Brand Themes
Differentiating Simmons
These themes are at the core of everything we do:
- Preparation for Thriving Careers
- Fostering Lifelong Connection and Community
- Developing Service-Oriented Leaders
- Advancing Women and Gender Equity
- Offering Opportunities in Boston and Beyond
Themes, Proof Points, and Examples
These themes, proof points, and examples are key to writing in the Simmons Voice. As you approach writing content for Simmons, choose the themes and proof points which fit your messaging goals the best. Not every piece needs to represent all the themes, and should be used in service of reaching your audience and getting your key message(s) or call to action across.
Preparation for Thriving Careers
Thriving is a concept that represents a holistic approach to career and life. We work as our whole selves, find meaning in our work, and are confident in tackling challenges because we feel prepared by our education and supported by our mentors, faculty, and alumnae/i network. Thriving means that a Simmons education allows you to advance your career, increase your earning potential, gain valuable skills, and make important connections, while contributing to your community and those around you, all the way up to a global scale.
Proof Points
- Professional, supportive, and highly engaged professorship and faculty at graduate and undergraduate levels.
- Top-ranking programs in library science and social work, alongside a broad range of professional and liberal arts degrees.
- Pass rates well above the national average for nursing, nutrition, and physical therapy programs.
- A long history of preparing social workers, nurses, physical therapists, librarians, and children’s book authors and editors. Simmons is home to the oldest clinical school of social work, and one of the oldest schools of both library science and nursing in the nation.
- Focus on professional skills development and experiential learning, not just theory, to expand career opportunities and develop students into leaders in their field.
- A commitment to providing students of all academic paths and interests experiences that mirror real-world scenarios.
- Cutting-edge learning technology and on-campus facilities like the Nursing Simulation Center; research and teaching labs; a renovated library; our design lab, Studio 5; and our Living and Learning Center.
Examples of career preparation messaging done right
- Simmons offers one of the top-ranked library science programs in the country. Once you graduate, you'll enter the field with the confidence, perspective, and hands-on experience needed to thrive throughout your career. Whether you are curating inclusive collections, designing digital access systems, or fighting against misinformation, Simmons ensures that you're ready to shape the future of information access and equity.
- Simmons graduates stand out — not just for what they know, but for the things they can do. With our focus on experiential learning and career development, our students enter their fields prepared to thrive.
Fostering Lifelong Connection and Community
Community at Simmons means being part of a close-knit, inclusive, and purpose-driven environment where people know you, challenge you, support you, and believe in your capacity to lead change — both personally and socially. Through faculty mentorship, peer collaboration, student organizations, and our engaged alumnae/i network, students build a sense of belonging that extends into their careers and communities. Simmons prepares students to develop the confidence and skills to form authentic professional and personal relationships, and understand that collaboration and connection are essential to success. Students graduate with not just a degree, but a lifelong network of mentors, peers, and allies.
Proof Points
- A new Living and Learning Center, slated to open January 2027, provides a modern 1,100-bed residence, a new athletics center, and new dining facilities for our students. The Center will relocate student residences onto the same campus as the academic buildings.
- A Multicultural Center that focuses on inclusive programming, advocacy, and resources to provide a strong sense of belonging for all students.
- Themed housing floors, such as the Honors Community, BIPOC, or Trans and Nonbinary Community, offer students a chance to build a sense of belonging on campus in a way that complements learning.
- Student-focused organizations include more than 50 student clubs and organizations, a variety of intramural sports, as well as health, physical activity, wellness, and recreation programming and resources including counseling, the health center, nutrition help, safer sex express, wellness ambassadors, and violence prevention and education programming.
- Campus Groups offers a single, centralized online location for all student organizations and activities.
- The Simmons Network allows alumnae/i to connect with each other and stay up-to-date with Simmons news after graduation.
- We offer many program-related opportunities for students to receive mentorship, such as our Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Simmons (SURPASs), ECONnect, Dotson Bridge, Faculty-Student Collaborative Fellowship Program, Bonner Community Leaders, and the Passionate Leaders Project, among others.
Examples of Connection and Community messaging done right
- You'll arrive at Simmons and immediately begin building a sense of belonging through mentorship, collaboration, and shared purpose. These connections don’t fade after graduation — they evolve into a professional and personal network that spans industries, generations, and continents. Whether through an alumnae/i mentor offering career advice, a former classmate becoming a colleague, or a Simmons connection opening a door years later, our community continues to lift each other up long after leaving campus.
- The Simmons alumnae/i network is a diverse, interconnected community of passionate professionals. No matter your background or career path, if you graduate from Simmons, you share a bond with more than 50,000 alumnae/i across the country and all over the world. That community offers invaluable opportunities, advice, and connections throughout your career and life.
Developing Service-Oriented Leaders
At Simmons, we understand that all students have the ability to lead effectively in their careers, communities, and personal lives. Effective leadership is everyday leadership — enabling people to be their best selves and utilize their individual strengths and passions to drive meaningful change. Rather than a traditional top-down approach, our foundation of leadership is built on inclusivity, respect, and collaboration. Simmons is committed to changing the world by educating students for vital professions that our community and world need to thrive — fields like nursing, to address our healthcare provider shortages; library science, to challenge book bans and the spread of misinformation; social work, to help address rising mental health issues; and more.
Proof Points
- One of only 25 US universities to receive the Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose Classification, recognizing a campus-wide commitment to advance leadership in pursuit of the public good.
- Social justice and empowerment at the center of undergraduate and graduate curricula.
- The Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership hosts the world’s longest-running leadership conference for professional women, with over 125,000 leaders attending since its inception in 1978.
- The Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership collaborates with organizations to foster cultures where everyone thrives, providing live and on-demand leadership programs that advance women and promote inclusivity.
- Access to and involvement in a supportive community to foster greater confidence in the classroom and beyond.
- A focus on building and developing leadership among students, faculty, and the community via the Leadership Hub, the Everyday Leadership Pathway, the Leadership Certification Program, and more.
Examples of Leadership messaging done right
- With a BA in political science, you'll have a foundational knowledge of the United States and the global political landscape. You’ll have the confidence to speak up for what you believe in as you strive to make the world a better place.
- Our transformative education prepares you to serve as a compassionate clinician. We embrace the values of respect, social justice, integrity, collaboration, and excellence to advance global health and the common good.
Advancing Women and Gender Equity
Simmons is committed to advancing equity for people of all marginalized genders. This path started with our 1899 founding mission to give women the opportunity to earn an independent livelihood. We recognize that the fight for rights and equity for women, as well as transgender and nonbinary individuals, is as relevant today as it was in 1899. We also believe that embracing all aspects of identity, including gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic or racial identity, socioeconomic background, ability, and age brings value and strength to the Simmons community and the world.
Proof Points
- A historic commitment to creating economic success and advancement opportunities via careers centered on women and marginalized voices.
- The only women’s-centered undergraduate program in Boston, with co-ed programs at the graduate level.
- Degree, program options, and an institution committed to advancing gender equity and developing inclusive leaders.
- Respect and appreciation for diverse perspectives and experiences.
- Focus on providing an equitable and affordable experience to all graduates.
Examples of Gender Equity messaging done right
- Since our founding as a women’s college, our students have challenged traditional gender norms. Today, our community welcomes you if you are a woman or live and identify as a woman or do not fit into the gender binary. As the only women’s-centered undergraduate program in Boston, Simmons continues to provide a space intentionally designed to center marginalized voices and challenge the status quo.
- At Simmons University, we are committed to advancing women’s leadership and promoting gender equity. For over a century, we have prepared students — particularly women, and now also transgender and non-binary people — to achieve economic success and advance in their careers and lives. This work is grounded in our historic commitment to creating opportunity for all, especially historically marginalized groups.
Opportunities in Boston and Beyond
A key part of a Simmons education is the numerous benefits offered by our prime Boston location. This includes close proximity to some of the world’s best institutions of higher education and brightest minds, a thriving biotechnology and medical hub in the Longwood Medical Area, and all the amenities, arts and cultural opportunities, and hands-on experiences that come with being centrally located in a vibrant urban center.
Proof Points
- Located in Boston, a world-renowned higher education hub, which attracts high-quality, skilled faculty.
- Access to Boston’s esteemed medical, technological, and financial community.
- Community partners and research opportunities that connect students to opportunities for hands-on, practical experience.
- Access to a small, intimate community within the large Boston professional and social community.
Examples of Boston messaging done right
- Simmons University is located right in the heart of the Fenway neighborhood — one of Boston's most vibrant areas. Here, you’ll have access to a close-knit, supportive Simmons community while also being immersed in all of the professional, academic, and cultural opportunities that Boston (and beyond) offers.
- Our students have access to internships at some of Boston’s world-renowned institutions, including Harvard-affiliated hospitals, MIT labs, and nationally recognized nonprofits.