Lasell University
Newton, Massachusetts
An innovator in education for over 160 years, Lasell is a comprehensive, coeducational University that enrolls more than 1,800 undergraduate students. Lasell complements traditional approaches with active learning experiences—a teaching method the University calls Connected Learning. Lasell University is committed to the idea of learning by doing through internships, service learning, and challenging projects both in and out of the classroom. Easy access to the Greater Boston area also provides unparalleled academic and social opportunities for students.
Founded in 1851 and located just eight miles from downtown Boston, Lasell University is a comprehensive, coeducational, four-year and graduate degree-granting institution of higher education with a unique and innovative approach to the liberal arts, teaching, and professionally focused programs of study.
Get to know Lasell University
College Highlights
Students who attend Lasell University are prepared to establish connections between what they learn in the classroom and what they experience in the real world. They are constantly finding new and different ways to make their college education relevant in a broader social context.
CONNECTED LEARNING SYMPOSIUM
Each semester, Lasell University holds a Connected Learning Symposium that includes presentations, displays, exhibitions, and performances. Launched in the Spring of 2002, the Symposia showcase students’ academic work within a Connected Learning environment. These end-of-semester events gather the Lasell community in celebration of the collaborative accomplishments of students and faculty, helping to further establish the relevance of teaching and learning beyond the walls of the classroom. The week-long Spring symposium culminates with Runway, undergraduate and senior fashion shows.
STUDY ABROAD
Lasell offers students further potential for connecting their classroom experiences to the real world through 75 extensive study abroad programs. Students have studied fashion in places like Paris and St. Petersburg. Business students have enrolled in programs in Ireland and China, while literature and theatre students have studied in London. For students looking to study off-campus and stay Stateside, Lasell offers a semester-long internship program in Washington, D.C.
SERVICE-LEARNING
More than 90 percent of Lasell students complete a credit-bearing service-learning experience through the Center of Community-Based Learning. These experiences connect community service with classroom instruction. Students serve in diverse ways working with the residents in a nearby continuing care community and teaching young children English in Papua-New Guinea.
Lasell University also has several international service learning trips. These “Shoulder to Shoulder” programs are a collection of cultural immersion and service-learning excursions in which Lasell students learn about various social justice issues within a global context. Students live in the style of their host community while learning and working shoulder to shoulder with local partners. Each of the courses consists of approximately 10 to 12 students and two faculty leaders who engage in academic coursework in addition to spending time on the ground.
HONORS PROGRAM
The Honors Program offers an intensive setting for intellectual and social development. It fosters independent thinking, social responsibility, enthusiasm for intellectual inquiry, and appreciation for the power of ideas.
The Honors Program aims to produce interdisciplinary thinkers and problem-solvers with a critical moral sensibility. Students gain the skill to research problems from a number of angles. They develop the leadership strategies to organize action and implement solutions.
ENROLLMENT BY ETHNICITY
Non-U.S. Citizen: 3%
Hispanic/Latinx: 11%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic: 11%
White, non-Hispanic: 63%
Native/Indigenous American or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 0%
Asian, non-Hispanic: 3%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: 0%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic: 3%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown: 6%
THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE AT LASELL UNIVERSITY
Classes at Lasell are capped at 25, which means that there is no crowd to get lost in. In fact, students may even receive personal calls from faculty throughout their freshman year to help keep them on track.
CONNECTED LEARNING
Lasell University complements traditional teaching approaches with active learning experiences. The community is committed to learning by doing through internships, service learning, and challenging projects that link theory with practice.
CORE CURRICULUM
The Core Curriculum guides learning across all majors within Lasell’s unique connected learning environment. With its emphasis on multidisciplinary thinking, ethical reasoning, and problem-solving, the Core provides the basis for the skills and breadth of knowledge students need to succeed in the working world. The Core Curriculum is built on a set of 14 outcomes that are also integrated across courses in all majors. They represent three goals: core intellectual skills, knowledge perspectives, and synthesis & application. Each major culminates with a Capstone and Internship experience connecting the Core with individual department outcomes, skills, and knowledge.
WRITING REQUIREMENT
In each major, students take two Writing-Intensive Courses. The program provides students with the opportunity to develop their writing skills in formats important to their programs of study. For example, Athletic Training and Exercise Science majors learn to write patient progress notes and scientific articles based on their own original research studies; Education majors learn to write lesson plans; and Fashion majors learn to write design statements.
RESEARCH ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
The Research across the Curriculum (RAC) program offers a range of research grant and credit opportunities at every level and in every field of study at Lasell—from the arts and sciences to business and allied health. Through RAC work, students are challenged to demonstrate investigative skills, apply information literacy, and communicate empirical information effectively.
Research Intensive Course Grants provide faculty support to design and implement curricular changes in courses that incorporate new research projects or activities.
At Lasell, students can go from college town to Beantown in 8 minutes. With direct access to thousands of businesses downtown, real-world training is just a short train ride away. Students can intern with top companies such as Bank of America, Northwestern Mutual, Boston Globe Media Partners, Wayfair, New Balance, and Marriott Hotels. Through internships, students can connect what they learn in class with what’s expected of them on the job. Students can travel from the laid-back comfort of campus to the roaring atmosphere of Fenway Park, the cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill, or the seemingly endless storefronts of Back Bay.
LASELL TRADITIONS
True Laser pride knows no bounds. Each spring, students, families, and faculty march through campus in the Torchlight Parade, ending with a ceremony in which the graduating seniors pass their torches to the juniors.
A tradition since 1854, graduating seniors from Lasell leave behind a permanent display of their time spent at the University in the form of a class banner. That’s more than 160 years of history hanging in Lasell’s halls, a powerful reminder of the University’s heritage.
STUDENT LIFE
With 80 percent of the student body residing on campus, the Lasell community is constantly buzzing. Students have instant access to their internships, club meetings, and the championship soccer game right outside their front doors.
There are 70 student-run clubs and organizations, 29 athletic teams to cheer for, and countless prizes to win at the extremely popular Bingo Night.
SCHOOL LOCATION
Located 8 miles from Boston, Lasell’s 50 acre campus is situated between two stops on the MBTA’s Green Line, making direct access to thousands of businesses and real-world training opportunities just a short train ride away.
ATHLETICS
The Lasell University Lasers compete in the NCAA’s Division III Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Lasers have taken home nine GNAC Conference titles in the past six years.
Varsity Teams: Baseball; Basketball (men’s and women’s); Cross-Country (men’s and women’s); Field Hockey; Lacrosse (men’s and women’s); Soccer (men’s and women’s); Softball; Track & Field (men’s and women’s); Volleyball (men’s and women’s)
DEVELOPING STRONG STUDENTS
Inside the classroom, Lasell students dive into industry material in their first year. Outside of the classroom, they construct their résumés and fine-tune their interview skills in the Office of Career Services.
Lasell’s commitment to professional development has a proven rate of success, as 99 percent of surveyed Lasell alumni are employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation!
INTERNSHIPS
In support of its commitment to Connected Learning, Lasell has identified on- and off-campus learning opportunities that effectively link classroom learning with practical experience. Lasell students have enriched their learning experiences by participating in valuable internship opportunities at a wide array of organizations such as (partial list):
- American Repertory Theatre
- Anthropologie
- Best Western International
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MA
- Bose
- Boston Ballet
- Boston Bruins Foundation
- Burberry
- CATZ Physical Therapy
- CBS Radio Boston
- Citizen’s Bank
- Crowne Plaza Hotel Boston
- Dunkin’ Brands, Inc.
- Franklin Park Zoo
- Hill Holliday
- Kiss 108/JAM’N 94.5
- L’Oreal – Lancome
- Lowell Sun
- Massachusetts Life Sciences
- Massachusetts State Police Dive Team
- Michael Kors
- Newton Police Department
- Nordstrom
- Northwestern Mutual
- Providence Bruins
- Puma North America
- Reebok International, Ltd.
- Suffolk Superior Court
- TD Bank
- TJX
- WBZ TV
- Worcester Sharks
Admission
TEST SCORES
Optional
FRESHMAN PROFILE
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
25th Percentile: 490 | 75th Percentile: 590
SAT Math
25th Percentile: 490 | 75th Percentile: 590
ACT Composite
25th Percentile: 20 | 75th Percentile: 25
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The Office of Undergraduate Admission at Lasell University holistically reviews and selects from its applicants those students it deems best-qualified to benefit from a course of study at the University. Many factors are considered: scholastic record, evaluations of the applicant submitted by faculty or counselors at the secondary school or college/university, extracurricular involvement, personal statement or essay, and choice of academic program at Lasell. It is also suggested that applicants arrange an interview, which is weighed in the application review process.
Lasell University Undergraduate Admission Requirements
Tuition & Cost
Tuition: $37,500
Fees: $1,500
Room & Board: $16,000
Aid
Candidates may also take advantage of Lasell’s membership with the Common Application, and the Office of Undergraduate Admission will waive the application fee for all applications completed and submitted online.
Lasell administers a wide range of grants, loans, and work-study assistance, as well as a number of merit scholarships. Lasell University also asks that applicants submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after October 1. To learn more, please visit Office of Student Financial Planning.
Contact Lasell University
Contact Admissions
lasell.edu/admissions
(617) 243-2225
info@lasell.edu
Campus Location
1844 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton, MA 02466