Digital Collections and Archives is the Tufts University steward for all archival records and materials of significant and historical relevance to the college.

The collection began as the University Archives, which were incorporated in 1965 by the Tufts University Board of Trustees (Annual Reports 1965-1988). Previously, the position of archivist was loosely created in 1959 as a means of processing and acquiring important university and student records for preservation. This role was filled by Tufts history professor and historian Russell L. Miller, who also wrote the Tufts University history "Light on the Hill." The archives were considered a department of the University Library (known as Eaton and then Wessell at that time), overseen by the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering.

The university's archives were first kept in Eaton Library, but moved to the Wessell Library building in 1965. Originals of some records were sent to vaults in Ballou Hall for storage. In 1991, due to budget issues, the university archivist was laid off. When the office was reopened in 1997, it was as the University Archives and Special Collections, also located as a department within the Tisch Library.

In July 2001, Digital Collections and Archives was created when the University Archives was tasked with developing a Tufts Digital Library. The department moved from the College of Arts, Science and Engineering to the Central Administration, directed by the University Provost. The Special Collections department remained under Tisch Library.

DCA is currently physically housed in Tisch Library building.