Academic Success Site and Videos:

First, please take a look at the Best Practice Guide for GBA that was created just for GBA students.

Also reference the below videos for excellent tips on preparing for case study courses, preparing for quantitative courses, reading strategies, writing strategies, and how to survive and thrive in graduate school.











Group Work Resources:

Group work is a guaranteed part of every course. Please review these helpful documents to prepare you to start off on the right foot and create the best work products with your teams.

StAAR Center:

The StAAR Center values the diverse educational and cultural experiences of every student and promotes access to an inclusive and collaborative learning environment. As a team and as individuals, they foster students’ educational growth and awareness, self-advocacy and resiliency as it relates to their Tufts academic experience and beyond. Their initiatives engage students, faculty and staff to proactively support the learning needs of the Tufts community.

  • Academic Success Coaching – One-to-one academic success coaching is available through the StAAR Center. Access is through TutorFinder
  • Academic Skills Workshops – Designed to help students adjust to the demands of graduate school. Topics include time management and planning, strategies for reading and note taking, managing procrastination, test prep, and test taking, plus many others.
  • Writing Support – One-on-one writing support is available for graduate-level writing projects such as seminar papers, capstones, and more. 
  • Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities – Please see the Academic Accommodations page for more information.

All of this and more can be found on the StAAR Center’s website here.

The StAAR Center also maintains a Canvas resources page, which all students have access to. You can find it here.

Resource Repository:

We have compiled a list of helpful resources and tools for students to assist them with studying, time management, writing, and stress mitigation. Please review the below self-help tools and resources. If you are struggling in a class, you should contact the faculty member directly for assistance. Your student success advisor is also always available as a resource.

Tool (linked) Description
CMHS Self-Help Tools Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS) has provided a list of helpful information about common mental health topics and self-help tools.
Daily Schedule Template Break down your day into manageable chunks. It is helpful to limit time blocks to 2 hours or less to avoid losing focus.
Major Assignment Course Planner Take a look at the syllabus and break down the major assignments (this is called “chunking”). Define what is needed for each large task and then break them out into the calendar so that you accomplish a bit each week. This will allow you to stay on top of assignments and plan ahead.
Syllabus Outline Template Similar to the major assignment course planner, look at the syllabus and break down the assignments for each week (change the dates on the template).
Reading and Writing Strategies This document aligns to the third and fourth videos above
10 Tips for Reading in Grad School Ten tips for tackling a substantial reading course load in graduate school.
Critical Reading Toward Critical Writing Document provides information on what is critical reading and how to read documents to support critical thinking and writing.
Time Management, Efficiency, and Enjoyment This document aligns to the final video above
12 Tips for Surviving and Thriving Grad. School 12 tips for acing academics and balancing your workload and other demands.
9 Simple Steps to Boost Productivity An article outlining 9 simple steps for getting out of a rut.
How to Stop Procrastinating An article about the science behind procrastination and how to stop it.
Skimming From the American Psychological Association, an article about how to tackle the ever-growing amount of readings required in grad school.
Covey’s Time Management Grid An article about the Covey time management grid and how to effectively organize your priorities.
Read and Write Read and Write is a literacy software that helps students with studying, writing, reading, and research skills. Some of the features include text-to-speech, a dictionary, a translator, speech input, and highlighting. The software has many built-in videos to help users review the functionalities available.
SensusAccess SensusAccess is a service that allows students to change the format of files (such as scanned PDFs into accessible PDFs) to enable text to speech.