Our History

For over three decades, Tufts Gordon Institute has provided students with the knowledge and skills they need to lead teams and organizations with profound purpose. Our graduate and undergraduate engineering management, technology management, innovation & management, and entrepreneurship programs are taught by faculty who have excelled in industry, have started and run their own companies, and know what it takes to succeed in the business world.

We focus on technology leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship—in classes, hands-on projects, and real-world experiences—to provide students the practical leadership tools necessary to develop innovative ideas that will make a difference in the world. Our alumni have become leaders in an array of public, private, and non-profit companies representing all industries from biotech to finance to technology R&D.

In 1992, visionary and inventor Dr. Bernard Gordon founded Tufts Gordon Institute as the first school dedicated to teaching engineering and technical leadership. Throughout his career, Gordon frequently advocated for more thorough training of engineers and, in particular, for encouraging greater leadership capabilities in engineers. With the establishment of Tufts Gordon Institute came the first of our graduate degrees, the MS in Engineering Management, which follows in Dr. Gordon's desire to instill leadership capabilities and qualities in engineers. In 2007, the MS in Engineering Management program won the National Academy of Engineering Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education. In 2017, we launched the MS in Innovation & Management program which aims to instill the skillset necessary for the next generation of leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Recently, in 2024, the MS in Technology Management & Leadership was launched; a program focused on educating tech sector professionals in leadership so that they can become leaders of the future. 

Founded in (?), the Derby Entrepreneurship Center (DEC) at Tufts is the University's hub for entrepreneurship. DEC strives to develop an entrepreneurshial mindset among Tufts students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the wider Boston community. DEC runs the Tufts $100k New Ventures Competition every Spring semester; the flagship venture competition at Tufts, and many other exciting events and opportunities! DEC is also the home of the Entreneurship minor at Tufts, the most popoular minor on campus!

Founded in 2024(or 2023?), the Auster Center for Applied Innovation Research (AIR) is dedicated to advancing our understanding of how innovation canbe fostered, translated, and applied to do good in the world. This is accomplished through supporting and funding Tufts faculty and students to conduct research to explore novel ways to solve problems and acieve impact through applied innovation. 

In the midst of 2020, Tufts Gordon Institute moved all of our facilities to the brand-new Joyce Cummings Center building at Tufts University. This beautiful modern building stands at the corner of the university and MBTA access to Boston, housing not only Tufts Gordon Institute but many classrooms, event spaces, labs, and cooperative learning spaces. Watch the video below to get a glimpse into the JCC: