When you choose to study at Brandeis, your home base will be our 235-acre campus in Waltham, Massachusetts. But you'll also find yourself in a special metropolitan area with other world-class cities at your fingertips.
The center of Boston is just ten miles from Waltham. Known to locals as the "Hub of the Universe," Boston offers some of the most sophisticated cultural, educational, social, and business opportunities available anywhere in the United States. Across the Charles River from Boston is Cambridge. Best known for its academics, this is also a top choice among IBS students as the place to live and visit.
Boston
Boston has been called one of the most livable cities in America. This reputation is enjoyed by 600,000 residents in Boston's twenty diverse neighborhoods - and another 3.5 million in the wider metropolitan area - as well as 250,000 students in its nearly three dozen colleges and universities. So, what exactly is this reputation based on?
Is it that, despite its rich history, Boston remains a youthful city, and a center of contemporary culture? Is it the combination of skyscrapers in the financial district with brick row houses in the Back Bay? Or is it trendy shopping on Newbury Street, or bustling ethnic neighborhoods such as the Italian North End and Chinatown?
Boston has countless historic sites (many connected by the "Freedom Trail" in the center of the city) and world-class cultural institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the John F. Kennedy Library, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Those in search of nightlife can visit the many clubs scattered throughout the city. And for sports fans, Boston has the baseball, football, basketball, soccer and hockey.
Public transportation allows IBS students to reach most parts of the city. Boston is also the gateway to the many vacation opportunities of New England, from sandy beaches on the Atlantic coast to nearby mountains for hiking and skiing. The bottom line: No matter what IBS students are looking for in Boston, this city has it all.
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Waltham
No stranger to innovation, Waltham gave birth to the Industrial Revolution with the invention of America's first power loom. This reputation thrives today: Waltham is part of the "Route 128" complex, one of the nation's major centers of innovation in investment management, computers, telecommunications, and biotechnology.
Nostalgically known as the "The Watch City" for the Waltham Watch Company of the 1800's, Waltham offers students several affordable residential neighborhoods within walking distance of Brandeis. Like Cambridge and Boston, Waltham is situated on the banks of the Charles River, where students can also enjoy walks and canoe trips. A train line connects Brandeis and Waltham directly to Boston and Cambridge.
Waltham's central business district has undergone a wave of renewal. Its heart today is an area locals call "Restaurant Row," one of the Boston area's best collections of small, inventive restaurants that offer foods from every corner of the world, a brewpub, and more.
Information about Waltham:
Cambridge
Cambridge is the home of Harvard University, MIT, and many high tech and biotech companies. No other city in the nation can claim to have cultivated more U.S. presidents and Nobel laureates. Due to its stimulating academic environment, Cambridge has become a magnet for young people seeking opportunity and fun. The city has:
- Largest concentration of biotechnology companies on the East Coast
- Over 200 software companies
- 448 restaurants representing thirty cultures
- 30% of the workforce has a professional or graduate degree.
- More bookstores per capita than any other city in America
- The birthplace of the first analog computer, the Internet, and the first instant photograph
Most IBS students visit Cambridge often, and some choose to live there. There are many eclectic neighborhoods, ranging from those with modest rents to very expensive ones. North Cambridge and neighboring Somerville are especially popular with Brandeis students because they are connected by a short train ride to the campus. Cambridge is also a "walker's city," with easily accessible shopping and cultural attractions.
Information about Cambridge:
