained that the aim of this new program is to better equip students for professional careers.
“We have been developing what I would say is a uniquely Tufts approach to business education at Fletcher, which is to connect business intelligence with what we call contextual intelligence,” Chakravorti said. “What I mean by that is helping people who are preparing to be professionals recognize that business decisions have an enormous impact on decisions that are not in the business area, and vice versa.”
Chakravorti emphasized that the certificate could benefit students across disciplines, including in the sciences and arts.
“You could be a biology major, or you could be an art major, and you could be using your biology major to set up your own bio startup, or you could be an art major and you might want to work in an auction house,” Chakravorti said.
Chakravorti added that the program’s value is heightened by the complexity of today’s job market and economy.
“We find business to be a very powerful set of tools and principles and frameworks to cut through the noise,” Chakravorti said. “It offers you on-ramps into the private sector, whether you want to go into consulting or finance, or start your own business.”
Chakravorti also noted that the certificate could strengthen applications to graduate programs and provide undergraduates with access to Fletcher research and consulting opportunities.
“We have a number of major research projects across the school where we typically have large numbers of our students who participate,” Chakravorti said.
Arjun Moogimane, a sophomore studying international relations and quantitative economics, said he is interested in completing the certification.
“It seems like a great opportunity to interact with The Fletcher School and take specifically international business classes,” Moogimane said.
In a statement to the Daily, Patrick Schena, professor of the practice and director of Tufts’ finance minor, conveyed excitement over the increased emphasis on economics and business at Tufts and Fletcher.
“As a practitioner-academic, my view is that study of economics and business is essential to a well-rounded undergraduate education,” Schena wrote. “This is because both are so deeply integrated into most fields and disciplines.”
Schena further stressed the broader professional value of business knowledge.
“Even a basic understanding of economics and business can add new dimensions to problem-solving and decision-making in one’s chosen field,” Schena wrote. “It can accelerate advancement into managerial roles. It can even offer opportunities for career transitions.”
In addition to allowing undergraduate students to take Fletcher courses at no extra cost, the program is also manageable in terms of time commitment.
“The big benefit is you’re not going to be taking extra time to complete the certificate, [and] you’re not going to be paying more to complete the certificate,” Chakravorti said.
For students like Moogimane who already plan to take Fletcher classes, the additional coursework is relatively light and can be achieved with just a few extra semester hours. However, despite having the certificate advertised in one of his first-year courses, Moogimane questioned how many students actually know about the new certificate.
“I don’t know that a lot of students know about it,” Moogimane said. “I know last year, in my Intro to [International Relations] class, they came and gave a little talk about it and gave an intro to the program. So I don’t know how many other classes they did that in.”
