Ballou Hall is a historic academic building on the campus of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Its cornerstone was laid in 1853 and the building was completed the following year. Designed by Gridley J.F. Bryant, it was Tufts' first academic building following the College's establishment by a group of Universalists. The building was later restored by McKim, Mead, and White and remains the center of administration for the university.

Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, and in Talloires, France. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. Tufts remained a small liberal arts college until the 1970s, when it transformed into a large research university offering several doctorates.