Suffolk University

Located right in the heart of downtown Boston, Suffolk University gives its students unparalleled access to the city and all it offers.

Our college green is the Boston Common. We are steps from dozens of historic sites like the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, and the Massachusetts State House. We have no real boundaries to our campus—Boston and Suffolk blend together. That means our students have incredible access to a wealth of opportunities, whether it’s museums and restaurants or internships and co-ops.

At the same time, we also take pride in being a personal, student-centered school, where faculty and administrators know students by name. We take the time to recognize each student’s promise, figure out what makes him or her tick, and build important mentoring relationships.As we have done since our founding, we strive for one thing at Suffolk: give students the tools they need in order to be successful, smart, and satisfied at whatever they choose to do.

Suffolk University is a talent catalyst that recognizes and develops student potential. Leveraging our location in the heart of Boston, our faculty, staff, and alumni work together to provide a student-centered experience. This diverse community builds on its dedication and excellence in education and scholarship to empower graduates to be successful locally, regionally, and globally.

Suffolk University will be recognized as a dynamic institution that fosters engaged learning, rigorous scholarship, innovative thinking, and community collaboration across disciplines.We will ensure that Suffolk graduates are versatile and prepared for modern society and the new world market. We will provide rich curricula, experiential learning opportunities and professional mentoring through increased collaboration with alumni and community partners.We will recruit, mentor, and support a diverse faculty of teacher-scholars who are passionately committed to preparing our students to be leaders in the global community. We will inspire investment in a Suffolk community that is built on ethical, forward-thinking leadership, teamwork, and cooperation.

Suffolk University is proud to welcome thousands of students from around the world each year to our dynamic campus in downtown Boston, Massachusetts.The students you’ll meet here are looking for something a little different from their college life—because they expect something different of themselves. They take a hands-on approach to exploration and discovery, and put tremendous value in great ideas, critical thinking, creative expression, and courageous innovation.Suffolk graduates go on to change the world—because we tell them every day that they can and because they truly believe it.

Our community is smart, energetic, and passionate about both learning and doing. And they're ready to soak up all the cultural and recreational benefits that living in the heart of Boston offers, whether that means cheering on the Red Sox at Fenway, listening to a chamber orchestra play at Symphony Hall, shopping along Newbury Street, or walking the historic Freedom Trail. 



Suffolk University Diversity Task Force is consistent with Suffolk's origins as a school that expanded educational opportunity. We are all familiar with Gleason Archer's forming this institution in order to "pay forward" support from a mentor. Suffolk University has a proud history of graduating African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and women in its earliest classes. Our mission impels us to continuously make our school more inclusive and more equitable.

Our goal in taking these steps is to make Suffolk an even better institution, to serve as an example for the Boston community, and most importantly, to provide our students with skills that will offer them advantages in a diverse world.

Suffolk University grew from humble beginnings in the Roxbury parlor of Gleason L. Archer, a young lawyer who had worked his way through high school and college. A chance meeting brought the young graduate together with a benefactor who loaned him money to pursue the study of law, asking only that Archer pass along the favor.

In 1906, Archer opened the Suffolk School of Law, a night school established to “serve ambitious young men who are obliged to work for a living while studying law.” He believed that the growing waves of immigrants arriving in America should be given the educational opportunities that were then reserved for the wealthy few.Building on the promise of its founding, Suffolk University continues to anticipate and respond to the needs of a diverse student body. Through carefully designed curriculum, mentoring, networking, and service learning, the University creates opportunities that help students to meet their goals.

The College of Arts and Sciences now offers programs at the baccalaureate, master, and doctoral levels. The New England School of Art & Design, founded in 1923, became a department within the College in 1996.The Sawyer Business School emphasizes global business practice in undergraduate and graduate programs in business administration, public administration, and health administration. Sawyer also offers continuing education certification programs and an online MBA.

The Law School offers Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degrees. Its expansive curriculum combines a strong academic foundation with expertise in an array of specialty areas. Nationally known faculty and a range of practical experiences provide superior preparation for law practice in the 21st century.