Brandeis University /ˈbrændaɪs/ is an American private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, 9 miles (14 km) west of Boston.[8] Founded in 1948 as a non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jewish community, Brandeis was established on the site of the former Middlesex University.[4] The university is named after Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Justice of the U.S Supreme Court.