School of Medicine

Graduate Programs Accessibility Services

The Office of Graduate Student Services (OGSS) coordinates accommodations for students at the School of Medicine who are enrolled in the following programs:

  • Master of Public Health
  • Physician Assistant
  • MS in Biomedical Sciences
  • Doctor of Physical Therapy
  • Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Our work centers on coordinating reasonable accommodations that ensure equal access, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination by removing unnecessary institutional barriers that uniquely impact students with disabilities, while upholding essential academic standards, technical requirements, and program integrity.

How to Request Accommodations

We have a centralized online process for requesting academic accommodations. All students must submit accommodation requests through our secure portal:

Submit Your Accommodation Request

This portal is the only method for submitting new, continuing, or temporary accommodation requests.

The Accommodation Process

Our process is grounded in individualized assessment and engaging in our interactive process.

  • Begin by completing the online request form. This helps us understand your disability‑related barriers and the accommodations you are seeking.

  • After submitting your request, you will schedule a meeting with the Director of Student Affairs. This conversation allows us to:

    • Understand how your disability impacts you in the academic environment
    • Identify functional limitations at the intersection of your disability and program requirements
    • Discuss potential accommodations
    • Review essential course or program standards
    • Determine what is logical, reasonable, and necessary to ensure equal access

  • Students must upload supporting documentation directly through our secured portal. When available, documentation can be submitted prior to your meeting; in some cases, it may be uploaded afterwards based on the outcome of the interactive process. 

    Documentation may include:

    • Evaluations or reports from licensed providers
    • Prior accommodation determinations from another institution
    • Diagnostic statements or treatment summaries
    • Other materials that help establish disability and functional limitations

    Documentation is one part of a holistic review. We prioritize your lived experience, professional judgment, and the academic context your experiencing.

Understanding the Purpose of Accommodations

Accommodations exist to ensure that students with disabilities can:

  • Fully engage and participate in the same academic activities and campus experiences as their peers
  • Access the same information shared with all students
  • Demonstrate knowledge in ways that do not disadvantage them due to disability
  • Have the same opportunity to achieve

Accommodations remove disability‑related barriers; they do not:

  • Reduce academic standards
  • Alter essential program requirements
  • Guarantee academic success
  • Serve as therapeutic interventions
  • Replace personal strategies or responsibilities

Our goal is to ensure equal access, not to exempt students from expectations held for all learners.

Documentation Guidelines

Documentation should come from a qualified professional and describe:

  • Diagnostic information
  • Current functional limitations
  • Expected duration or stability
  • Relevant treatment or interventions
  • Recommended accommodations

Students may upload documentation for any disability category, including:

  • Attention‑related disabilities
  • Learning disabilities
  • Speech and language‑based disabilities
  • Chronic health conditions
  • Mental health conditions
  • Hearing impairments
  • Visual impairments
  • Physical disabilities

You can submit an accommodation request even if you don’t have documentation yet. We’ll talk through what may be needed during your interactive process meeting. Lack of documentation should not prevent you from seeking support. Submit your request and meet with us. We’re here to help you through every step.

Requesting Additional or Updated Accommodations

Students who have previously been approved for accommodations and wish to request additional or modified accommodations must submit a supplemental request through the online portal.

View Online Portal

Our Mission

The OGSS Office of Student Affairs fosters a vibrant, inclusive community by providing holistic support, cultivating a positive culture, and serving as a centralized resource for students across all TUSM Grad Programs. 

 We meet students where they are, connecting them to opportunities, resources, programs, and services that enhance their experience outside the classroom while aligning efforts across OGSS offices to deliver a seamless student affairs experience. 

The Office of Student Affairs challenges and supports graduate students to: 

  • lead with resilience,  
  • build meaningful connections, and  
  • pursue their goals with purpose 

We meet students where they are and align resources, programs, and services to deliver a seamless and empowering experience throughout their journey at Tufts and beyond.

Our Approach to Accommodations

We follow a three‑step, linear decision‑making process:

  1. Establish disability: Identify physical or mental impairments and related functional limitations.
  2. Determine whether the requested accommodation is logical, reasonable, and necessary: Assess whether it removes an arbitrary institutional barrier and supports equal access.
  3. Evaluate reasonability within the academic context: Ensure the accommodation does not fundamentally alter essential requirements.

This process ensures fairness, consistency, and alignment with federal disability law and higher‑education best practices.

Documentation Guidelines by Disability Category

Documentation is one part of a holistic review that includes your lived experience, functional limitations, and the academic context. Students may upload documentation after their interactive process meeting.

Below are general guidelines for the types of documentation that may be helpful.

  • Documentation may include:

    • A neuropsychological or psycho‑educational evaluation describing history, diagnosis, functional limitations, and recommended accommodations
    • A diagnostic report from a qualified evaluator including:
      • Evaluator credentials
      • Diagnostic statement
      • Diagnostic methodology
      • Current functional limitations
      • Expected progression or stability
      • Past or current accommodations, services, or medications
    • Cognitive testing results (if available)

    If you do not currently have documentation, you may still submit a request. We will discuss next steps during your interactive process meeting.

  • Documentation may include:

    • A neuropsychological or psycho‑educational evaluation including history, diagnosis, functional limitations, and recommended accommodations
    • A diagnostic report from a qualified evaluator including:
      • Evaluator credentials
      • Diagnostic statement
      • Diagnostic methodology
      • Current functional limitations
      • Expected progression or stability
      • Past or current accommodations, services, or medications
    • Cognitive or academic testing results (if available)

    If you do not currently have documentation, you may still submit a request.

  • Examples include diabetes, asthma, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, allergies, migraines, sleep conditions, cancer, and other chronic medical conditions.

    Documentation may include:

    • A diagnostic statement from a licensed clinical professional describing:
      • Diagnosis and severity
      • Symptoms
      • Expected duration
      • Functional limitations
      • Treatment plan and frequency
      • Recommended accommodations
    • Cognitive or academic testing results (if relevant)

  • Examples include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions.

    Documentation may include:

    • A diagnostic report from a licensed clinical professional including:
      • Client history
      • DSM diagnosis
      • Severity and symptoms
      • Functional limitations
      • Diagnostic procedures
      • Treatment plan
      • Recommended accommodations
    • Cognitive or academic testing results (if available)

  • Documentation may include:

    • Most recent audiogram
    • Diagnostic statement describing:
      • Etiology
      • Type and severity of hearing loss (with and without assistive devices)
      • Functional limitations
      • Recommended accommodations
    • Speech recognition threshold or amplification device information (if available)

  • Documentation may include:

    • Evaluation report including measurements, visual fields, and acuity (with or without correction)
    • Diagnostic statement describing etiology, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment
    • Additional measurements such as phorias, fusional ranges, depth perception, or accommodation (if available)

  • Documentation may include:

    • A diagnostic statement from a licensed clinical professional describing:
      • Diagnosis and severity
      • Symptoms
      • Expected duration
      • Functional limitations
      • Treatment plan
      • Recommended accommodations
    • Information about mobility devices (if applicable)
    • Cognitive or academic testing results (if relevant)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • You may still submit an accommodation request. During your interactive process meeting, we will help determine whether documentation is needed and discuss next steps. If an outside evaluation is appropriate, we can provide referral information.

  • Students seeking accommodations must provide documentation when needed to support the individualized assessment. Documentation is uploaded directly through the online portal.

  • We consider multiple sources of information, including:

    • Documentation from qualified professionals
    • Records of past accommodations (IEP, 504 Plan, prior institutions, testing agencies)
    • Other materials described in the guidelines above

    If you’re unsure what to provide, submit your request, schedule your meeting, and ask us. We’re here to support you.

  • Documentation is required, and additional documentation may be requested when needed to clarify disability, functional limitations, or the connection between the disability and the requested accommodation. These decisions are made on a case‑by‑case basis during the interactive process.

  • Documentation is confidential and maintained separately from academic records. OGSS staff are mandatory reporters for disclosures of sexual assault or harm to self or others. Students may choose to describe disability impacts without sharing details they prefer to keep private.

    Only the approved accommodations, not diagnostic information or documentation, are shared with faculty or staff who have a legitimate need to know in order to implement those accommodations.

  • Documentation helps establish disability, understand functional limitations, and inform reasonable accommodation decisions.

  • Documentation should reflect your current experience of disability. In most cases, documentation within the last five years is appropriate. If a condition is progressive or fluctuating, updated documentation may be required.