Which has smaller classes overall, Columbia University or Tufts University?

Tufts generally offers the smaller-class feel overall for undergraduates. Its undergraduate enrollment is much smaller than Columbia’s, and a larger share of its teaching is organized around discussion-based courses, seminars, labs, and accessible faculty relationships.

Columbia also has many small seminars, particularly in the Core Curriculum and in upper-level major courses. Core classes are intentionally discussion-oriented and commonly include a professor-led seminar format, so Columbia can provide close reading, debate, and sustained interaction with classmates in those settings.

The difference is that Columbia has a larger university structure and more large introductory lectures, especially in popular subjects and preprofessional pathways. Those lectures often have smaller discussion sections, but the overall experience can still feel less intimate than at Tufts. At Tufts, introductory courses can certainly be large too, but the campus and academic culture tend to make it easier to build recognizable relationships with professors earlier.

For a student whose priority is consistently small, conversational classes rather than access to a large research-university environment, Tufts is the more natural match. Columbia is compelling for someone who values the Core’s seminar experience and is comfortable balancing it with a bigger, faster-paced academic setting.