View source for Boston University

{{Short description|Private university in Boston, Massachusetts, US}}
{{about|the private university founded in 1839|a list of universities in Boston|List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston}}
{{Distinguish|Boston College}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Boston University
 | image_name             = Boston University seal.svg
 | image_upright          = .7
 | latin_name             = Universitas Bostoniensis<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search |url=https://archive.org/search?query=%22Universitas+Bostoniensis%22&sin=TXT |website=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
 | motto                  = "Learning, Virtue, Piety"<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 20, 2005 |title=The origin of BU's motto: Learning, Virtue, Piety |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/campus-life/2007/09/16/origin-bus-motto-learning-virtue-piety |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206110557/http://www.bu.edu/today/campus-life/2007/09/16/origin-bus-motto-learning-virtue-piety |archive-date=December 6, 2010 |access-date=November 22, 2009 |website=BU Today}}</ref>
 | mottoeng               = 
 | former_name            = Newbury Biblical Institute (1838–1847)<br />Methodist General Biblical Institute (1847–1867)<br />Boston Theological Seminary (1867–1869)<br />Boston Theological Institute (1869–1871)
 | type                   = [[Private university|Private]] [[research university]]
 | accreditation          = [[New England Commission of Higher Education|NECHE]]
 | established            = {{start date and age|1839|04|24}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU Timeline |url=http://www.bu.edu/timeline/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310160850/http://www.bu.edu/timeline/ |archive-date=March 10, 2015 |access-date=March 11, 2015 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rJlPAAAAYAAJ |title=First quarter centennial of Boston university: Programs and Addresses |publisher=The Riverdale Press |year=1898 |location=Boston |pages=iii |access-date=March 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319012923/https://books.google.com/books?id=rJlPAAAAYAAJ |archive-date=March 19, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 | religious_affiliation  = [[Nonsectarian]], but historically affiliated with the [[United Methodist Church]]<ref name="Boston University 2001">{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=Boston University Names University Professor Herbert Mason United Methodist Scholar/Teacher of the Year |url=http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news/releases/display.php?id=381 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226230616/https://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news/releases/display.php?id=381 |archive-date=December 26, 2010 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |publisher=Boston University |quote=Boston University has been historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1839 when the Newbury Biblical Institute, the first Methodist seminary in the United States, was established in Newbury, Vermont.}}</ref><ref name="The Hermit Kingdom Press 2005">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i7rf70FX7XIC |title=Cambridge University Student Union International 2003–2004 |publisher=The Hermit Kingdom Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59689-044-2 |quote=Emory University, an academic institution of higher education that is under the auspices of the United Methodist Church (Duke University, Boston University, Northwestern University are among other elite universities belonging to the United Methodist Church). |access-date=June 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217170310/https://books.google.com/books?id=i7rf70FX7XIC |archive-date=February 17, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kurian 2016">{{Cite book |last1=Kurian |first1=George Thomas |title=Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States |last2=Lamport |first2=Mark A. |date=November 10, 2016 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-4422-4432-0 |page=1502 |language=English |quote=Methodists-affiliated universities founded during the nineteenth century include Northwestern, Boston (University), Syracuse, Duke and Emory.}}</ref>
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist| [[Association of American Universities|AAU]] | [[International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges, and Universities|IAMSCU]] | [[National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities|NAICU]] | [[Universities Research Association|URA]]|[[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program|Space-grant]]}}
 | endowment              = $4.045 billion (2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Consolidated Financial Report June 30, 2025 and 2024 |url=https: https://www.bu.edu/cfo/files/2025/09/FY25-Boston-University-Consolidated-Financial-Report_Final_9.25.25.pdf |access-date=November 6, 2025 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>
 | president              = [[Melissa L. Gilliam]]<ref>As of July 1, 2024. {{Cite report |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/president-melissa-gilliam-on-impressions-challenges-and-ambitions/|title=A Conversation: Boston University President Melissa L. Gilliam on First Impressions, Challenges, and Ambitions|date=July 1, 2024 |publisher=Boston University |access-date=July 1, 2024}}</ref>
 | provost                = Gloria S. Waters<ref>As of July 1, 2024. {{Cite report |url=https://www.bu.edu/provost/about/about-provost/ |title=About the Provost |date=July 1, 2024 |publisher=Boston University |access-date=July 1, 2024}}</ref>
 | faculty                = 4,490 (2024)<ref name="DNA">{{Cite web |title=Our DNA |url=http://www.bu.edu/info/about/dna/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002164226/http://www.bu.edu:80/info/about/dna/ |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |access-date=June 21, 2024 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>
 | administrative_staff   = 11,414 (2024) (including faculty)<ref name="DNA" />
 | students               = 37,367 (2024)<ref name="DNA" />
 | undergrad              = 17,926 (2024)<ref name="DNA" />
 | postgrad               = 18,074 (2024)<ref name="DNA" />
 | other                  = 1,367 (2024)<ref name="DNA" />
 | coordinates            = {{Coord|42|20|56|N|71|06|01|W|region:US-MA_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | city                   = [[Boston]]
 | state                  = [[Massachusetts]]
 | country                = United States
 | campus                 = Large city
 | campus_size            = {{cvt|169|acre|km2}}
 | colors                 = Red and white<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU Colors |url=https://www.bu.edu/brand/guidelines/design/colors/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207071131/https://www.bu.edu/brand/guidelines/design/colors/ |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=February 7, 2023}}</ref><br />{{color box|#CC0000}}&nbsp;{{color box|#FFFFFF}}
 | free_label             = Other campuses
 | free                   = {{hlist|[[Bedford, Massachusetts|Bedford]]|[[Los Angeles]]|[[Washington, D.C.]]|[[London]]|[[Paris]]|[[Sydney]]|[[online education|Online]]}}
 | free_label2            = Newspaper
 | free2                  = ''[[The Daily Free Press]]''
 | athletics              = 
 | sports_nickname        = [[Boston University Terriers|Terriers]]
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist| [[NCAA Division I]] – [[Patriot League]]|[[Hockey East]]|[[New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association|NEISA]]|[[Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges|EARC]]|[[Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges|EAWRC]]}}
 | mascot                 = [[Rhett the Boston Terrier]]
 | website                = {{official URL}}
 | logo                   = Boston University wordmark.svg
 | logo_upright           = .6
}}

'''Boston University''' ('''BU''') is a [[Private university|private]] [[research university]] in [[Boston]], Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston [[Methodism|Methodists]] with its original campus in [[Newbury (town), Vermont|Newbury, Vermont]]. It was chartered in Boston in 1869. The university is a member of the [[Association of American Universities]] and the Boston Consortium for Higher Education.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Boston Consortium |url=http://www.boston-consortium.org/about/what_is_tbc.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414131033/http://www.boston-consortium.org/about/what_is_tbc.asp |archive-date=April 14, 2010 |access-date=May 31, 2010 |publisher=The Boston Consortium}}</ref><ref name="AAU" />

The university has nearly 38,000 students and more than 4,000 faculty members<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU Facts & Stats {{!}} Office of the President |url=https://www.bu.edu/president/boston-university-facts-stats/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118182032/https://www.bu.edu/president/boston-university-facts-stats/ |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=bu.edu}}</ref> and is one of Boston's largest employers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2008 |title=The Boston Economy 2008 Holding Strong |url=http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/PDF/ResearchPublications//Boston%20Economy%202008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729071443/http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/pdf/ResearchPublications//AllstonSF1NBHD.pdf |archive-date=July 29, 2012 |access-date=November 22, 2009 |publisher=Boston Redevelopment Authority – Research Division |page=16 |quote=Largest Private Employers in Boston, April, 2006 (With 1,000+ employees, listed alphabetically)}}</ref> It offers [[bachelor's degree]]s, [[master's degree]]s, [[doctorate]]s, and medical, dental, business, and law degrees through 17 schools and colleges on three urban campuses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About BU |url=http://www.bu.edu/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125003856/http://www.bu.edu/info/about/ |archive-date=January 25, 2018 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> BU athletic teams compete in the [[Patriot League]] and [[Hockey East]] conferences, and their mascot is [[Rhett the Boston Terrier]].  The [[Boston University Terriers]] compete in [[NCAA Division I]].

The university is [[nonsectarian]], though it retains its historical affiliation with the [[United Methodist Church]].<ref name="Boston University 2001" /><ref name="The Hermit Kingdom Press 2005" /><ref name="Kurian 2016" />  The main campus is situated along the [[Charles River]] in Boston's [[Fenway–Kenmore]] and [[Allston, Massachusetts|Allston]] neighborhoods, while the [[Boston University Medical Campus]] is located in Boston's [[South End, Boston|South End]] neighborhood. The Fenway campus houses the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, formerly Wheelock College, which merged with BU in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2018 |title=Take a Virtual Tour of BU's New Fenway Campus |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2018/take-a-virtual-tour-of-new-fenway-campus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105175242/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2018/take-a-virtual-tour-of-new-fenway-campus |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> The university is [[Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education|classified]] among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".<ref name="Carnegie Foundation">{{Cite web |title=The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education |url=https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/institutions/?basic2021__du%5B%5D=15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043624/http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=164988 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |access-date=June 26, 2024 |publisher=Indiana University Bloomington's Center for Postsecondary Research}}</ref>  

{{toclimit|3}}

== History ==
{{more citations needed section|date=May 2019}}
[[File:Bell receives honorary LL.D from University of Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|[[Alexander Graham Bell]], who invented the telephone at Boston University]]
[[File:688 Boylston St.jpg|thumb|688 [[Boylston Street]] in [[Boston]], the early home of the College of Liberal Arts, the precursor to [[Boston University College of Arts and Sciences]]]]
[[File:Helen magill.jpg|thumb|[[Helen Magill White]], who, in 1877, was the first woman to receive a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] from an American university]]
Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of the '''Newbury Biblical Institute''' in [[Newbury (town), Vermont|Newbury, Vermont]], in 1839,<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Boston University {{!}} university, Boston, Massachusetts, United States |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boston-University |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417054346/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boston-University |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |access-date=April 19, 2021 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> and was chartered with the name "Boston University" by the [[Massachusetts Legislature]] when it moved there in 1869. The university organized formal centennial observances both in 1939 and 1969.<ref>[http://www.bu.edu/info/about/ Boston University |Visitor Center |About the University |History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216154448/http://www.bu.edu/info/about/ |date=February 16, 2006}}, retrieved May 6, 2006</ref> One or the other, or both dates, may appear on various official seals used by different schools of the university.

=== In Vermont and New Hampshire ===
On April 24–25, 1839, a group of [[Methodist]] ministers and laymen at the Old Bromfield Street Church in Boston elected to establish a Methodist theological school. Set up in Newbury, [[Vermont]], the school was named the "Newbury Biblical Institute".

In 1847, the Congregational Society in [[Concord, New Hampshire]], invited the institute to relocate to Concord and offered a disused [[Congregationalism in the United States|Congregational church]] building with a capacity of 1200 people. Other citizens of Concord covered the remodeling costs. One stipulation of the invitation was that the Institute remain in Concord for at least 20 years. The charter issued by New Hampshire designated the school the "'''Methodist General Biblical Institute'''", but it was commonly called the "Concord Biblical Institute".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Methodist General Biblical Institute (Concord, NH) {{!}} A People's History of the School of Theology |url=https://www.bu.edu/sth-history/graduates/concord-students/ |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=bu.edu}}</ref>

=== In Beacon Hill ===
With the agreed twenty years coming to a close, the trustees of the Concord Biblical Institute purchased {{cvt|30|acre|m2}} on Aspinwall Hill in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]], as a possible relocation site. The institute moved in 1867 to 23 Pinkney Street in the [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] neighborhood of Boston, and received a Massachusetts Charter as the "'''Boston Theological Seminary'''".

In 1869, three trustees of the '''Boston Theological Institute''' obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature a charter for a university by the name of "Boston University".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buckley |first=James Monroe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5TVKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA203 |title=A History of Methodism in the United States |date=1898 |publisher=Harper & Brothers Company |page=203 |language=en}}</ref> These trustees were successful Boston businessmen and Methodist laymen, with a history of involvement in educational enterprises, and they became the founders of Boston University. They were [[Isaac Rich]] (1801–1872), Lee Claflin (1791–1871), and [[Jacob Sleeper]] (1802–1889), for whom Boston University's three [[Boston University West Campus|West Campus]] dormitories were later named. Lee Claflin's son, [[William Claflin|William]], was then Governor of Massachusetts and signed the University Charter on May 26, 1869, after it was passed by the Legislature.

As reported by Kathleen Kilgore in her book ''Transformations, A History of Boston University'' (see [[#Further reading|Further reading]]), the founders directed the inclusion in the Charter of the following provision, unusual for its time:

:No instructor in said University shall ever be required by the Trustees to profess any particular religious opinions as a test of office, and no student shall be refused admission ... on account of the religious opinions he may entertain; provided, nonetheless, that this section shall not apply to the theological department of said University.<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Massachusetts General Court]] |title=Acts and Resolves |publisher=[[Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth]] |year=1869 |location=[[Boston]] |pages=631–633 |chapter=Chapter 322: An Act to Incorporate the Trustees of Boston University |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/actsresolvespass1869mass/page/630/mode/2up}}</ref>

Every department of the new university was also open to all on an equal footing regardless of sex, race, or (with the exception of the School of Theology) religion.

Boston Theological Institute was absorbed into Boston University in 1871 as the [[Boston University School of Theology|BU School of Theology]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=history » School of Theology |url=https://www.bu.edu/sth/welcome/about-sth/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016230033/https://www.bu.edu/sth/welcome/about-sth/history/ |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |publisher=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

On January 13, 1872, [[Isaac Rich]] died, leaving the vast bulk of his estate to a trust that would go to Boston University after ten years of growth while the university was organized. Most of this bequest consisted of real estate throughout the core of the city of Boston, which was appraised at more than $1.5 million. Kilgore describes this as the largest single donation to an American college or university as of that time. By December, however, the [[Great Boston Fire of 1872]] had destroyed all but one of the buildings Rich had left to the university, and the insurance companies with which they had been insured were [[bankrupt]]. The value of his estate, when turned over to the university in 1882, was half what it had been in 1872.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-01 |title=A Short History of BU's Biggest Campus Disruptions |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/bu-history-biggest-campus-disruptions/ |access-date=2025-08-01 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

As a result, the university was unable to build its contemplated campus on Aspinwall Hill, and the land was sold piecemeal as development sites. Street names in the area, including Claflin Road, Claflin Path, and University Road, are the only remaining evidence of university ownership in this area. Following the fire, Boston University established its new facilities in buildings scattered throughout [[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]], and later expanded into the [[Boylston Street]] and [[Copley Square]] area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=B.U. Bridge: Boston University community's weekly newspaper |url=https://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2000/12-08/1930s.html |access-date=January 21, 2024 |website=bu.edu}}</ref>

After receiving a year's salary advance to allow him to pursue his research in 1875, [[Alexander Graham Bell]], then a professor at the school, invented the telephone in a Boston University laboratory.<ref name="Kilgore 1991">{{Cite book |last=Kilgore |first=Kathleen |title=Transformations: A History of Boston University |date=1991 |publisher=Boston University Press |location=Boston}}</ref> In 1876, [[Borden Parker Bowne]] was appointed professor of philosophy. Bowne, an important figure in the history of American religious thought, was an American Christian philosopher and theologian in the [[Methodist]] tradition. He is known for his contributions to [[personalism]], a philosophical branch of [[Liberal Christianity|liberal theology]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buford |first=Tom |year=2006 |title=Persons in the Tradition of Boston Personalism |journal=The Journal of Speculative Philosophy |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=214–218 |doi=10.1353/jsp.2007.0000 |s2cid=170564853}}</ref> The movement he led is often referred to as [[Personalism#Boston personalism|Boston Personalism]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Personalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Stanford University |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/personalism/ |access-date=May 5, 2013 |date=November 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423084853/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/personalism/ |archive-date=April 23, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The university continued its tradition of openness in this period. In 1877, Boston University became the first American university to award a PhD to a woman, when classics scholar [[Helen Magill White]] earned hers with a thesis on "The Greek Drama".<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /><ref name="Britannica" /> Then in 1878 Anna Oliver became the first woman to receive a degree in theology in the United States, but the [[Methodist Church]] would not ordain her.<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /> [[Lelia J. Robinson]], who graduated from the university's law school in 1881, became the first woman admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /> [[Solomon Carter Fuller]], who graduated from the university's School of Medicine in 1897, became the first black psychiatrist in the United States and would make significant contributions to the study of [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref name="Kilgore 1991" />

===Move to current campus and expansion===
[[File:Marsh Chapel.jpg|thumb|Marsh Plaza and its surrounding buildings, one of the first completed sections of the Charles River campus]]
[[File:Type 4 streetcar inbound at Granby Street, circa 1940s.jpg|thumb|Commonwealth Avenue in the 1930s]]
[[File:Boston University (8609103615).jpg|thumb|[[Josep Lluís Sert]]'s buildings expanded the campus in the 1960s]]
Seeking to unify a geographically scattered school and enable it to participate in the development of the city, school president Lemuel Murlin arranged that the school buy the present campus along the [[Charles River]]. Between 1920 and 1928, the school bought the {{cvt|15|acre|m2}} of land that had been reclaimed from the river by the Riverfront Improvement Association. Plans for a riverside quadrangle with a [[Alexander Graham Bell tower|Gothic Revival administrative tower]] modeled on the [[St Botolph's Church, Boston|"Old Boston Stump"]] in [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], England were scaled back in the late 1920s when the State Metropolitan District Commission used [[eminent domain]] to seize riverfront land for [[Storrow Drive]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Between World Wars |url=http://www.bu.edu/visit/about/history/betweenwars.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212022404/http://www.bu.edu/visit/about/history/betweenwars.html |archive-date=December 12, 2007 |access-date=April 28, 2008 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> Murlin was never able to build the new campus, but his successor, [[Daniel L. Marsh]], led a series of fundraising campaigns (interrupted by both the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]]) that helped Marsh to achieve his dream and to gradually fill in the university's new campus.<ref>Healea, Christopher Daryl, "The Builder and Maker of the Greater University: A History of Daniel L. Marsh's Presidency at Boston University, 1926–1951" (Boston University, 2011). Order No. DA3463124.</ref> By spring 1936, the student body included 10,384 men and women.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/12/archives/10384-are-enrolled-at-bu.html "10.384 are enrolled at B.U.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174916/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/04/12/archives/10384-are-enrolled-at-bu.html |date=August 30, 2018}}, ''The New York Times''. April 12, 1936. p. N7.</ref>

In 1951, [[Harold C. Case]] became the school's fifth president and under his direction the character of the campus changed significantly, as he sought to change the school into a national research university. The campus tripled in size to {{cvt|45|acre|m2}}, and added 68 new buildings before Case retired in 1967. The first large dorms, Claflin, Rich and Sleeper Halls in [[Boston University West Campus|West Campus]] were built, and in 1965 construction began on 700 [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]], later named [[Warren Towers]], designed to house 1800 students. Between 1961 and 1966, the [[Boston University School of Law|BU Law Tower]], the [[George Sherman Union]], and the [[Mugar Memorial Library]] were constructed in the [[Brutalist architecture|Brutalist]] style, a departure from the school's traditional architecture. The [[Boston University College of Engineering|College of Engineering]] and [[Boston University College of Communication|College of Communication]] were housed in a former stable building and auto-show room, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alex Taylor |title=Activism, dorm construction pervade campus in 1950s–60s |url=http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/10/17/News/Activism.Dorm.Construction.Pervade.Campus.In.1950s60s-2371894.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401215744/http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/10/17/News/Activism.Dorm.Construction.Pervade.Campus.In.1950s60s-2371894.shtml |archive-date=April 1, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2008 |website=The Daily Free Press}}</ref> Besides his efforts to expand the university into a rival for Greater Boston's more prestigious academic institutions, such as [[Harvard University]] and the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (both in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] across the Charles River from the BU campus), Case involved himself in the start of the student/societal upheavals that came to characterize the 1960s.

When a mini-squabble over editorial policy at [[college radio]] [[WBUR-FM]] – whose offices were under a tall radio antenna mast in front of the School of Public Relations and Communications (later College of Communications) – started growing in the spring of 1964, Case persuaded university trustees that the university should take over the widely-heard radio station (now a major outlet for [[National Public Radio]] and still a BU-owned broadcast facility). The trustees approved the firing of student managers and clamped down on programming and editorial policy, which had been led by Jim Thistle, later a major force in Boston's broadcast news milieu. The on-campus political dispute between Case's conservative administration and the suddenly active and mostly liberal student body led to other disputes over BU student print publications, such as the ''B.U. News'' and the ''Scarlet'', a fraternity association newspaper.

The presidency of [[John Silber]] also saw much expansion of the campus and programs. In the late 1970s, the [[Lahey Clinic]] vacated its building at 605 Commonwealth Avenue and moved to [[Burlington, Massachusetts]]. The vacated building was purchased by BU to house the [[Boston University School of Education|School of Education]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lahey History |url=http://www.lahey.org/About/LaheyHistory.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423195345/http://www.lahey.org/About/LaheyHistory.asp |archive-date=April 23, 2010 |access-date=December 28, 2009 |publisher=The Lahey Clinic}}</ref> After arriving from the University of Texas in 1971, Silber set out to remake the university into a global center for research by recruiting star faculty. Two of his faculty "stars", [[Elie Wiesel]] and [[Derek Walcott]], won Nobel Prizes shortly after Silber recruited them.<ref name="Wolfe 2015">{{Cite journal |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |date=February 2015 |title=Silberado |journal=Bostonia |publisher=Boston University |page=37}}</ref> Two others, [[Saul Bellow]] and [[Sheldon Glashow]] won Nobel Prizes before Silber recruited them.<ref name="Wolfe 2015" />

In addition to recruiting new scholars, Silber expanded the physical campus, constructing the [[Boston University Photonics Center|Photonics Center]] for the study of light, a new building for the School of Management, and the Life Science and Engineering Building for interdisciplinary research, among other projects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life Science and Engineering building: "cathedral to science" |url=http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2005/04-29/lse.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922152400/http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2005/04-29/lse.html |archive-date=September 22, 2010 |access-date=July 6, 2010 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> Campus expansion continued in the 2000s with the construction of new dormitories and the [[Agganis Arena]].

=== Student and faculty activism ===
[[File:BACK PAGE BU Exposure 1978-03-00.jpg|thumb|''BU Exposure'' in March 1978]]
To protest the poor condition of Boston University's African-American curriculum, on April 25, 1968 (three weeks after the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]]), African-American students conducted a [[sit-in]] and locked BU president [[Arland F. Christ-Janer]] out of his office for 12 hours.<ref name="Waters 1968">{{Cite news |last=Waters |first=Bertram |date=May 5, 1968 |title=Science Medicine Education: 'Reason' Won' at Sit-in, Says B.U. President |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/366547855 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331212302/https://www.proquest.com/docview/366547855 |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |access-date=September 28, 2020 |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=1 |type=Historical Newspapers |id={{ProQuest|366547855}}}}</ref> Umoja, BU's Black Student Union, put forward ten demands to Christ-Janer and got nine of them approved that included the creation of a Martin Luther King Chair of Social Ethics, expansion of African-American library resources and tutoring services, opening an "Afro-American coordinating center," admission and selection of more Black students and faculty. No disciplinary action was taken against the students who only opened the chains after their demands were met. "There was no surprise, or feeling of victory on the students' parts," said Christ-Janer in response to the sit-in. "They had confidence in their demands, and I had a confidence in them. The university, black and white alike, was the winner."<ref name="Waters 1968" />
The late twentieth century saw a culmination in student activism at Boston University during the presidency of [[John Silber|John R. Silber]].

In 1972, student protests rose against the university administration's endorsement of [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] recruitment on campus which faced significant opposition from the [[Students for a Democratic Society|Student Democratic Society]].<ref name="Rosenbloom 1972">{{Cite news |last=Rosenbloom |first=Joseph |date=March 28, 1972 |title=33 protesters arrested at BU career office |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/375333303 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112752/https://www.proquest.com/docview/375333303 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |page=1 |type=Historical Newspapers |id={{ProQuest|375333303}}}}</ref>

On March 27, 1972, 50 police officers in "riot gear" defused a demonstration of 150 protesters at 195 Bay State Road, the BU Placement Office, where Marine recruiters were holding student interviews. A few protesters were arrested while some sustained minor injuries, including a student and two officers. Contrary to student claims of a peaceful protest, Silber said, "Civilization doesn't abdicate in face of barbarism. Those students or nonstudents who deliberately seek violent confrontation and refuse all efforts at peaceful resolution of issues must expect society to use its police power in its own defense." In response to Silber's decision of a forceful police intervention, the Faculty State conducted a vote on Silber's resignation which could not pass due to a "vote of 140–25 with 32 abstentions."<ref name="Rosenbloom 1972" /> As a result of this failed motion, Peter P. Gabriel resigned his position as the dean of [[Questrom School of Business|Boston University's School of Management]] in protest of Silber's presidency and his "counterproductive" leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCain |first=Nina |date=May 6, 1976 |title=BU dean resigns to protest trustees' approval of Silber |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/657914676 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331212334/https://www.proquest.com/docview/657914676 |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |type=Historical Newspapers |id={{ProQuest|657914676}}}}</ref> Silber's support of military recruitment on campus, which he pushed to make the university eligible for federal grants,<ref name="Cullen 1978">{{Cite news |last=Cullen |first=John |date=March 17, 1978 |title=Tuition protest turns ugly, students trap 50 at BU |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/757677881 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112751/https://www.proquest.com/docview/757677881 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |page=1 |type=Historical Newspapers |id={{ProQuest|757677881}}}}</ref> caused other demonstrations. On December 5, 1972, fifteen BU Student Government officers started a three-day hunger strike at [[Marsh Chapel]] demanding Silber "to file a lawsuit against the Federal government challenging the constitutionality of the Herbert Amendment."<ref>{{Cite web |title=B.U. Protesters Begin Hunger Strike In Effort to Stop Military Recruitment |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/12/5/bu-protesters-begin-hunger-strike-in/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818180411/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/12/5/bu-protesters-begin-hunger-strike-in/ |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |website=The Harvard Crimson}}</ref>

On March 16, 1978, about 900 Boston University students gathered at the [[George Sherman Union]] to protest against the $400 rise in tuition and $150 rise in housing charges declared by the trustees on March 7.<ref name="Cullen 1978" /> The protest interrupted a board of trustees conference. While John Silber and Arthur G. B. Metcalf, chairman of the board of trustees, were negotiating with student government representatives to discuss the matter further on a separate occasion, the protesters marched into the building from two entrances, effectively trapping 40 trustees and 10 university administrators in the building for over thirty minutes. Twenty officers from the [[Boston University Police Department]] had to disperse the crowd from the stairwells. The protest resulted in the arrest of 19 year old Joshua Grossman, while another student and two BUPD officers were taken to hospitals.<ref name="Cullen 1978" />

On April 5, 1979, several hundred faculty members, as well as clerical workers and librarians, [[1979 Boston University strike|went on strike]]. The faculty members were seeking a labor contract while the clerical workers and librarians were seeking union recognition. The strike ended by mid-April under terms favorable to the employees.

On November 27, 1979, the committee to Defend Iranian Students—composed of Iranian students, Youths Against Foreign Fascism and the Revolutionary Communist Party—held a demonstration at the George Sherman Union against the [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|deposed Shah of Iran]] and the deportation of Iranian students from the US. "To the Iranian people, that man (the shah) is Adolf Hitler," students protested. "The Shah Must Face the Wrath of the People." This was met with chants of "God Bless America" from the opposing group. Twenty policemen broke up the confronting parties though no arrests were made.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rivas |first=Maggie |date=November 28, 1979 |title=Iran Rallies at BU Clash: UMass-Amherst Asks Iranians to Interviews |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/747170454 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112748/https://www.proquest.com/docview/747170454 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=September 29, 2020 |work=Boston Globe (1960–1988); Boston, Mass. |page=9 |type=Historical Newspapers |id={{ProQuest|747170454}}}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Aerial Boston University.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of the campus in May 2023]]
[[File:BUGWU and Res Life Strike.jpg|thumb|Resident life and graduate workers at the university on strike for better protections and pay in April 2024]]
Following the trustees' push for the resignation of the university's eighth president, Jon Westling, they voted unanimously to offer the presidency of the university to [[Daniel Goldin|Daniel S. Goldin]], former administrator of [[NASA]] under presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Goldin was set to take over the job on November 1, 2003, and be officially inaugurated on November 17, though the deal collapsed in the week leading up to his arrival in Boston.

The university eventually terminated Goldin's contract at a cost of $1.8&nbsp;million and initiated a second search to fill the presidential position, culminating with the inauguration of [[Robert A. Brown]] as the university's 10th president on April 27, 2006. ([[Aram Chobanian]], who had served as ''president ad interim'' during most of the second search, was formally recognized as the 9th president in 2005.)<ref>Rimer, Sara. "Turmoil at the Top at Boston University." ''The New York Times'' October 28, 2003, Late ed., sec. A: 16. LexisNexis Academic. Boston, MA. May 6, 2006.</ref> In the wake of this fiasco, several actions were taken to improve the image projected to potential presidential candidates as well as the functioning of the board itself.<ref>Rimer, Sara. "Boston U. Trustees Regrouping After Turmoil Over Presidency." ''The New York Times'' April 16, 2004, Late ed., sec. A: 16. LexisNexis Academic. Boston, MA. May 6, 2006.</ref>

In 2012, the university was invited to join the [[Association of American Universities]], comprising 66 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. BU, one of four universities at the time invited to join the group since 2000, became the 62nd member. In the Boston area, [[Harvard]], [[MIT]], [[Tufts]], and [[Brandeis University|Brandeis]] are also members.<ref name="AAU">{{Cite news |title=BU Joins Association of American Universities |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/bu-joins-association-of-american-universities/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822222146/http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/bu-joins-association-of-american-universities/ |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |work=BU Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelderman |first=Eric |date=November 5, 2012 |title=Boston U. Receives Coveted Invitation to Join Assn. of American Universities |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/Boston-U-Receives-Coveted/135566 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718030738/https://www.chronicle.com/article/Boston-U-Receives-Coveted/135566 |archive-date=July 18, 2020 |access-date=July 18, 2020 |work=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AAU Welcomes Tufts University to Membership {{!}} Association of American Universities (AAU) |url=https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/aau-welcomes-tufts-university-membership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153120/https://www.aau.edu/newsroom/press-releases/aau-welcomes-tufts-university-membership |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=aau.edu|date=May 13, 2021 }}</ref>

That same year, a $1 billion fundraising campaign was launched, its first comprehensive campaign, emphasizing financial aid, faculty support, research, and facility improvements. In 2016, the campaign goal was reached. The board of trustees voted to raise the goal to $1.5 billion and extend through 2019. The campaign has funded 74 new faculty positions, including 49 named full professorships and 25 Career Development Professorships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University – Annual Report 2016 |url=http://www.bu.edu/ar/2016/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504083443/http://www.bu.edu/ar/2016/ |archive-date=May 4, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |website=Boston University – Annual Report 2016 |language=en}}</ref> The campaign concluded in September 2019, raising a total of $1.85 billion over seven years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crimaldi |first=Laura |date=September 21, 2019 |title=BU celebrates raising $1.85b over seven years |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/21/celebrates-raising-over-seven-years/QU3wHdNYwBa6bgqOAYuiyL/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112647/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/21/celebrates-raising-over-seven-years/QU3wHdNYwBa6bgqOAYuiyL/story.html |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

In February 2015, the faculty adopted an [[open-access policy]] to make its scholarship [[open access|publicly accessible]] online.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=March 30, 2015 |title=Boston University |url=http://roarmap.eprints.org/719/ |url-status=live |journal=ROARMAP: Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies |location=UK |publisher=[[University of Southampton]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531214722/http://roarmap.eprints.org/719/ |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>
The Charles River and Medical Campuses have undergone physical transformations since 2006, from new buildings and playing fields to dormitory renovations. The campus has seen the addition of a 26-floor student residence at 33 Harry Agganis Way, nicknamed [[John Hancock Student Village|StuVi2]], the New Balance Playing Field, the Yawkey Center for Student Services, the Alan and Sherry Leventhal Center, the Law tower and Redstone annex, the Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC), the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, and the Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre, which opened in fall 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caffrey |first=Christi |date=May 15, 2018 |title=New Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre Opens |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/new-joan-edgar-booth-theatre-opens/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130092248/http://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/new-joan-edgar-booth-theatre-opens |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> The construction of the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering was funded by part of BU's largest ever gift, a $115 million donation from [[Rajen A. Kilachand|Rajen Kilachand]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fern |first=Deirdre |date=September 14, 2017 |title=$115m gift, BU's largest ever, will fund life sciences and engineering research |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/09/13/gift-largest-ever-will-fund-life-sciences-and-engineering-research/wBlCBpF2ylxDMCIUej5prO/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414084942/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/09/13/gift-largest-ever-will-fund-life-sciences-and-engineering-research/wBlCBpF2ylxDMCIUej5prO/story.html |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref> The Dahod Family Alumni Center in the renovated [[BU Castle]] began in May 2017 and was completed in fall 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 28, 2019 |title=Take a peek inside BU's renovated castle |url=http://realestate.boston.com/news/2019/03/28/boston-university-castle-restoration/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112649/http://realestate.boston.com/news/2019/03/28/boston-university-castle-restoration/ |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |website=Boston.com Real Estate}}</ref> Development of the university's existing housing stock has included significant renovations to BU's oldest dorm, 610 Beacon Street (formerly [[Myles Standish Hall]]) and Annex, and to [[Kilachand Hall]], formerly known as Shelton Hall, and a brand new student residence on the Medical Campus. In May 2024, Boston University removed Myles Standish's name from the building. It is now referred to by its address, 610 Beacon Street.<ref name="bu.edu">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-23 |title=Boston University Removes the Myles Standish Name from Dorm |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/bu-removes-myles-standish-dorm-name/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Spatz |first1=Emily |title=BU dorm named after English colonist will be renamed, school says |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/05/28/bu-dorm-named-after-english-colonist-will-be-renamed-school-says/ |website=www.boston.com |date=May 29, 2024 }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Topf |first1=Sydney |title=Myles Standish Hall renamed to 610 Beacon Street – The Daily Free Press |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/2024/06/02/myles-standish-hall-renamed-to-610-beacon-street/ |date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

In 2019, Boston University expanded its financial aid program so that it would "meet the full need for all domestic students who qualify for financial aid," starting in fall 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |title=BU Boosts Financial Aid to 100 Percent of Calculated Need |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/bu-boosts-financial-aid/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005044130/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/bu-boosts-financial-aid/ |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |work=Boston University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Scholarships & Financial Aid {{!}} Admissions |url=https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/scholarships-financial-aid/#:~:text=BU%20meets%20your%20full%20need,US%20citizens%20or%20permanent%20residents. |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref>

In September 2022, [[Robert A. Brown]] announced he will step down at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year. Brown began his presidency in September 2005, and his contract was set to run through 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Most |first=Doug |date=September 7, 2022 |title=Robert A. Brown, BU's 10th President, to Retire after 2022–23 School Year |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/bu-president-robert-brown-to-retire-after-2022-23-school-year |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919190936/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/bu-president-robert-brown-to-retire-after-2022-23-school-year/ |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |work=BU Today}}</ref> Although Brown chose to end his presidency, he will resume teaching at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mullins |first=Lisa |date=September 8, 2022 |title=BU President Robert Brown on why he's stepping down, what he hopes to leave behind |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/09/07/boston-university-president-leaving |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref> On August 1, 2023, [[Kenneth W. Freeman]] started serving as president ad interim.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cutler |first=Sonel |date=May 10, 2023 |title=Boston University taps Kenneth Freeman, former business dean, as interim president |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/10/metro/boston-university-taps-kenneth-freeman-former-business-dean-colleges-interim-president/ |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>  In October 2023, [[Melissa L. Gilliam|Melissa Gilliam]] was named the incoming president, starting her term on July 1, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jung |first=Carrie |date=October 4, 2023 |title=Dr. Melissa Gilliam will lead Boston University as school's first Black and first female president |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/10/04/bu-melissa-gilliam-next-university-president |access-date=October 4, 2023 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref>

On July 1, 2024, [[Melissa L. Gilliam|Melissa Gilliam]] began her tenure as the university's 11th president.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Conversation: Boston University President Melissa L. Gilliam on First Impressions, Challenges, and Ambitions |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/president-melissa-gilliam-on-impressions-challenges-and-ambitions/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Boston University |date=July 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Meet Our President - Office of the President |url=https://www.bu.edu/president/meet-our-president/ |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> On October 16, 2024, the [[2024 Boston University strikes]] ended.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=Ryan |date=October 17, 2024 |title=7-Month Boston University Grad Worker Strike Ends, but Fight May Not Be Over |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/labor-unionization/2024/10/17/seven-month-boston-university-grad-worker-strike |website=Inside Higher Ed}}</ref>

==== Response to the COVID-19 pandemic ====
The university closed down due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts|COVID-19]] and shifted to online learning for the remainder of the semester on March 11, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Most |first=Doug |date=March 11, 2020 |title=Updated: BU Moves All Classes Online Due to Coronavirus — Questions and Answers |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/bu-all-classes-online-coronavirus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526032210/http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/bu-all-classes-online-coronavirus/ |archive-date=May 26, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |website=BU Today}}</ref> For the fall 2020 semester, BU offered a hybrid system that allows for students to decide whether to take a remote class or participate in-person. Larger classes would be broken down into smaller groups that rotate between online and in-person sessions. The school started administering its own [[COVID-19 testing]] for faculty, staff, and students on July 27, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2020 |title=Universities use robots to reopen safely during pandemic |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boston-university-other-schools-deploy-robots-so-campuses-can-safely-n1237706 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114010505/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boston-university-other-schools-deploy-robots-so-campuses-can-safely-n1237706 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> The new BU Clinical Testing Laboratory has accelerated testing that can give results to students, staff, and faculty by the next day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University Clinical Testing Lab {{!}} Back To BU |url=https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/boston-university-clinical-testing-lab/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202153319/https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/boston-university-clinical-testing-lab/ |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> The lab uses eight robots to process up to 6,000 tests per day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University develops lab to regularly test students for coronavirus |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/boston-university-develops-lab-to-regularly-test-students-for-coronavirus-90695237547 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204193431/https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/boston-university-develops-lab-to-regularly-test-students-for-coronavirus-90695237547 |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> A contact tracing team is part of the process to contain infections on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=COVID-19 Screening, Testing & Contact Tracing {{!}} Back To BU |url=https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/student-health-safety/covid-19-screening-testing-contact-tracing/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201045502/https://www.bu.edu/back2bu/student-health-safety/covid-19-screening-testing-contact-tracing/ |archive-date=December 1, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=bu.edu}}</ref> BU also started a new website "Back2BU" to provide students with the latest information on reopening.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barlow |first=Rich |date=August 12, 2020 |title=FAQ: Quarantine vs Isolation and BU's Safety Plans for Reopening Campus |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/quarantine-bu-safety-plan-faq/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812151050/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/quarantine-bu-safety-plan-faq/ |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |work=BU Today}}</ref> The results of the tests were published on BU's public COVID-19 Testing Data Dashboard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU COVID-19 Testing Data Dashboard {{!}} Healthway |url=https://www.bu.edu/healthway/community-dashboard/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129015235/https://www.bu.edu/healthway/community-dashboard/ |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=bu.edu}}</ref>

BU's [[National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories]] (NEIDL) has been working with live coronavirus samples since March 2020, and—at the time—was the only New England lab to have live samples.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Groopman |first=Jerome |title=The Long Game of Coronavirus Research |url=https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-long-game-of-coronavirus-research |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128082238/https://www.newyorker.com/science/medical-dispatch/the-long-game-of-coronavirus-research |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Saltzman |first=Jonathan |date=March 24, 2020 |title=Controversial BU lab is only one in New England with live coronavirus |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/24/business/controversial-bu-lab-is-only-one-new-england-with-live-coronavirus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027154143/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/24/business/controversial-bu-lab-is-only-one-new-england-with-live-coronavirus/ |archive-date=October 27, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

In August 2020, BU filed a [[service mark]] application with the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] to secure the phrase "F*ck It Won't Cut It" for a student-led COVID-19 safety program on campus. The slogan is meant to promote "safe and smart actions and behaviors for college and university students in a COVID-19 environment", according to the application.<ref>{{Cite web |title=F*CK IT WON'T CUT IT |url=http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4802:hql1rd.2.1 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office |quote=Promoting public awareness of safe and smart actions and behaviors for college and university students in a COVID-19 environment}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Annear |first=Steve |date=August 11, 2020 |title=Here's why Boston University had the f-bomb in a trademark application for a COVID-19 initiative |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/11/nation/heres-why-boston-university-had-f-bomb-trademark-application-covid-19-campus-initiative/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813150115/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/11/nation/heres-why-boston-university-had-f-bomb-trademark-application-covid-19-campus-initiative/ |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |work=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref>

In July 2021, BU announced faculty and staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for the fall 2022 semester. This comes after a vaccine requirement for all students, which was announced in April.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University announces vaccination requirement for faculty and staff |url=https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement-faculty-staff/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153119/https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement-faculty-staff/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=www.boston.com |date=July 19, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2021 |title=Staff and Faculty React to BU COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/staff-faculty-react-to-vaccine-mandate/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216044458/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/staff-faculty-react-to-vaccine-mandate/ |archive-date=February 16, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Larkin |first=Max |date=July 19, 2021 |title=Boston University Will Require Vaccination For Faculty, Staff On Campus This Fall |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153121/https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/07/19/boston-university-vaccine-requirement |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref>

==== COVID-19 research and gain-of-function controversy ====
In October 2022, Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories conducted research in a Biosafety Level 3 lab that modified the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 with the spike proteins of the Omicron variant.<ref name="Branswell 2022">{{Cite web |last=Branswell |first=Helen |date=October 18, 2022 |title=Boston University researchers' testing of lab-made version of Covid virus draws government scrutiny |url=https://www.statnews.com/2022/10/17/boston-university-researchers-testing-of-lab-made-version-of-covid-virus-draws-government-scrutiny/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020162508/https://www.statnews.com/2022/10/17/boston-university-researchers-testing-of-lab-made-version-of-covid-virus-draws-government-scrutiny/ |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |access-date=October 20, 2022 |website=STAT |language=en-US}}</ref> This resulted in a virus that was more lethal to lab mice than the Omicron variant itself, but less lethal than the original strain.<ref name="Branswell 2022" /> Some medical authorities criticized the research as dangerous "[[Gain-of-function research|gain of function]]" research, but others argued that it did not ''technically'' count as gain of function research because the modified virus happened not to be quite as lethal as the original strain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gain of Function? Not So Fast. |url=https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/gain-function-not-so-fast |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020154818/https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/gain-function-not-so-fast |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |access-date=October 20, 2022 |website=www.science.org |language=en}}</ref> Marc Lipsitch of Harvard, however, argued "these are unquestionably gain-of-function experiments. As many have noted, this is a very broad term encompassing many harmless and some potentially dangerous experiments. GOF is a scientific technique, not an epithet."<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1582574061062098946 |user=mlipsitch |title=First, these are unquestionably gain-of-function experiments... |language=en}}</ref> While the BU researchers gained internal research and Boston government approvals for the research, they failed to notify the US Government's [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]] that was a funder of the lab.<ref name="Branswell 2022" />

==Campus==
===Boston campuses and facilities===
[[File:Boston at sunset.jpg|thumb|Boston University's East Campus along [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]]]]
[[File:Bu beach.jpg|thumb|The "BU Beach", a linear strip of land sandwiched between the main BU campus and busy [[Storrow Drive]],  used as an outdoors space to relax and sunbathe in good weather]]
[[File:Marsh Chapel Back.jpg|thumb|Marsh Chapel, located at U beach, next to the BU Law Auditorium]]
The university's main Charles River Campus follows [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]] and the [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]], beginning near [[Kenmore Square]] and continuing for over a mile and a half to its end near the border of Boston's [[Allston, Massachusetts|Allston]] neighborhood. The [[Boston University Bridge]] over the [[Charles River]] into [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] represents the dividing line between Main Campus, where most schools and classroom buildings are concentrated, and [[Boston University West Campus|West Campus]], home to several athletic facilities and playing fields, the large West Campus dorm, and the new John Hancock Student Village complex. Boston University also has a campus located in the [[Fenway]] area, housing undergraduate students.

The main campus buildings of BU are separated from the [[Charles River Esplanade]] parkland and the [[Paul Dudley White]] Bike Path along the banks of the nearby Charles River, by heavily trafficked [[Storrow Drive]], a high-speed [[limited-access road|limited-access]] major roadway connecting downtown Boston to its western suburbs. The separation occurred in the late 1920s, when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seized land by [[eminent domain]] for the construction of the new roadway along the riverbank. A narrow strip of grassy lawn between BU academic buildings lining Commonwealth Avenue and the torrent of traffic on Storrow Drive has been humorously dubbed "BU Beach", because it is a favorite hangout for [[sunbathing]] in good weather.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stevens |first1=Ellie |title=In the green: BU students search for nature on campus – The Daily Free Press |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/2024/04/26/in-the-green-bu-students-search-for-nature-on-campus/ |date=26 April 2024}}</ref> The lounging students are protected from traffic incursions by a raised earthen [[berm]], which also muffles the traffic noise to a dull roar. To protect pedestrians from vehicular collisions, Storrow Drive is enclosed by fencing, with [[pedestrian bridge]]s allowing safe crossings at Silber Way and at Marsh Chapel. An additional crossing is possible at the BU Bridge, which also allows street traffic to cross from the Boston side to the Cambridge side of the Charles River.

As a result of its continual expansion, the Charles River campus contains an array of architecturally diverse buildings. The College of Arts and Sciences, Marsh Chapel, and the School of Theology buildings are the university's most recognizable, and were built in the late-1930s and 1940s in [[collegiate gothic]] style. A sizable amount of the campus is traditional Boston [[brownstone]], especially at [[Bay State Road]] and South Campus, where BU has acquired almost every townhouse those areas offer. The buildings are primarily dormitories, but many also serve as various institutes as well as department offices.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, several contemporary buildings were constructed, including the Mugar Library, BU Law School, and [[Warren Towers]], all of which were built in the [[brutalist architecture|brutalist]] style of architecture. The [[Metcalf Science Center for Science and Engineering]], constructed in 1983, might more accurately be described as [[Structural Expressionism]]. [[Morse Auditorium]], adjacent, stands in stark architectural contrast, as it was originally constructed as a Jewish [[synagogue]]. The most recent architectural additions to BU's campus are the Center for Computing & Data Sciences, [[Boston University Photonics Center|Photonics Center]], Life Science and Engineering Building, The Student Village (which includes the [[Fitness and Recreation Center|FitRec Center]] and [[Agganis Arena]]), and the [[Boston University School of Management|Questrom School of Business]]. All these buildings were built in brick, a few with a substantial amount of brownstone. Boston University converted the old Nickelodeon Cinemas complex into College of Engineering labs and offices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nickelodeon Cinemas in Boston, MA – Cinema Treasures |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7688 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414084942/http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7688 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref> In 2016, the university sold the building that housed the [[Huntington Theatre Company]] and constructed the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and College of Fine Arts Production Center to consolidate the theater program on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 16, 2017 |title=$10 million gift from Trustee names new CFA theatre – The Daily Free Press |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/2017/03/16/10-million-gift-from-trustee-names-new-cfa-theatre/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112649/https://dailyfreepress.com/2017/03/16/10-million-gift-from-trustee-names-new-cfa-theatre/ |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 24, 2019 |title=Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and the College of Fine Arts Production Center / Elkus Manfredi Architects |url=https://www.archdaily.com/924938/joan-and-edgar-booth-theatre-and-the-college-of-fine-arts-production-center-elkus-manfredi-architects |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117221913/https://www.archdaily.com/924938/joan-and-edgar-booth-theatre-and-the-college-of-fine-arts-production-center-elkus-manfredi-architects |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |website=ArchDaily |language=en-US}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = BU Center for Computing and Data Sciences from BU Bridge June 2025.jpeg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = The BU Data Science building
| image2            = BU Data Sciences Building.jpg
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = Viewed from Granby St.
}}
BU has earned several historic preservation awards with recent extensive building renovation projects, such as the School of Law tower,<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 25, 2016 |title=BU Law Tower wins 2016 Boston Preservation Alliance Award {{!}} Bruner / Cott |url=https://www.brunercott.com/congrats-bu-law/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116141706/https://www.brunercott.com/congrats-bu-law/ |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> the Alan & Sherry Leventhal Center,<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 1, 2014 |title=Awards |url=https://www.goodyclancy.com/about-us/awards/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414085049/https://www.goodyclancy.com/about-us/awards/ |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |website=Goody Clancy |language=en-US}}</ref> 610 Beacon Street (formerly Myles Standish Hall<ref name="bu.edu"/>),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University's Myles Standish Hall Honored with Preservation Achievement Award |url=https://www.shawmut.com/news/boston-university-s-myles-standish-hall-honored-with-preservation-achievement-award |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304064901/https://www.shawmut.com/news/boston-university-s-myles-standish-hall-honored-with-preservation-achievement-award |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |website=www.shawmut.com}}</ref> and the Dahod Family Alumni Center (formerly The Castle).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dahod Family Alumni Center Earns Double Accolades I News and Events |url=https://www.faainc.com/post/dahod-family-alumni-center-earns-double-accolades |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123111641/https://www.faainc.com/post/dahod-family-alumni-center-earns-double-accolades |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |website=www.faainc.com}}</ref> Construction of the brick and glass Yawkey Center for Student Services was designed to follow the requirements of the Bay State Road historic district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yawkey Center for Student Services {{!}} Bruner / Cott |url=https://www.brunercott.com/projects/yawky-center-for-student-services/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118203430/https://www.brunercott.com/projects/yawky-center-for-student-services/ |archive-date=January 18, 2021 |access-date=February 10, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> Use of glass and steel for new construction on Commonwealth Avenue includes the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, which opened in 2017, and the 19-story Center for Computing and Data Sciences, which opened in 2022.

The ceremonial opening on December 8, 2022, was covered by publications including [[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', and [[CBS News]] which praised the building for being the largest carbon-neutral building in Boston and noted its unusual design.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 26, 2022 |title=Staid Boston Gets an Architectural Wake-Up Call |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-26/3-wild-new-buildings-give-boston-an-architectural-jolt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507184829/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-26/3-wild-new-buildings-give-boston-an-architectural-jolt |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chesto |first=Jon |date=March 27, 2022 |title=BU's 'Jenga Building' is coming together above the Charles River – The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/27/business/bus-jenga-building-is-coming-together-above-charles-river/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109233721/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/27/business/bus-jenga-building-is-coming-together-above-charles-river/ |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2022 |title=Grand opening for unique-looking Boston University building |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-university-jenga-book-stack-building/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109233720/https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-university-jenga-book-stack-building/ |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> A ribbon cutting ceremony was performed by Boston Mayor [[Michelle Wu]], President [[Robert A. Brown]], the associate provost for computing and data sciences [[Azer Bestavros]], dean of Arts & Sciences Stan Sclaroff, BU Board of Trustees chair [[Ahmass Fakahany]], BU provost [[Jean Morrison (professor)|Jean Morrison]], and Boston city councilor [[Kenzie Bok]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2022 |title=BU Unveils Dramatic, Fossil Fuel–Free Center for Computing & Data Sciences |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/bu-unveils-center-for-computing-data-sciences/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109233733/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/bu-unveils-center-for-computing-data-sciences/ |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

In 2018, following negotiations in the preceding year, Boston University purchased the former [[Wheelock College]], which is now referred to as the Boston University Fenway Campus (although it is actually located in the adjacent neighborhood of [[Longwood, Boston|Longwood]]).

{{As of|2019}}, BU has sold or leased to real estate developers several building sites it owned in Kenmore Square next to its campus. Large multistory buildings are being constructed there, which will transform the long-time appearance of the busy traffic hub.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woolhouse |first=Megan |date=January 31, 2019 |title=Reimagining Kenmore Square |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/reimagining-kenmore-square/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924011503/http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/reimagining-kenmore-square/ |archive-date=September 24, 2019 |access-date=September 21, 2019 |website=BU Today |publisher=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2021, BU completed a $115 million project to renovate and expand the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University Celebrates Renovation and Expansion of Dental School |url=https://www.smithgroup.com/news/2021/boston-university-celebrates-the-renovation-and-expansion-of-goldman-school-of-dental |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153125/https://www.smithgroup.com/news/2021/boston-university-celebrates-the-renovation-and-expansion-of-goldman-school-of-dental |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=SmithGroup |language=en}}</ref> The project expanded clinical spaces, added a simulation learning center, and improved collaborative spaces for students.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Taylor |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Shawmut Completes $115M Expansion of Boston University's School of Dental Medicine |url=https://rebusinessonline.com/shawmut-completes-115m-expansion-of-boston-universitys-school-of-dental-medicine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153120/https://rebusinessonline.com/shawmut-completes-115m-expansion-of-boston-universitys-school-of-dental-medicine/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=REBusinessOnline |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Student housing====
{{Main|Boston University Housing System}}
[[File:WTB BU residence.jpg|thumb|A brownstone townhouse used by Boston University as dormitory]]
[[File:Warren Towers.jpg|thumb|[[Warren Towers]], the second-largest non-military dorm in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 19, 1999 |title=BU Bridge. Vol II No. February 24, 19 1998 "BU Yesterday: Third time's the dorm" |url=http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/1999/02-19/yesterday.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201213945/http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/1999/02-19/yesterday.html |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>]]
[[File:Myles Standish Hall.jpg|thumb|Built in 1925 as the Myles Standish Hotel, this building was converted to dorm space in 1949. In May 2024, the Myles Standish name was removed from the dorm. It is now called 610 Beacon Street.<ref name="bu.edu"/>]]
Boston University's housing system is the nation's 10th largest among four-year colleges. BU was originally a commuter school, but the university now guarantees the option of on-campus housing for four years for all undergraduate students. Currently, 76 percent of the undergraduate population lives on campus. Boston University requires that all students living in dormitories be enrolled in a year-long meal plan with several combinations of meals and dining points which can be used as cash in on-campus facilities.<ref>[http://www.bu.edu/housing/dining/plans/index.html Boston University |Office of Housing |Dining Plans and Convenience Points |Dining Plans], retrieved May 6, 2006 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212021154/http://www.bu.edu/housing/dining/plans/index.html |date=December 12, 2009}}</ref>

Housing at BU is an unusually diverse melange, ranging from individual 19th-century [[brownstone]] [[townhouse]]s and apartment buildings acquired by the school to large-scale high-rises built in the 1960s and 2000s.

The large dormitories include the 1,800-student [[Warren Towers]], the largest on campus, as well as West Campus and [[Towers (Boston University)|The Towers]]. The smaller dormitory and apartment style housing are mainly located in two parts of campus: Bay State Road and the South Campus residential area. Bay State Road is a tree-lined street that runs parallel to Commonwealth Avenue and is home to the majority of BU's townhouses, often called "brownstones". South Campus is a student residential area south of Commonwealth Avenue and separated from the main campus by the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]]. Some of the larger buildings in that area have been converted into dormitories, while the rest of the South Campus buildings are apartments.

Boston University's newest residence and principal apartment-style housing area is officially called 33 Harry Agganis Way, "StuVi2" unofficially, and is part of The John Hancock Student Village project. The north-facing, 26-story building is apartment style while the south-facing, 19-story building is in an 8-bedroom dormitory-style suite pattern. In total, the building houses 960 residents.

Aside from these main residential areas, smaller residential dormitories are scattered along Commonwealth Avenue.

Boston University also provides [[Boston University Housing System#Specialty housing|specialty houses]] or specialty floors to students who have particular interests.

Kilachand Hall, formerly [[Shelton Hall (Boston University)|Shelton Hall]], is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of playwright [[Eugene O'Neill]]. O'Neill lived in what was originally room 401 (now 419) while the building was a residential hotel. He died in a hospital on November 27, 1953, and his ghost is rumored to haunt both the room and the floor. The fourth floor is now a specialty floor called the Writers' Corridor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berghaus |first=Robin |date=September 27, 2012 |title=Kilachand Honors College Students Get Their Own Home |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/kilachand-honors-college-students-get-their-own-home/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125131055/http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/kilachand-honors-college-students-get-their-own-home/ |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |access-date=January 27, 2019 |website=BU Today}}</ref>

====John Hancock Student Village====
{{Main|John Hancock Student Village}}
[[File:Student Village II at Boston University.jpg|thumb|Student Village II with Student Village I in the background, viewed from Nickerson Field]]
The Student Village is a large new residential and recreational complex covering {{cvt|10|acre|m2}} between Buick Street and [[Nickerson Field]], ground formerly occupied by a [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] [[Armory (military)|Armory]], which had been used by the university for indoor track and field and as a storage facility before its [[demolition]] and the start of construction. The dormitory of apartment suites at 10 Buick Street (often abbreviated to "StuVi" by students) opened to juniors and seniors in the fall of 2000. In 2002, [[John Hancock Insurance]] announced its sponsorship of the multimillion-dollar project.

The [[Agganis Arena]], named after [[Harry Agganis]], was opened to concerts and [[ice hockey|hockey]] games in January 2005. The Agganis Arena is capable of housing 6,224 spectators for [[Boston University Terriers#Terrier Hockey|Terrier hockey]] games, replacing the smaller [[Walter Brown Arena]]. It can also be used for concerts and shows. In March 2005, the final element of phase II of the Student Village complex, the [[Fitness and Recreation Center|Fitness and Recreation (FitRec) Center]], was opened, drawing large crowds from the student body. Construction on the rest of phase II, which included 19- and 26-story residential towers was finished in fall 2009.

====Other facilities====
{{Further|BU Castle|George Sherman Union|Mugar Memorial Library}}
[[File:Kilachand Honors College - Boston University - DSC03072.JPG|thumb|The Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies on Bay State Road]]
[[File:BU Castle April 2013.JPG|thumb|[[BU Castle]], built in 1915, on Bay State Road]] 
The [[Mugar Memorial Library]] is the central academic library for the Charles River Campus. It also houses the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, formerly called the Twentieth Century Archive, where documents belonging to thousands of eminent figures in literature, journalism, diplomacy, the arts, and other fields are housed.

The [[George Sherman Union]] (GSU), located next to [[Mugar Memorial Library]], provides students with a food court featuring many fast-food chains, including [[Panda Express]], Basho, [[Starbucks]], El Comal, Rhett's, The Coop, Halal Shack, and Urban Table. The GSU also provides lounge areas for students to relax or study. The basement of the George Sherman Union is home to the BU Central lounge, which hosts concerts and other activities and events.

[[BU Castle]], located on the West end of Bay State Road, is one of the older buildings on campus. The building was commissioned by William Lindsay for his own use in 1905, long before his daughter's honeymoon on the ill-fated ''[[RMS Lusitania|Lusitania]]''.<ref>[http://www.bostonfamilyhistory.com/neigh_bbay.html 403 Forbidden] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303034655/http://www.bostonfamilyhistory.com/neigh_bbay.html |date=March 3, 2006}} accessed May 8, 2006</ref> In 1939, the university acquired the property by agreement with the city to repay all back taxes owed; these funds were raised through donations from, among others, William Chenery, a University Trustee.<ref>Salzman, Nancy Lurie. Buildings and builders : a history of Boston University. Boston : Boston University Press, 1985. ({{ISBN|0-87270-056-9}})</ref> It served as the residence of the university president until 1967, when President Christ-Janer found it too large for his needs as a residence and turned it to other uses. It is now a conference space. Underneath the Castle is the [[BU Castle#BU Pub|BU Pub]], the only BU-operated drinking establishment on campus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 21, 2004 |title=BU Pub offers college experience |url=http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2004/04/21/News/Permanent.Daylight.Bu.Pub.Offers.College.Experience-666574.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220302/http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2004/04/21/News/Permanent.Daylight.Bu.Pub.Offers.College.Experience-666574.shtml |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |website=Daily Free Press}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Admin |first1=Daily Free Press |title=BU Pub still a popular secret after decades on campus – The Daily Free Press |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/2006/04/06/bu-pub-still-a-popular-secret-after-decades-on-campus/ |date=6 April 2006}}</ref>

The Florence and Chafetz Hillel House on Bay State Road is the [[Hillel House]] for the university. With four floors and a basement, the facility includes lounges, study rooms and a [[Kosher foods|kosher]] dining hall, open during the academic year (including Passover) to students and walk-ins from the community. The first floor also includes the Granby St. Cafe as well as TVs and ping-pong, pool and foosball tables. The Hillel serves as a focal point for BU's large and active Jewish community. It hosts approximately 30 student groups, including social, cultural, and religious groups, and BU Students for Israel (BUSI), Holocaust Education, and the Center for Jewish Learning and Experience. It hosts a plethora of programs and speakers as well as Shabbat services and meals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hillel House |url=http://www.bu.edu/hillel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005042848/http://www.bu.edu/hillel/ |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

====Cultural life====
[[File:CharlesRiver Boston Sunset.jpg|thumb|The [[Charles River]] and the university]]
The university is located at the junction of [[Fenway-Kenmore]], [[Allston]], and [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]]. In the Fenway-Kenmore area are the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]], the [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]], and the nightlife of Landsdowne Street as well as Fenway Park, home of the [[Boston Red Sox]]. Allston has been Boston's largest [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] neighborhood since the 1960s. Nicknamed "Allston Rock City",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tomlinson |first=Sarah |date=August 27, 2004 |title=Rock City revival |url=https://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/08/27/rock_city_revival/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604023608/http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/08/27/rock_city_revival/ |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> the neighborhood is home to many artists and musicians, as well as a variety of cafés, and many of Boston's small music halls.

Beyond the southern border of the campus in Brookline, Harvard Avenue offers independent and foreign films at [[Coolidge Corner Theatre]], and author readings at the Brookline Booksmith. Other nearby cultural institutions include [[Symphony Hall, Boston|Symphony Hall]], [[Jordan Hall (Boston)|Jordan Hall]], the [[Boston Public Library, McKim Building|main branch of the Boston Public Library]] in Copley Square, the art and commerce of fashionable [[Newbury Street]], and across the Charles River, the museums, shops, and galleries in [[Harvard Square]] and elsewhere in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]].

The university is home to the [[Boston Playwrights' Theatre]]. Previously associated with the Huntington Theatre Company on [[Huntington Avenue]], but put the BU Theatre property up for sale in 2016, it cast a shadow over the future of the organization.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gay |first=Malcolm |date=January 20, 2016 |title=Boston-area arts groups launch online campaign to support Huntington Theatre |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2016/01/20/boston-area-arts-groups-launch-online-campaign-support-huntington-theatre/ANTPn1wUXjlAVfWGmRt0GO/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822221048/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2016/01/20/boston-area-arts-groups-launch-online-campaign-support-huntington-theatre/ANTPn1wUXjlAVfWGmRt0GO/story.html |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Aucoin |first=Don |date=December 26, 2015 |title=A year of upheaval and uncertainty in Boston theater |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-dance/2015/12/26/year-upheaval-and-uncertainty-boston-theater/a4z7iwm4EqEKxomNjvojoM/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822222908/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-dance/2015/12/26/year-upheaval-and-uncertainty-boston-theater/a4z7iwm4EqEKxomNjvojoM/story.html |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> BU replaced the old Huntington Theatre facilities with the new Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre, located next to the Fuller Building housing the College of Fine Arts.

BU hosts campus and non-campus musical performances in the [[Tsai Performance Center]] at 685 Commonwealth Avenue, and the CFA Concert Hall at 855 Commonwealth Avenue.

Visual art works by students and by visiting artists are displayed in rotating exhibitions in the university's three galleries: the BU Art Gallery (BUAG) at the Stone Gallery, the 808 Gallery, and the Sherman Gallery, located respectively at 855, 808, and 775 Commonwealth Avenue. In addition, BU had been associated with the Photographic Resource Center located at 832 Commonwealth Avenue, which mounts several exhibitions yearly, as well as special events for student and professional photographers. However, BU withdrew its support {{as of|2017|05|lc=y}},<ref>{{Cite news |last=Feeney |first=Mark |date=May 5, 2017 |title=With excellent 'Exposure,' PRC bids farewell to BU |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/art/2017/05/04/with-excellent-exposure-prc-bids-farewell/SVV9E1KegMcElwEuVDxTwM/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508071452/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/art/2017/05/04/with-excellent-exposure-prc-bids-farewell/SVV9E1KegMcElwEuVDxTwM/story.html |archive-date=May 8, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> and the Photographic Resource Center is now a resident partner with the College of Art and Design at [[Lesley University]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Photographic Resource Center moves to Lesley {{!}} Lesley University |url=https://lesley.edu/news/photographic-resource-center-moves-to-lesley |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031010149/https://lesley.edu/news/photographic-resource-center-moves-to-lesley |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |access-date=October 27, 2020 |website=lesley.edu}}</ref>

==== Guest and visitor policies ====
Prior to September 2007, Boston University had a restrictive visitor policy, which limited the ability of students from different dormitories to visit each other at night. This changed when a new policy approved by Brown took effect.<ref>[http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=44920&template=4 "President Approves New Guest Policy"], ''BU Today'' May 7, 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213114351/http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=44920&template=4 |date=December 13, 2007}}</ref> The new policy allows for students living on campus to swipe into any on-campus dormitory between the hours of 7&nbsp;am and 2&nbsp;am using their Terrier cards. Student residents can also sign in guests with photo identification at any time, day or night. Overnight visitors of the opposite sex are no longer required to seek a same-sex "co-host".<ref>[http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=43755&template=4&from_email=true "New Guest Policy Means More Power, More Responsibility"], ''BU Today'' March 2, 2007 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014223108/http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=43755&template=4&from_email=true |date=October 14, 2007}}</ref> However, during reading period and the week before final exams,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Residential Policies » Dean of Students {{!}} Boston University |url=https://www.bu.edu/dos/policies/lifebook/residential/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530170436/https://www.bu.edu/dos/policies/lifebook/residential/ |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=May 30, 2019 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> no guests are permitted in the halls overnight, and are expected to be out of the hall by 2&nbsp;am.<ref>[http://www.bu.edu/dos/documents/GuestPolicy22807.pdf BU Guest Policy] from bu.edu {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325150728/http://www.bu.edu/dos/documents/GuestPolicy22807.pdf |date=March 25, 2009}}</ref>

====Mass transit====
[[File:Boston University College of Arts and Sciences.jpg|thumb|The [[Boston University College of Arts and Sciences|College of Arts and Sciences]] fronts along busy [[Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)|Commonwealth Avenue]]]]
Most of the buildings of the main campus are located on or near Commonwealth Avenue, served by the {{bts|Kenmore}} subway stop on the [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]] and five surface stops on the [[Green Line (MBTA)#Route description|Green Line B branch]]. Crowding on the busy B branch is very seasonal; during the summer, ridership falls by more than half, largely due to the reduced student population.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ramos |first=Nestor |date=April 10, 2017 |title=Section of Commonwealth Avenue to be closed to most traffic this summer during bridge facelift |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/04/10/section-commonwealth-avenue-closed-most-traffic-this-summer-during-bridge-facelift/hTsyVhYezZ9DDIy1j7MQPP/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512015247/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/04/10/section-commonwealth-avenue-closed-most-traffic-this-summer-during-bridge-facelift/hTsyVhYezZ9DDIy1j7MQPP/story.html |archive-date=May 12, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> The South Campus and Fenway Campus areas are served by {{bts|Saint Marys Street}} on the [[Green Line C branch|C branch]] and {{bts|Fenway}} on the [[Green Line D branch|D branch]]. [[MBTA bus]] route {{MBTABus|57}} parallels the B branch on Commonwealth Avenue; {{bts|Lansdowne}} on the [[MBTA Commuter Rail]] [[Framingham/Worcester Line]] is located near East Campus.

Bicycle traffic on Commonwealth Avenue is heavy,<ref name="Brown 2016" /> and advocacy groups have held public meetings with BU, the MBTA, and the City of Boston to improve safety and congestion along this travel corridor.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dungca |first=Nicole |date=November 30, 2014 |title=Bike advocates set public meeting for Commonwealth Ave. improvements |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/30/bike-advocates-set-public-meeting-for-commonwealth-ave-improvements/VeqHLzysSp8DVV5uydL0WN/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831125517/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/30/bike-advocates-set-public-meeting-for-commonwealth-ave-improvements/VeqHLzysSp8DVV5uydL0WN/story.html |archive-date=August 31, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Powers |first=Martine |date=August 2, 2014 |title=Bicycle advocates seek safety changes in Commonwealth Avenue |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/08/01/bicycle-advocates-seek-safety-changes-commonwealth-avenue/fMDP2S2Y057kaCIEeO3txN/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227111725/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/08/01/bicycle-advocates-seek-safety-changes-commonwealth-avenue/fMDP2S2Y057kaCIEeO3txN/story.html |archive-date=February 27, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> The MBTA plans to consolidate and reduce the number of stops along Commonwealth Avenue to speed travel and to reduce construction costs to upgrade the remaining stations. Improvements planned include full [[handicapped accessibility]] at the new stations, fencing to encourage pedestrians to use protected [[crosswalk]]s, [[traffic signal prioritization]] for transit vehicles, and improved esthetics. The Commonwealth Avenue Improvement Project is coordinated by the [[Massachusetts Highway Department]], in cooperation with BU, the MBTA, the City of Boston, the [[Boston Water and Sewer Commission]], and other organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commonwealth Avenue Improvement Project |url=https://www.bu.edu/cap/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504112504/http://www.bu.edu/cap/ |archive-date=May 4, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |website=www.bu.edu |publisher=Trustees of Boston University}}</ref><ref name="Brown 2016">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Joel |date=November 3, 2016 |title=Phase II of the Commonwealth Avenue Improvement Project Kicks Off |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2016/commonwealth-avenue-improvement-project/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504065223/http://www.bu.edu/today/2016/commonwealth-avenue-improvement-project/ |archive-date=May 4, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017 |work=BU Today}}</ref>

The medical campus is served by the #1 and CT1 crosstown buses, which run along Massachusetts Avenue, and the No. 47 and CT3 crosstown buses, which connect the Boston University Medical Center with the [[Longwood Medical Area]]. The [[Silver Line (MBTA)|Silver Line]] Washington Street Branch runs the entire length of the Medical Campus, one block north of most parts of the campus; it connects Boston University Medical Center with [[Tufts Medical Center (MBTA station)|Tufts Medical Center]] station and downtown Boston. The nearest rapid transit subway station is the [[Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station)|Massachusetts Avenue]] station on the [[Orange Line (MBTA)|Orange Line]], located three blocks north of the Medical Center.

==== Sustainability ====
The university has a sustainability initiative and a sustainability office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Recognition – Sustainability |url=http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/awards-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508135225/https://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/awards-2/ |archive-date=May 8, 2017 |access-date=May 15, 2017 |website=www.bu.edu |language=en-US}}</ref> Boston University's Strategic Plan for Campus Sustainability is also integrated into the university's overarching strategic plan in many areas including the Climate Action Plan Task Force, a faculty-led initiative developing the university's first Climate Action Plan. The Campus Climate Lab, led by the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability in partnership with Boston University Sustainability and the Office of Research, provides opportunities for student-led research projects that support sustainability on the campus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2023 |title=Newly Funded BU Campus Climate Lab Projects Announced for Spring 2023 |url=https://www.bu.edu/igs/2023/03/30/campus-climate-lab-spring-2023/ |website=BU Institute for Global Sustainability}}</ref>

In July 2022, social scientist [[Benjamin K. Sovacool|Benjamin Sovacool]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benjamin Sovacool |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wKHreQ0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao |website=Google Scholar}}</ref> led the establishment of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability. Formerly the Institute for Sustainable Energy, the university-wide institute advances cross-disciplinary research on sustainability with a focus on justice and equity.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Colarossi |first=Jessica |date=March 15, 2022 |title=BU Institute to Focus on Equity and Justice in the Climate Change Fight |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/ise-focuses-on-equity-and-justice-in-climate-change-fight/ |work=The Brink}}</ref>

The university bought a wind farm in South Dakota to meet its goal of [[carbon neutrality]] by 2040.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 14, 2019 |title=A Study in Emissionality: Why Boston University Looked Beyond New England for Its First Wind Power Purchase |url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2019/01/14/a-study-in-emissionality-why-boston-university-looked-beyond-new-england-for-its-first-wind-power-pu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920022116/https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2019/01/14/a-study-in-emissionality-why-boston-university-looked-beyond-new-england-for-its-first-wind-power-pu/ |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=Renewable Energy World |language=en-US}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wade |first1=Adam |title=Boston University Signs Long-Term Power Purchase Agreement for Wind Energy |url=https://foleyhoag.com/news-and-insights/blogs/energy-and-climate-counsel/2018/september/boston-university-signs-long-term-power-purchase-agreement-for-wind-energy/ |website=foleyhoag.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Other campuses ===
==== London campus ====
[[File:43 Harrington Gardens - BU London.jpg|thumb|43 [[Harrington Gardens]], the main academic building for Boston University's London Campus]]
Boston University's largest study abroad program is located in [[London]], England. Boston University London Programmes offers a semester of study and work in London through their London Internship Program (LIP), as well as a number of other specialized programs. The LIP program combines a professional internship with coursework that examines a particular academic area in the context of Britain's history, culture, and society and its role in modern Europe.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Van Loon |first1=Emma |title=England London Internship: Business {{!}} Study Abroad |url=https://www.bu.edu/abroad/programs/london-internship-business/ |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> Courses in each academic area are taught exclusively to students enrolled in the Boston University program by a selected faculty body representing multiple cultural backgrounds. Upon successful completion of a semester, students earn 16 Boston University credits. BU London Programmes are headquartered in [[South Kensington]], London. The campus consists of the main building at 43 Harrington Gardens, as well as three nearby residences to house students. This program is open to Boston University students, as well as students at other American colleges.

==== Los Angeles campus ====
In [[Los Angeles]], the university has an internship program for students to study and work in the heart of the film, television, advertising, public relations, and entertainment management and law industries. The program offers three tracks from which undergraduate and graduate students can choose: Advertising and Public Relations, Film and Television, and Entertainment Management. Graduated students have the opportunity to continue their education by enrolling in the Los Angeles Certificate Program, where students can choose either the Acting in Hollywood or the Writer in Hollywood track. Courses are taught by Boston University faculty and alumni who serve as mentors in and out of the classroom. Upon successful completion of a semester students will earn 16 Boston University credits. Students who successfully complete the Los Angeles Certificate Program will receive 8 Boston University credits and a certificate from Boston University College of Fine Arts or College of Communication.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 14, 2016 |title=Los Angeles Internship &#124; College of Fine Arts |url=http://www.bu.edu/cfa/academics/find-a-degreeprogram/school-of-theatre/los-angelesprogram/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113070324/http://www.bu.edu/cfa/academics/find-a-degreeprogram/school-of-theatre/los-angelesprogram/ |archive-date=January 13, 2017 |access-date=January 11, 2017 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

==== Paris campus ====
The [[Paris]] Center runs several programs, the largest of which is the Paris Internship Program dating from 1989. Students take language and elective courses with French faculty at the BU Paris Center, then are placed in internships with French businesses and organizations in the area. Students live with host families or in a dormitory for the extent of the semester. Boston University Paris also organizes exchange programs with the business school [[Paris Dauphine University]] and a yearlong program with the ''Institut d'études politiques de Paris'' ([[Sciences Po]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Study Abroad: Paris |url=http://www.bu.edu/paris/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906025604/http://www.bu.edu/paris/ |archive-date=September 6, 2013 |access-date=August 21, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

==== Washington, D.C. campus ====
In [[Washington, D.C.]], Boston University offers internship, journalism and management programs. Students study in the university's building on [[Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Massachusetts Avenue]] in [[Dupont Circle]] and take advantage of the city by interning at different locations. In 2011, the university completed construction of a new, multistory residence to house students in the program featuring touch-less entry cards for security and suites with communal kitchens, right next to the [[Woodley Park station|Woodley Park]] Metro station.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Washington, DC Housing |url=http://www.bu.edu/abroad/housing/washington-dc-housing/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617174502/http://www.bu.edu/abroad/housing/washington-dc-housing/ |archive-date=June 17, 2013 |access-date=August 21, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> The Multimedia and Journalism program allows students to act as Washington, D.C. correspondents for newspapers and television stations across the Northeast and New England while interning at major news outlets in the city, as well as at many PR internships in politics, government and public affairs. Internship opportunities are also offered in a wide variety of sectors for students enrolled in other BU Study Abroad Washington programs.

==== Sydney campus ====
In [[Sydney]], Australia, Boston University has internship, management, film festival, travel writing, engineering, and School of Education programs that vary based on semester. Around 150 students live in the university's building in [[Chippendale, New South Wales|Chippendale]] developed by Tony Owen Partners.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2010 |title=Boston University nears completion |url=http://tonyowenpartners.blogspot.com/2010/10/boston-university-nears-completion.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326130355/http://tonyowenpartners.blogspot.com/2010/10/boston-university-nears-completion.html |archive-date=March 26, 2012 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Tonyowenpartners.blogspot.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2011 |title=tonyowenpartners: Latest Boston University Shots |url=http://tonyowenpartners.blogspot.com/2011/02/latest-boston-university-shots.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326130416/http://tonyowenpartners.blogspot.com/2011/02/latest-boston-university-shots.html |archive-date=March 26, 2012 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Tonyowenpartners.blogspot.com}}</ref> The building uses "fissures to provide maximum solar access to bedrooms as well as natural ventilation throughout the building".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tony Owen Partners &#124; Boston University Student Housing |url=http://www.arthitectural.com/tony-owen-partners-boston-university-student-housing/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326130355/http://www.arthitectural.com/tony-owen-partners-boston-university-student-housing/ |archive-date=March 26, 2012 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=arthitectural.com}}</ref> The building opened in the beginning of 2011 and features underground classrooms, a lecture hall, office space, library, and a roof patio.

Other internship and study abroad opportunities are available through the Study Abroad office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Study Abroad |url=http://www.bu.edu/abroad/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016210900/http://www.bu.edu/abroad/ |archive-date=October 16, 2011 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

== Academics ==
=== Colleges and schools ===
{|class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin-left:1em; font-size:90%; line-height:1.4em; width:500px;"
|-
| '''College/School''' || style="text-align: center;"| '''Year founded'''
|-
| [[Boston University School of Theology|School of Theology]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1839
|-
| [[Boston University School of Medicine|Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1848
|-
| [[Boston University School of Law|School of Law]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1872
|-
| [[Boston University College of Arts and Sciences|College of Arts & Sciences]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1873
|-
| [[Boston University College of Arts and Sciences|Graduate School of Arts & Sciences]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1874
|-
| [[Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Sargent College)|Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Sargent College)]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1881
|-
| [[Boston University School of Management|Questrom School of Business]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1913
|-
| [[Boston University School of Education|Wheelock College of Education & Human Development]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1918
|-
| [[Boston University School of Social Work|School of Social Work]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1940
|-
| [[Boston University College of Communication|College of Communication]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1947
|-
| [[Boston University College of Engineering|College of Engineering]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1950
|-
| [[Boston University College of General Studies|College of General Studies]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1952
|-
| [[Boston University College of Fine Arts|College of Fine Arts]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1954
|-
| [[Goldman School of Dental Medicine|Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1963
|-
| [[Boston University Metropolitan College|Metropolitan College]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1965
|-
| [[Boston University School of Public Health|School of Public Health]] || style="text-align: center;"| 1976
|-
| School of Hospitality Administration || style="text-align: center;"| 1981
|-
|Arvind & Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College{{efn|Though not a degree granting college, students enrolled in it must take courses provided by the college itself. Students not in the program are not allowed to take courses provided by this college.}} || style="text-align: center;"| 2010
|-
| [[Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies]] || style="text-align: center;"| 2014
|}

Boston University offers [[bachelor's]], [[master's]], [[doctorate]], medical, dental, and law degrees through its 17 schools and colleges. The newest school at Boston University is the [[Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies]] (established 2014). [[Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development]] was renamed in 2018 following the merger with Wheelock College. In 2019, BU created the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, which is an interdisciplinary academic unit that will train students in computing and enable them to combine data science with their chosen field. In 2022, BU's medical school was renamed the Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine (following a $100 million gift from Edward Avedisian, a career clarinetist).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mogg |first=Katie |date=September 29, 2022 |title=Retired clarinetist donates $100 million to rename Boston University's medical school after his friend |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/29/metro/retired-clarinetist-donates-100-million-boston-universitys-medical-school/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014170255/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/29/metro/retired-clarinetist-donates-100-million-boston-universitys-medical-school/ |archive-date=October 14, 2022 |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Joel |date=September 29, 2022 |title=The Lifelong Friendship behind Astonishing $100 Million Gift to BU's Medical School |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/lifelong-friendship-behind-100-million-gift-to-bu-medical-school/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019191632/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/lifelong-friendship-behind-100-million-gift-to-bu-medical-school/ |archive-date=October 19, 2022 |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> In December 2024, the Center for Computing & Data Sciences was renamed the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Naming Ceremony for BU's Duan Center for Computing & Data Sciences {{!}} BU Today |url=https://www.bu.edu/today/close-ups/2024/naming-of-cds-building/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

Each school and college at the university has a three letter abbreviation, which is commonly used in place of their full school or college name. For example, the College of Arts & Sciences is commonly referred to as CAS, the College of Engineering is ENG, the College of General Studies is CGS, and the College of Fine Arts is CFA.

The College of Fine Arts was formerly named the School of Fine Arts (SFA). The College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) was formerly named the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). The College of Communication was formerly named the School of Public Communication (SPC). The Questrom School of Business (Questrom) was formerly known as the School of Management (SMG),<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 31, 2015 |title=Boston University alumnus gives $50M gift to school |url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/03/boston_university_alumnus_gives_50m_gift_to_school |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090107/http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/03/boston_university_alumnus_gives_50m_gift_to_school |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=March 31, 2015 |work=Boston Herald |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and the College of Business Administration (CBA) prior to that. The College of General Studies (CGS) was formerly named the College of Basic Studies (CBS).

The Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine (MHCBM) Program at [[Boston University School of Medicine]] offers a [[master's degree]] for students who wish to become licensed to practice as a [[mental health counselor]]. The program adheres to educational guidelines and standards of the [[American Counseling Association]] (ACA), [[American Mental Health Counselors Association]] (AMHCA), and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), which is an independent agency recognized by the [[Council for Higher Education Accreditation]]. The MHCBM Program is the only [[counselor education]] program in the entire United States that is housed in a medical school for solely training students in clinical mental health counseling to treat clients and patients with a [[mental disorder]] via counseling and [[psychotherapy]]. Boston University is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Massachusetts Institutions |url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/ |access-date=May 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009082139/https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/ |archive-date=October 9, 2021 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[New England Commission of Higher Education]]}}</ref>

=== Admissions ===
<div style="float:right; font-size:85%: text-align:center;">
<big>'''Fall freshman statistics'''</big><ref>{{Cite web |title=Brimming with Brilliance {{!}} Boston University Annual Report 2024 |url=https://ar.bu.edu/2024/town-square/brimming-with-brilliance/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=ar.bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Future Is Bright and So Is the Class of 2027 {{!}} Boston University Annual Report 2023 |url=https://ar.bu.edu/2023/first-gen-power/class-of-2027/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=ar.bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Laskowski |first=Amy |date=March 25, 2020 |title=A First Peek at the (Potential) BU Class of 2024 |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/peek-at-class-2024-virtual-campus-tours/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103061312/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/peek-at-class-2024-virtual-campus-tours/ |archive-date=November 3, 2020 |website=BU Today |publisher=www.bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Academic Profile – Admissions |url=http://www.bu.edu/admissions/why-bu/academic-profile/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201193408/http://www.bu.edu/admissions/why-bu/academic-profile/ |archive-date=February 1, 2019 |access-date=January 27, 2019 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University Common Data Set |url=https://www.bu.edu/oir/cds/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224030327/https://www.bu.edu/oir/cds/ |archive-date=December 24, 2016 |access-date=January 10, 2017 |publisher=Boston University Institutional Research}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Laskowski |first=Amy |date=February 16, 2016 |title=Getting in: A Little Tougher Every Year |url=https://www.bu.edu/today/2016/class-of-2020-applicants-break-record/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224030732/https://www.bu.edu/today/2016/class-of-2020-applicants-break-record/ |archive-date=December 24, 2016 |access-date=December 23, 2016 |website=BU Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Laskowski |first=Amy |date=July 27, 2016 |title=Boston University Class of 2020 |url=https://www.bu.edu/today/2016/class-of-2020/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126005936/http://www.bu.edu/today/2016/class-of-2020/ |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=January 23, 2017 |website=BU Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 23, 2017 |title=Profile of Admitted Students |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2017/record-60000-applicants-to-bu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124123041/http://www.bu.edu/today/2017/record-60000-applicants-to-bu/ |archive-date=January 24, 2017 |access-date=January 23, 2017 |website=BU Today}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! &nbsp;
!2024
!2023
!2022 !! 2021 !! 2020 !! 2019
|-
! Applicants
|78,769
|80,495
|80,794
|75,733|| 61,006|| 62,210
|-
! Admits
|8,743
|8,733
|11,434
|13,884|| 11,286 || 11,260
|-
! Admit Rate (%)
|11.1
|10.9
|14.4
|18.3|| 18.5 || 18.1
|-
! Enrolled
|3,268
|3,145
|3,635
|3,200|| 3,100|| 3,100
|-
!Yield (%)
|37.3
|36.0
|31.8
|23.1
|27.5
|27.5
|-
! Avg Unweighted GPA
|3.9
|3.9
|3.95
|3.90|| 3.90 || 3.82
|-
! SAT Middle 50%
|1469
|1419
|1491
|1482|| 1470 || 1468
|-
|}
</div>

Based on currently enrolled student responses within the university student database 50.6% [[White people|white]], 14% [[Asian people|Asian]], 11.6% international students, 8.6% [[Hispanic]], and 3.2% [[Black people|black]]. Fall 2015 international student enrollment at Boston University is 43% Chinese, 9% Indian, 5% Korean, 5% Saudi Arabian, 4% Canadian, 4% Taiwanese, 2% Turkish, and 1% from each of the following countries: Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, France, Thailand, Spain, and Japan. The other 18% of international enrollment comes from 123 other countries.<ref name="International">{{Cite web |title=2015 International Student Data |url=http://www.bu.edu/isso/about/statistics/student-15/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220101944/http://www.bu.edu/isso/about/statistics/student-15/ |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |access-date=December 11, 2016 |publisher=Boston University International Students & Scholars Office}}</ref> Among international students, 39% are pursuing undergraduate degrees, 37% are pursuing graduate degrees, and 23% are enrolled in other programs.<ref name=International /> BU has the largest number of [[Jews]] out of all private schools in the U.S. with about 6,000 students identifying as Jewish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 60 Jewish Colleges |url=https://www.hillel.org/top-60-jewish-colleges/ |website=Hillel}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University |url=https://www.hillel.org/college/boston-university/ |website=Hillel}}</ref>

The plurality of registrants were from [[Massachusetts]] (19%), followed by [[New York (state)|New York]] (16%), [[New Jersey]] (9%), [[California]] (8%), [[Connecticut]] (4%), [[Pennsylvania]] (4%), and [[Texas]] (2%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freshman Profile |url=http://www.bu.edu/dbin/infocenter/content/index.php?pageid=909&topicid=12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005040756/http://www.bu.edu/dbin/infocenter/content/index.php?topicid=12&pageid=909 |archive-date=October 5, 2008 |access-date=August 5, 2008 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

Boston University's financial aid program, "affordableBU", meets 100% of the demonstrated need of domestic students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents).<ref>{{Cite web |title=AffordableBU &#124; Admissions |url=https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/affordable-bu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205064956/https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/affordable-bu/ |archive-date=February 5, 2023 |access-date=February 5, 2023}}</ref>

=== Rankings ===
{{Infobox US university ranking
| USNWR_NU = 42 (tie)
| USNWR_W = 86 (tie)
| THE_WSJ = 171
| Forbes = 45
| THES_W = 76
| QS_W = 88 (tie)
| Wamo_NU = 69
| ARWU_W = 101–150
}}
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ ''USNWR'' graduate school rankings as of 2025<ref name="USNWR Grad">{{Cite web |title=BU's Graduate School Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/boston-university-164988/overall-rankings |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317220419/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/boston-university-164988/overall-rankings |archive-date=March 17, 2017 |access-date=October 11, 2025 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Questrom School of Business|Business]]
| 46
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Boston University School of Education|Education]]
| 40
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Boston University College of Engineering|Engineering]]
| 27
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Boston University School of Law|Law]]
| 22
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Boston University School of Public Health|Public Health]]
| 7
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Boston University School of Social Work|Social Work]]
| 12
|-
! colspan="2" scope="row" | [[Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Sargent College)|Occupational Therapy]]
| 1
|}
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+''USNWR'' departmental rankings as of 2024<ref name="USNWR Grad" />
|-
! scope=row | Biomedical Engineering
| 10
|-
! scope=row | Biological Sciences
| 80
|-
! scope=row | Chemistry
| 67
|-
! scope=row | Clinical Psychology
| 27
|-
! scope=row | Computer Science
| 45
|-
! scope=row | Earth Sciences
| 70
|-
! scope=row | Economics
| 22
|-
! scope=row | English
| 41
|-
! scope=row | Fine Arts
| 32
|-
! scope=row | Health Care Management
| 19
|-
! scope=row | History
| 54
|-
! scope=row | Mathematics
| 55
|-
! scope=row | Physics
| 38
|-
! scope=row | Political Science
| 59
|-
! scope=row | Psychology
| 46
|-
! scope=row | Public Health
| 7
|-
! scope=row | Social Work
| 12
|-
! scope=row | Sociology
| 41
|-
! scope=row | Speech-Language Pathology
| 5
|-
! scope=row | Statistics
| 41
|}

''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' ranks Boston University tied for 42nd among national universities and tied for 86th among global universities for 2026.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 23, 2025 |title=''U.S. News'' Best Colleges Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/boston-university-2130 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251011030656/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/boston-university-2130 |archive-date=October 11, 2025 |access-date=October 11, 2025 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2025 |title=Boston University |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/boston-university-164988 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251011031219/https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/boston-university-164988 |archive-date=October 11, 2025 |access-date=October 11, 2025}}</ref> It also ranked BU 26th in "Best Value Schools" and tied for 42nd in "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2025 |title=Boston University Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/boston-university-2130/overall-rankings |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251011032343/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/boston-university-2130/overall-rankings |archive-date=October 11, 2025 |access-date=October 11, 2025 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> ''U.S. News & World Report's'' 2025 list also ranks Boston University's online graduate information technology programs 10th in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 21, 2025 |title=Best Online Master's in Information Technology Programs |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/computer-information-technology/rankings |access-date=October 11, 2025}}</ref> the online graduate criminal justice programs tied for 6th, and the online graduate business programs (excluding MBAs) tied for 10th.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 21, 2025 |title=Online Programs Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/boston-university-164988 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251011032725/https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/boston-university-164988 |archive-date=October 11, 2025 |access-date=October 11, 2025 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 21, 2025 |title=Best Online Master's in Business Programs |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/business/rankings |access-date=October 11, 2025}}</ref>

Boston University is ranked No. 171 nationally in the 2025 ''Wall Street Journal/College Pulse'' U.S. colleges and universities ranking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best U.S. Colleges 2025 - WSJ / College Pulse Rankings |url=https://www.wsj.com/rankings/college-rankings/best-colleges-2025?mod=ig_collegerankings2025 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

''[[QS World University Rankings]]'' ranked Boston University 88th overall in the world in its 2026 rankings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 19, 2025 |title=Boston University |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/boston-university |access-date=October 11, 2025 |website=Top Universities |language=en}}</ref>

''[[Times Higher Education]]'' ranked Boston University 76th in the world for 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 9, 2025 |title=World University Rankings |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/latest/world-ranking#!/length/25/name/boston/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/scores |access-date=October 11, 2025 |website=Times Higher Education (THE) |language=en}}</ref>

''Times Higher Education'' ranked Boston University 34th in the 2024–25 Global University Employability Rankings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title=Best universities for graduate jobs: Global Employability University Ranking 2024-25 |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-graduate-jobs-global-university-employability-ranking |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Student |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Academic Ranking of World Universities]] ranks Boston University 38–48 in the United States, and 101–150 in the world, in its 2025 list.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2025 |title=ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities |url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2025 |access-date=October 11, 2025 |website=www.shanghairanking.com}}</ref>

In 2016, the ''Chronicle of Higher Education'' placed the Boston University School of Social Work as sixth in the nation for research productivity by faculty.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University School of Social Work Rankings |url=http://onlinemsw.bu.edu/accreditation-and-rankings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323190506/http://onlinemsw.bu.edu/accreditation-and-rankings |archive-date=March 23, 2016 |access-date=March 24, 2016}}</ref>

Boston University is also one of 250 global universities selected for the Emerging Group's 2025 Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS), and is ranked 34th in the world (12th in the U.S.) within this select group.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2024 |title=Global Employability University Ranking and Survey |url=https://www.emerging.fr/geurs/ranking,%20https://www.emerging.fr/geurs/ranking |access-date=October 11, 2025 |website=www.emerging.fr}}</ref>

BU is one of 146 American universities receiving the highest research classification ("RU/VH") by the Carnegie Foundation.<ref name="Carnegie Foundation" />

===Research===
[[File:Boston University Talbot Building 01.JPG|thumb|The Talbot Building located on the medical campus houses the [[Boston University School of Public Health|School of Public Health]]]]
In 2024, the university reported in $579.5M million in total research awards, and in fiscal year 2023 it ranked 16th in the U.S. among private institutions for all research and development expenditures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University Annual Report 2024 |url=https://ar.bu.edu/2024/files/2024/11/Financials_2024.pdf |access-date=January 14, 2025 |website=ar.bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey 2022 {{!}} NSF – National Science Foundation |url=https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2022#data |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=ncses.nsf.gov}}</ref> Funding sources included the [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF), the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH), the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]], the [[European Commission]], the [[Susan G. Komen Foundation]], and the federal [[Health Resources and Services Administration]]. The university's research enterprise encompasses dozens of fields, but its primary focus currently lies in seven areas: data science, engineering biology, global health, infectious diseases, neuroscience, photonics, and urban health.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Research Areas {{!}} Research |url=https://www.bu.edu/research/our-research/research-areas/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415013547/https://www.bu.edu/research/our-research/research-areas/ |archive-date=April 15, 2017 |access-date=April 14, 2017 |website=www.bu.edu |language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, BU received a $20 million grant over five years from the NSF in order to establish an Engineering Research Center (ERC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Four new NSF Engineering Research Centers will advance US health, energy sustainability |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=242681 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153122/https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=242681 |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=www.nsf.gov |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NSF Award Search: Award # 1647837 – Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Directed Multiscale Assembly of Cellular Metamaterials with Nanoscale Precision: CELL-MET |url=https://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1647837 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153121/https://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1647837 |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=nsf.gov |language=en}}</ref> The ERC's goal is to bioengineer functional heart tissue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU Wins $20M for NSF Engineering Research Center {{!}} The Brink |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/nsf-award-engineering-research-center/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153119/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/nsf-award-engineering-research-center/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> The director of the center is David Bishop, a professor of physics and computer and electrical engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Bishop, Ph.D. {{!}} College of Engineering |url=https://www.bu.edu/eng/profile/david-bishop/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153130/https://www.bu.edu/eng/profile/david-bishop/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref>

In 2003, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Boston University a grant to build one of two National Biocontainment Laboratories. The [[National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories]] (NEIDL) was created to study emerging infectious diseases that pose a significant threat to public health.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 10, 2020 |title=Biocontainment Laboratory—Boston University National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory {{!}} NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases |url=http://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/boston-u-national-biocontainment-lab |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109083815/https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/boston-u-national-biocontainment-lab |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.niaid.nih.gov |language=en}}</ref> NEIDL has biosafety level 2, 3, and 4 (BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4, respectively) labs that enable researchers to work safely with the pathogens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories |url=https://www.bu.edu/neidl/about-neidl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030023410/https://www.bu.edu/neidl/about-neidl/ |archive-date=October 30, 2022 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> BSL-4 labs are the highest level of biosafety labs and work with diseases with a high risk of aerosol transmission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CDC LC Quick Learn: Recognize the four Biosafety Levels |url=https://www.cdc.gov/training/quicklearns/biosafety/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924201350/https://www.cdc.gov/training/QuickLearns/biosafety/ |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.cdc.gov}}</ref>

The strategic plan also encouraged research collaborations with industry and government partners. In 2016, as part of a broadbased effort to solve the critical problem of [[antibiotic resistance]], the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|U.S. Department of Health & Human Services]] (HHS) selected the [[Boston University School of Law|BU School of Law]] (LAW)—and [[Kevin Outterson]], a BU professor of law—to lead a $350 million trans-Atlantic public-private partnership called [[CARB-X]] to foster the preclinical development of new antibiotics and antimicrobial rapid diagnostics and vaccines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Mark |date=August 3, 2016 |title=International coalition putting $350M behind CARB-X to fight drug-resistant bacteria |url=http://medcitynews.com/2016/08/350m-carb-x-drug-resistant-bacteria/ |access-date=April 14, 2017 |website=MedCity News}}</ref> CARB-X was allotted an additional $370 million in funding in May 2022. HHS will continue to support CARB-X with up to $300 million over 10 years, and global charity Wellcome will fund up to $70 million over three years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2022 |title=U.S. Government and Wellcome Commit Up To An Additional US$370 Million to CARB-X |url=https://www.amr-insights.eu/u-s-government-and-wellcome-commit-up-to-an-additional-us370-million-to-carb-x/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525073700/https://www.amr-insights.eu/u-s-government-and-wellcome-commit-up-to-an-additional-us370-million-to-carb-x/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=AMR Insights |language=en-US}}</ref> In May 2023, CARB-X secured renewed funding from the UK government (£24M over four years)<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK Government Bolsters Partnership with CARB-X |url=https://carb-x.org/carb-x-news/uk-government-bolsters-partnership-with-carb-x/ |access-date=August 10, 2023 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> and the German government (€39M over four years, and €2M for accelerator),<ref>{{Cite web |title=German government renews commitment to CARB-X |url=https://carb-x.org/carb-x-news/german-government-renews-commitment-to-carb-x/}}</ref> and the Canadian government also announced its plan to support CARB-X with CAD $6.3 million over two years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Government of Canada to join CARB-X partnership |url=https://carb-x.org/carb-x-news/government-of-canada-to-join-carb-x-partnership/}}</ref>

In its effort to increase diversity and inclusion, Boston University appointed [[Ibram X. Kendi]] in July 2020 as a history professor and the director and founder<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ibram X. Kendi, Director and Founder {{!}} Center for Antiracist Research |url=https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/profile/ibram-x-kendi/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130041727/https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/profile/ibram-x-kendi/ |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> of its newly established Center for Antiracist Research.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 4, 2020 |title=Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Joins Boston University to Lead New Antiracist Research Center – Higher Education |url=https://diverseeducation.com/article/179958/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226091800/https://diverseeducation.com/article/179958/ |archive-date=December 26, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Scholar Ibram X. Kendi Joins Boston University Faculty To Lead New Anti-Racism Center |author-first1=Jack|author-last1=Mitchell|url=https://www.wbur.org/edify/2020/06/04/ibram-kendi-boston-university-anti-racism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128063441/https://www.wbur.org/edify/2020/06/04/ibram-kendi-boston-university-anti-racism |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=WBUR |date=June 4, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The university also appointed alumna Andrea Taylor as its first senior diversity officer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 13, 2020 |title=Boston University names first-ever senior diversity officer |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2020/08/13/boston-university-names-first-senior-diversity-off.html |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=Boston Business Journal}}</ref> Later in August, [[Twitter]] founder and then CEO [[Jack Dorsey]] donated $10 million to the Center, noting that the gift came with "no string attached."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Marguerite |title=Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey donates $10 million to Ibram X. Kendi's center on antiracism at Boston University |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-dorsey-donates-ibram-kendi-center-on-antiracism-boston-university-2020-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109231002/https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-dorsey-donates-ibram-kendi-center-on-antiracism-boston-university-2020-8 |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |access-date=January 9, 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Ibram Kendi was named a 2021 MacArthur fellow and will receive a "genius grant" of $625,000 split over five years for his center's research.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 29, 2021 |title=Ibram Kendi, BU Center for Antiracist Research Founding Director, Wins 2021 MacArthur 'Genius' Grant |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/ibram-x-kendi-macarthur-fellows-genius-grant-winner/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215180554/https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/ibram-x-kendi-macarthur-fellows-genius-grant-winner/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 14, 2021 |title=MacArthur 'genius grant' winner Ibram X. Kendi shares how his time at Temple helped shape him |url=https://news.temple.edu/news/2021-12-14/macarthur-genius-grant-winner-ibram-x-kendi-shares-how-his-time-temple-helped-shape |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153120/https://news.temple.edu/news/2021-12-14/macarthur-genius-grant-winner-ibram-x-kendi-shares-how-his-time-temple-helped-shape |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Temple Now {{!}} news.temple.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Asare |first=Janice Gassam |title=2021 MacArthur Fellow Ibram Kendi Discusses Racial Healing And The Power We All Have To Create Change |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2021/10/07/2021-macarthur-fellow-ibram-kendi-discusses-racial-healing-and-the-power-we-all-have-to-create-change/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153119/https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2021/10/07/2021-macarthur-fellow-ibram-kendi-discusses-racial-healing-and-the-power-we-all-have-to-create-change/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

On March 2, 2025, the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) telescope landed on the moon—a first for BU—aboard NASA's Blue Ghost lunar lander. BU researchers involved included principal investigator Brian Walsh,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-03 |title=NASA's LEXI Will Provide X-Ray Vision of Earth's Magnetosphere - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-lexi-will-provide-x-ray-vision-of-earths-magnetosphere/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |language=en-US}}</ref> lead data scientist Ramiz Qudsi, and others. LEXI will send information on Earth's magnetic shield back to BU for analysis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berkey |first=Dennis |date=2025-03-07 |title=Success! BU Telescope Lands on the Moon Aboard NASA's Blue Ghost Mission 1 |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/nasa-lands-on-moon-with-bu-telescope/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

=== Grade deflation ===
The independently run student newspaper at Boston University, ''[[The Daily Free Press]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=About – The Daily Free Press |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212215300/https://dailyfreepress.com/about/ |archive-date=December 12, 2018 |access-date=January 27, 2019}}</ref> and  ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Freedman |first=Samuel G. |date=June 7, 2006 |title=Can Tough Grades Be Fair Grades? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/education/07education.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206113814/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/education/07education.html |archive-date=February 6, 2012 |access-date=June 7, 2006 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=B8}}</ref> have published articles exploring the existence of grade deflation. The ''Times'' discovered that administrators have suggested to faculty members deflated ideal grade distributions. Although an article in the official publication ''BU Today'' asserted that "the GPAs of BU undergrads and the percentage of As and Bs have both risen over the last two decades", ''The New York Times'' has found BU grades have been rising more slowly with respect to many other schools.

In 2014, the average GPA of a BU undergraduate was 3.16, compared to the averages of 3.35 for [[Boston College]] (2007), 3.48 for [[Amherst College]] (2006), 3.52 for [[New York University]] (2015), and 3.65 for [[Harvard University]] (2015).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rojstaczer, Stuart |date=April 7, 2017 |title=Grade Inflation Across the U.S. |url=http://gradeinflation.com/Boston.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430022147/http://www.gradeinflation.com/Boston.html |archive-date=April 30, 2012 |access-date=May 13, 2012 |website=Boston University |publisher=gradeinflation.com}}</ref>

About 81 percent of all grades earned in either the A or B range (75% in the B range). The article went on to note that although the university attempted to curb [[grade inflation]] and inconsistency in the late 1990s, both the percentage of As and GPAs have been rising since. They attributed the grade inflation that has occurred not to teachers' grading policies, but to the increasing quality of each incoming class which leads to more top grades.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berdik |first=Chris |date=September 14, 2006 |title=Grade Deflation or Not? |url=http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=40427&template=7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014223059/http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=40427&template=7 |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |access-date=October 6, 2006 |work=BU Today}}</ref>

===Journals and publication ===
[[File:Silber Administrative Center - Boston University - DSC03070.JPG|thumb|The Rafik B. Hariri Building houses the [[Boston University School of Management|Questrom School of Business]] and the office of the university president]]
Boston University is home to several academic journals and publications. The [[Boston University School of Law|School of Law]] hosts six nationally recognized law journals: the ''Boston University Law Review'', ''[[American Journal of Law and Medicine]]'', ''Review of Banking & Financial Law'', ''Boston University International Law Journal'', ''Journal of Science and Technology Law'', and ''Public Interest Law Journal''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU Law – Prospective Students J.D. Program |url=http://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/jd/journals/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413235741/http://www.bu.edu/law/prospective/jd/journals/ |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref> The [[Boston University School of Education|School of Education]] houses the ''[[Journal of Education]]'', which is the oldest continuously published journal in the field of education in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Journal of Education |url=http://www.bu.edu/sed/about-us/journal-of-education/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501140334/http://www.bu.edu/sed/about-us/journal-of-education/ |archive-date=May 1, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref> In the [[Boston University College of Arts and Sciences|College of Arts and Sciences]], ''[[Studies in Romanticism]]'' is housed at the Department of English<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University Arts & Sciences |url=http://www.bu.edu/cas/academics/departments/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701172349/http://www.bu.edu/cas/academics/departments/ |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref> and the ''Journal of Field Archeology'' is housed at the Department of Archeology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Index for JFA |url=http://www.bu.edu/jfa/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712192820/http://www.bu.edu/jfa/ |archive-date=July 12, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Maney Publishing Journal of Field Archaeology |url=http://www.maney.co.uk/index.php/journals/jfa/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723062209/http://maney.co.uk/index.php/journals/jfa/ |archive-date=July 23, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref> The Department of History is affiliated with The Historical Society, which publishes ''The Journal of the Historical Society'' and ''Historically Speaking''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=rs |title=The Historical Society, Boston University |url=http://www.bu.edu/historic/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926164510/http://www.bu.edu/historic/ |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>
The ''American Journal of Media Psychology'' and the ''[[Public Relations Journal]]'' are currently edited by professors at the [[Boston University College of Communication|College of Communication]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Research at the College of Communication |url=http://www.bu.edu/com/research/index.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505064757/http://www.bu.edu/com/research/index.shtml |archive-date=May 5, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref> which is also home to the ''New England Center for Investigative Reporting'', which generates numerous publications yearly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University |url=http://necir-bu.org/wp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817140328/http://necir-bu.org/wp/ |archive-date=August 17, 2009 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref>

===Special academic programs===
====BU Hub====
[[File:Hotel Sheraton on Boston's beautiful Charles River Esplanade, away from the noise yet near the main traffic routes, 91 Bay State Road, Boston (61118).jpg|thumb|[[Kilachand Hall]], formerly Shelton Hall and home of BU's Kilachand Honors College, viewed from the [[Charles River]]]]
BU Hub, the university-wide undergraduate core curriculum, requires courses and learning experiences that develop six essential capacities. These essential capacities include: philosophical, aesthetic, and historical interpretation; scientific and social inquiry; quantitative reasoning; diversity, civic engagement, and global citizenship; written, oral, and multimedia communication; and an intellectual toolkit that includes critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.<ref>{{Cite news |title=University-Wide General Education Program Proposed |url=https://www.bu.edu/today/2016/university-wide-general-education-program-proposed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405170209/https://www.bu.edu/today/2016/university-wide-general-education-program-proposed/ |archive-date=April 5, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2017 |work=BU Today}}</ref>

====Kilachand Honors College====
Boston University's [[Honors colleges and programs|honors college]] matriculated its first class in 2010. In 2011, it was renamed Arvind and Chandan Nandlal Kilachand Honors College following a $25 million donation from alum and [[billionaire]] businessman, [[Rajen A. Kilachand|Rajen Kilachand]]. The Kilachand Honors College is a university-wide community of faculty and students dedicated to preserving, renewing, and rethinking classic ideals of liberal education: love of learning, intellectual curiosity, self-discovery, empathy, clarity of thought and expression. It rests on three pillars: an integrated, four-year curriculum; an extensive series of co-curricular events that include site-visits to leading cultural institutions as well as talks and readings by leading figures in the arts, sciences, and professions; and, finally, a "living and learning" community that offers students the personal atmosphere of a small liberal arts college and fosters responsibility and citizenship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Kilachand Honors College? » Kilachand Honors College &#124; Boston University |url=http://www.bu.edu/khc/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327192008/http://www.bu.edu/khc/about/ |archive-date=March 27, 2013 |access-date=April 22, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

In 2013, Kilachand donated an additional $10 million to fund a renovation of [[Kilachand Hall]], where first year students in the honors college are required to live.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kilachand Honors College Students Get Their Own Home |url=https://www.bu.edu/bostonia/winter-spring13/kilachand-honors-college-students-get-their-own-home/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=Bostonia}}</ref> Kilachand would go on to become one of Boston University's largest benefactors upon donating $115 million to bolster the university's research at the intersection of the life sciences and engineering in 2017. The gift created the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering and a $100 million endowment that advances, in perpetuity, groundbreaking research at the intersection of the life sciences and engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2017 |title=Rajen Kilachand: Generations of Philanthropy Behind BU Gift {{!}} BU Today |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2017/rajen-kilachand-philanthropy/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

=== Boston University Academy ===
{{Main|Boston University Academy}}
[[Boston University Academy]] (BUA) is a private high school operated by Boston University. It has an enrollment of 234 students (2023) in grades 9–12 and a 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio. It is the only high school in [[New England]] that is part of a major research university. Founded in 1993, the school sits within the university's campus and students are offered the opportunity to take university courses with BU students. The mean SAT score for the BUA class of 2023 was 1491 (98th percentile), and the mean ACT was 34 (99th percentile). 41% of the class of 2023 were recognized by the [[National Merit Scholarship Program]].

== Student life ==
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Student body composition as of January 23, 2025
|-
! Race and ethnicity<ref>{{Cite web |title=College Scorecard: Boston University |url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?164988-Boston-Universityn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630214409/https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?164988-Boston-Universityn |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |access-date=May 8, 2022 |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]]}}</ref>
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| [[White|Non-Hispanic whites]]
|align=right| {{bartable|33|%|2|| background:gray}}
|-
| [[Foreign national]]
|align=right| {{bartable|23|%|2|| background:orange}}
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
|align=right| {{bartable|20|%|2|| background:purple}}
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]
|align=right| {{bartable|11|%|2|| background:green}}
|-
| Other{{efn|Other consists of [[Multiracial Americans]] & those who prefer to not say.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2|| background:brown}}
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
|align=right| {{bartable|5|%|2|| background:mediumblue}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number | [[Economic diversity]]
|-
| [[American lower class|Low-income]]{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal [[Pell grant]] intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|18|%|2|| background:red}}
|-
| [[Affluence in the United States|Affluent]]{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the [[American middle class]] at the bare minimum.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|82|%|2|| background:black}}
|}

===Student publications===
Independent from the university, ''[[Daily Free Press|The Daily Free Press]]'', often referred to as ''The FreeP'', is the campus student newspaper and the fourth largest daily newspaper in Boston. Since 1970, it has provided students with campus news, city and state news, sports coverage, editorials, arts and entertainment, and special feature stories. ''The Daily Free Press'' is published every regular instruction day of the university year and is available in BU dorms, classroom buildings, and commercial locations frequented by students.

The literary magazine ''[[Clarion (magazine)|Clarion]]'' has been printed since 1998. The first issue, titled "?", was published by the group Students for Literary Awareness with the sponsorship of the Department of English; subsequent issues were issued by the BU Literary Society, and most recently, by the BU BookLab. ''Burn Magazine'' is a younger literary magazine, affiliated with ''Clarion'', but publishing the work of student authors only.

===ROTC===
The [[Reserve Officer Training Corps]] (ROTC) at BU traces its origins back to August 16, 1919, when the US War Department stood up the Students' Army Training Corps at Boston University, the predecessor to the current Army ROTC program.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University – Division of Military Education |url=http://www.bu.edu/dme/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701235516/http://www.bu.edu/dme/ |archive-date=July 1, 2009 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> Today, BU is one of twenty five colleges and universities in the country to host all three ROTC programs – Army, Navy, and Air Force. Students wishing to be commissioned into the Marine Corps study as Navy Midshipmen.

===Honor societies===
[[Alpha Phi Sigma]] – Nu Mu chapter

== Athletics ==
{{Main|Boston University Terriers}}
{{See also|Boston University Terriers men's basketball|Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey|Boston University Terriers men's lacrosse|Boston University Terriers softball||Boston University Terriers women's basketball|Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey}}
[[File:Inside Agganis Arena.jpg|thumb|[[Agganis Arena]] following a hockey game]]
[[File:BU Boathouse.jpg|thumb|DeWolfe Boathouse]]
Boston University's NCAA [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]] Terriers compete in men's basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, [[Sport rowing|rowing]], soccer, swimming, tennis, track, and lacrosse, and in women's basketball, dance, cross country, field hockey, golf, ice hockey, [[lacrosse]], rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and track. [[Boston University athletics]] teams compete in the [[Patriot League]], [[Hockey East]], and [[Coastal Athletic Association]] conferences, and their mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. {{as of|2013|07|1}}, a majority of Boston University's teams compete in the [[Patriot League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boston University accepts bid to join Patriot League starting in 2013–2014 |url=http://www.patriotleague.org/genrel/061512aab.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918050620/http://www.patriotleague.org/genrel/061512aab.html |archive-date=September 18, 2018 |access-date=June 15, 2012 |website=Patriot League General Release |publisher=Patriot League}}</ref> On April 1, 2013, the university announced it would cut its wrestling program following the 2013–14 season.

The Boston University men's hockey team is the most successful on campus, and is a storied college hockey power, with five NCAA championships, most recently in 2009. The team was coached by hall-of-famer Jack Parker for 40 seasons, and is a major supplier of talent to the NHL, as well as to the 1980 USA Olympic gold medal-winning men's hockey team. The Terriers have won 32 [[Beanpot (ice hockey)|Beanpot]] titles, more than any other team in the tournament, which includes [[Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey|Harvard University]], [[Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey|Boston College]], and [[Northeastern Huskies|Northeastern University]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Collegiate Athletic Association |url=https://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-hockey/ncaa-m-hockey-body.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901065541/http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-hockey/ncaa-m-hockey-body.html |archive-date=September 1, 2010 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Ncaa.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Men's Beanpot 2022: Dylan Peterson's lone goal powers BU past Northeastern to win men's title {{!}} NCAA.com |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/icehockey-men/article/2022-02-14/mens-beanpot-2022-dylan-petersons-lone-goal-powers-bu-past-northeastern-win-mens |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608142147/https://www.ncaa.com/news/icehockey-men/article/2022-02-14/mens-beanpot-2022-dylan-petersons-lone-goal-powers-bu-past-northeastern-win-mens |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=www.ncaa.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-11 |title=Boston University Wins 32nd Beanpot Title, Beating BC 4-1 |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2025/boston-university-wins-32nd-beanpot-title/ |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref> The BU Women's ice hockey team has won 2 Beanpot titles, once in 1981 and once in 2019. Boston University also won a game in 2010 against Boston College at Fenway Park by a score of 3–2, played a week after the [[NHL Winter Classic]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marrapese-Burrell |first=Nancy |date=January 9, 2010 |title=Great outdoors |url=https://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_hockey/articles/2010/01/09/great_outdoors/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025014611/http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_hockey/articles/2010/01/09/great_outdoors/ |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=May 31, 2010 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref>

In July 2024, [[Macklin Celebrini]] was drafted first overall to the [[San Jose Sharks]] of the NHL. He is the second Terrier to be drafted first overall—with [[Rick DiPietro]] going first in 2000 to the [[New York Islanders]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU's Macklin Celebrini Is NHL's Top Draft Pick, Second Terrier Ever to Go First |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/macklin-celebrini-is-nhl-top-draft-pick/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

BU has also won two national championships in women's rowing, in 1991 and 1992.

In 2020, the men's basketball team won the Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship for the first time, but the NCAA men's Division I basketball tournament was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2020 |title=No. 3 Boston University Claims First Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship (3.11.20) |url=https://patriotleague.org/news/2020/3/11/no-3-boston-university-claims-first-patriot-league-mens-basketball-championship-3-11-20.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414112649/https://patriotleague.org/news/2020/3/11/no-3-boston-university-claims-first-patriot-league-mens-basketball-championship-3-11-20.aspx |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=patriotleague.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Steve Almasy |date=March 12, 2020 |title=The NCAA is canceling March Madness |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/us/march-madness-withdrawals-spt/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119124011/https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/us/march-madness-withdrawals-spt/index.html |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 12, 2020 |title=Men's Basketball Upsets Colgate, Wins First-Ever Patriot League Championship |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/mens-basketball-upsets-colgate-wins-first-ever-patriot-league-championship/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225055116/http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/mens-basketball-upsets-colgate-wins-first-ever-patriot-league-championship/ |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |access-date=December 8, 2020 |publisher=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

The softball team won their fifth Patriot League Championship title in six seasons, defeating Lehigh 1–0 on May 11, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-11 |title=Top Seed Boston University Claims 2024 Patriot League Softball Title (5.11.24) |url=https://patriotleague.org/news/2024/5/11/top-seed-boston-university-claims-2024-patriot-league-softball-title-5-11-24.aspx |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=patriotleague.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jr |first=Paul F. Creighton |date=2024-05-15 |title=BU Softball Claims Patriot League Title, Begins NCAA Tournament Play Friday |url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/bu-softball-claims-patriot-league-title/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Boston University |language=en}}</ref>

The women's tennis team has won the most conference titles of any varsity sport at Boston University, and currently holds 28 conference titles across the America East and Patriot League Conferences, having most recently defeated its two major rivals, Navy and Army, back-to-back in the 2025 post-season conference tournament. The women's tennis team has competed in NCAA national competition 19 times.

Boston University's [[Agganis Arena]] opened on January 3, 2005, with a men's hockey game between the Terriers and the [[University of Minnesota]] [[Minnesota Golden Gophers|Golden Gophers]]. The arena also hosts non-sporting events, such as concerts, ice shows, and other performances.

Boston University disbanded its football team in 1997. The university used the nearly $3 million from its football program to build the multimillion-dollar John Hancock Student Village and athletic complex. The university also increased funding to women's athletic programs. "By implementing the total plan, we can achieve a much more balanced set of sports programs for both men and women, which is consistent with the philosophy underlying Title IX", said former BU athletic director Gary Strickler.<ref>Hanson, Gayle M.B. & Berg, Stacie Zoe. Long on losses, short on funds, BU football lets clock run out. Insight on the News (December 15, 1997).</ref>

===Club sports===
[[File:Charles River BU Sailing Pavilion.jpg|thumb|BU Sailing Pavilion]]
Boston University students also compete in athletics at the club level. Thirty-four club sports are recognized by the university: badminton; baseball; cricket; cycling; equestrian; fencing; figure skating; golf; gymnastics; inline, men's, and women's ice hockey; jiu-jitsu; kendo; kung fu; women's and men's rugby; sailing; Shotokan karate; ski racing; snowboarding; men's and women's soccer; squash; women's synchronized skating; synchronized swimming; table tennis; triathlon; women's and men's ultimate frisbee; men's and women's volleyball; and women's and men's water polo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Club Sports |url=https://www.bu.edu/fitrec/recreation/clubsims/club-sports/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712234252/http://www.bu.edu/fitrec/recreation/clubsims/club-sports/ |archive-date=July 12, 2020 |access-date=July 28, 2020 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

The BU Sailing Team is one of the most successful teams in college sailing. The team has won seven National Championships, most recently in 1999. They have also had three team members graduate as "College Sailor of the Year".<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2010 |title=About &#124; BU Dinghy Sailors |url=http://budinghysailors.wordpress.com/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912093715/http://budinghysailors.wordpress.com/about/ |archive-date=September 12, 2013 |access-date=April 22, 2013 |publisher=Budinghysailors.wordpress.com}}</ref> Notable alumni of the team include [[Ken Read (sailor)|Ken Read]], skipper for [[Puma SE|PUMA Ocean Racing]] in the [[Volvo Ocean Race]], and 2012 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year nominee, John Mollicone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shortlist Announced for US Sailing's Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year |url=http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2012/YY_2012_Shortlist.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512121501/https://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2012/YY_2012_Shortlist.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2013 |access-date=April 22, 2013 |publisher=Media.ussailing.org}}</ref>

The BU Figure Skating Team has won seven Intercollegiate National Figure Skating Championships<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Boston University Wins Historic Seventh Title at the National Intercollegiate Final |url=https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/news/2023/4/17/collegiate-skating-boston-university-wins-historic-seventh-title-at-the-national-intercollegiate-final.aspx |access-date=January 6, 2024 |website=U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone |language=en}}</ref> and has not finished outside of the top three since 2009. They are the most decorated team in collegiate figure skating.

The BU Men's Club Volleyball team won the NCVF 1AA National Championship in 2016.

The BU Roller Hockey Team advanced to the NCHRA Tournament in 2001, 2002, and 2003. The team advanced all the way to the Final Four in 2001.

Both Men's and Women's Intervarsity Table Tennis Teams have attended the National Collegiate Table Tennis Tournaments and ranked as high as the top 10 nationwide.

== Notable alumni and academics ==
{{Main|List of Boston University people}}<gallery mode="nolines" widths="130" heights="140" perrow="9">
File:John Wesley Edward Bowen (page 204 crop).jpg|link=|[[John W. E. Bowen Sr.|John W. Bowen]] (STH 1885, STH 1887), the first person born a [[Slavery|slave]] to earn a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] and the second [[African Americans|African American]]
File:Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Official Portrait.jpg|link=|[[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] (CAS '11), the [[List of youngest members of the United States Congress|youngest woman ever elected]] to [[United States Congress|Congress]]
File:Charles eastman smithsonian gn 03462a.jpg|link=|[[Charles Alexander Eastman|Charles Eastman]] (MED 1890), the first [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] in the [[United States]] to earn an [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]]
File:Rep. Barbara Jordan - Restoration.jpg|link=|[[Barbara Jordan]] (LAW '59), the first [[African Americans|African American]] woman elected to [[United States Congress|Congress]] from the [[Southern United States|South]]
File:Martin Luther King Jr NYWTS.jpg|link=|[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] (STH '55), a leader in the [[civil rights movement]], 1964 [[Nobel Peace Prize]], 1977 [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
File:Gary Locke official portrait for Department of Commerce by Michele Rushworth.jpg|link=|[[Gary Locke (politician)|Gary Locke]] (LAW '75), the first [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] governor, [[U.S. Ambassador to China]], and 36th [[United States Secretary of Commerce|U.S. Secretary of Commerce]]
File:Anna Howard Shaw 1.jpg|link=|[[Anna Howard Shaw]] (STH 1878, MED 1886), a leader in the [[History of women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage movement]],  [[National American Woman Suffrage Association]] president, and the first woman awarded [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]]
File:Edward brooke senator.jpg|link=|[[Edward Brooke]] III (LAW '48), the first [[African Americans|African American]] [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] and a 2004 [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] recipient
File:Helen magill.jpg|link=|[[Helen Magill White]] (GRS 1877), the first woman in the U.S., in 1877, to earn a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]]
</gallery>With over 342,000 alumni, Boston University graduates can be found around the world, and its graduates have achieved a number of notable historical firsts in [[History of the United States|United States history]]. In 1837, BU became the first university in the nation to open all of its divisions to women with a "founding mission [built] upon inclusion, regardless of gender, race, or religion."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notable History {{!}} Diversity & Inclusion |url=https://www.bu.edu/diversity/about/notable-history/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref>  9 [[Harry S. Truman Scholarship|Truman Scholars]] have graduated from the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scholar Listing {{!}} The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation |url=https://www.truman.gov/meet-our-scholars/scholar-listing |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.truman.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Among its alumni and current or past faculty, the university counts 9 [[Nobel Prize|Nobel]] Laureates, 23 [[Pulitzer Prize]] winners, 10 [[Rhodes Scholars]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Past Winners » Fellowships & Scholarships – Boston University |url=https://www.bu.edu/provost/awards-publications/national-awards-and-distinctions/nobel-laureates/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109182121/http://www.bu.edu/bufellow/past-winners/ |archive-date=January 9, 2019 |access-date=January 27, 2019 |website=bu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhodes Scholars |url=https://www.bu.edu/provost/awards-publications/faculty-achievement/national-awards-and-distinctions/rhodes-scholars/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128150700/http://www.bu.edu/provost/awards-publications/faculty-achievement/national-awards-and-distinctions/rhodes-scholars/ |archive-date=January 28, 2019 |access-date=January 27, 2019 |website=bu.edu}}</ref> 6 [[Marshall Scholars]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistics |url=http://www.marshallscholarship.org/about/statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126211334/http://www.marshallscholarship.org/about/statistics |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=January 27, 2019 |website=marshallscholarship.org}}</ref> 14 [[Academy Award]] winners, 11 [[Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]] winners, and 9 [[Tony Award]] winners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rankings & Achievements {{!}} College of Fine Arts |url=https://www.bu.edu/cfa/about/rankings/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> BU also has three [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur Fellows]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Fellows - MacArthur Foundation |url=https://www.macfound.org/programs/awards/fellows/results?educational_institutions=161304&include_deceased=Include&radio=0 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.macfound.org}}</ref> and [[Fulbright Program|Fulbright Scholars]] among its past and present graduates and faculty. In 1876, BU professor [[Alexander Graham Bell]] invented the [[telephone]] in a BU lab.

=== Mathematics and sciences ===
[[File:Alexander Graham Bell.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Alexander Graham Bell]], inventor of the telephone]]
Affiliates of Boston University have won seven [[Nobel Prize]]s. [[Alexander Graham Bell]], inventor of the telephone, conducted many of his experiments on the BU campus when he was professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 5, 1922 |title=About BU: Fast Facts &#124; Boston University Admissions |url=http://www.bu.edu/admissions/bu-basics/fast-facts/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424011014/http://www.bu.edu/admissions/bu-basics/fast-facts/ |archive-date=April 24, 2014 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> In Boston, Bell was "swept up" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors residing in the city. In 1875, the university gave Bell a year's salary advance to allow him to pursue his research. The following year, he invented the telephone in a Boston University laboratory.<ref name="Kilgore 1991" /> In the twenty-first century, the university has become a pioneering center for synthetic biology thanks to the work of [[James Collins (bioengineer)|James Collins]]. Collins and co-workers also discovered that sublethal levels of antibiotics activate mutagenesis by stimulating the production of reactive oxygen species, leading to multidrug resistance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kohanski |first1=M. A.|last2=DePristo |first2=M. A. |last3=Collins |first3=J. J. |year=2010 |title=Sublethal antibiotic treatment leads to multidrug resistance via radical-induced mutagenesis. |journal=Molecular Cell |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=311–320 |doi=10.1016/j.molcel.2010.01.003 |pmc=2840266 |pmid=20159551}}</ref> This discovery has important implications for the widespread use and misuse of antibiotics.

Christopher Chen, an interdisciplinary researcher whose work involves engineering, medicine, and biology, joined BU in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leading Tissue Engineering Researcher Chen Joins BME Faculty {{!}} College of Engineering |url=https://www.bu.edu/eng/2013/12/03/leading-tissue-engineering-researcher-chen-joins-bme-faculty/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153130/https://www.bu.edu/eng/2013/12/03/leading-tissue-engineering-researcher-chen-joins-bme-faculty/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> Chen directs the Biological Design Center at the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Team {{!}} Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering Building |url=https://www.bu.edu/kilachandcenter/the-team/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215153119/https://www.bu.edu/kilachandcenter/the-team/ |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=February 15, 2022 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref> His research focuses on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Other notable Boston University scientists include [[Sheldon Glashow]], winner of the 1979 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]], [[Daniel Tsui]], winner of the 1998 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]], and [[Osamu Shimomura]], winner of the 2008 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].<ref name="Award Winning Faculty">{{Cite web |title=Award Winning Faculty |url=http://www.bu.edu/research/aboutus/award/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628071410/http://www.bu.edu/research/aboutus/award/ |archive-date=June 28, 2014 |access-date=June 25, 2014 |website=Boston University Research |publisher=Boston University Office of the Vice President and Associate Provost for Research}}</ref>

===Literature===
[[File:Robert-lowell-by-elsa-dorfman.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Robert Lowell]]]]
[[File:Elie Wiesel (1987) by Erling Mandelmann - 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Elie Wiesel]]]]
Two [[United States Poet Laureate|US Poets Laureate]] have taught at Boston University: [[Robert Lowell]] and [[Robert Pinsky]].<ref name="Award Winning Faculty" /> During John Silber's tenure as president, he recruited two Nobel Prize–winning literary figures to the university's faculty: [[Elie Wiesel]], winner of the 1986 [[Nobel Peace Prize]], and [[Saul Bellow]], winner of the 1976 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].<ref name="Award Winning Faculty" /> Another Nobel Prize winner in the English Department in the 20th century was [[Derek Walcott]], winner of the 1992 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].<ref name="Award Winning Faculty" /> Alumni of the university have earned over thirty [[Pulitzer Prizes]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pulitzer Winners |url=http://www.bu.edu:80/com/academics/journalism/pulitzer-winners |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219024627/http://www.bu.edu/com/academics/journalism/pulitzer-winners/ |archive-date=February 19, 2015 |access-date=October 12, 2015 |website=Boston University College of Communication |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> Other writers associated with the university include [[Bob Zelnick]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faculty » College of Communication » Boston University |url=http://www.bu.edu/com/about/faculty/robert_zelnick.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414102859/http://www.bu.edu/com/about/faculty/robert_zelnick.shtml |archive-date=April 14, 2010 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> executive editor of the [[Frost-Nixon interviews]], [[Lambda Literary Award]] winner [[Ellen Bass]], historian [[Andrew Bacevich]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Andrew J. Bacevich » International Relations &#124; Boston University |url=http://www.bu.edu/ir/faculty/alphabetical/bacevich/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529143729/http://www.bu.edu/ir/faculty/alphabetical/bacevich/ |archive-date=May 29, 2013 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref> [[Ha Jin]], Pulitzer Prize winner [[Jhumpa Lahiri]], and [[Isaac Asimov]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=WVU Libraries: Isaac Asimov Online Exhibit |url=http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/exhibits/asimov/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928083701/https://www.libraries.wvu.edu/exhibits/asimov/ |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |publisher=Libraries.wvu.edu}}</ref>

In 1986, literary critic [[Christopher Ricks]], whom [[W. H. Auden]] called "exactly the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding", joined the university's faculty and founded the [[Editorial Institute]] with [[Geoffrey Hill]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbookofengl00chri |title=Oxford Book of English Verse |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-214182-8 |editor-last=Ricks |editor-first=Christopher |url-access=registration}}</ref> Controversial historian [[Howard Zinn]] taught in the political science department for many years.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Feeney |first1=Mark |last2=Marquard |first2=Bryan |date=January 27, 2010 |title=Howard Zinn, historian who challenged status quo, dies at 87 |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/howard_zinn_his.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209225818/http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/howard_zinn_his.html |archive-date=February 9, 2014 |access-date=June 12, 2010 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> Journalist [[Thomas B. Edsall]] and playwright [[Eliza Wyatt]] graduated from Boston University.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography |url=http://www.elizawyatt.com/biography |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905062208/http://www.elizawyatt.com/biography |archive-date=September 5, 2014 |access-date=September 4, 2014}}</ref> [[Paul Beatty]], who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology at BU, won the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] and the [[Booker Prize|Man Booker Prize]] for his novel ''The Sellout''. He is the first writer from the United States honored with the Man Booker. The bestselling author [[Casey Sherman]] graduated from BU in 1992.

[[Sigrid Nunez]] is the 2018 winner of the [[National Book Award]] and author of eight novels including ''[[What Are You Going Through]]'', ''The Friend'', and ''[[Salvation City]]''. She teaches in Boston University's Creative Writing Department.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sigrid Nunez |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/people/sigrid-nunez/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=National Book Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sigrid Nunez » Writing » Boston University |url=https://www.bu.edu/creativewriting/people/faculty/sigrid-nunez/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref>

[[David Grann]] is a staff writer for ''[[The New Yorker]]'' and a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' bestselling author who earned his master's degree in creative writing from Boston University. His 2017 novel ''[[Killers of the Flower Moon (book)|Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI]]'' was adapted into a [[Killers of the Flower Moon (film)|2023 award-winning film]], directed by [[Martin Scorsese]] and starring [[Leonardo DiCaprio]], [[Lily Gladstone]], [[Robert De Niro]], and [[Jesse Plemons]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About David Grann |url=https://www.davidgrann.com/about |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.davidgrann.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Government and politics===
[[File:Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ Women's March NYC (46115223655).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|U.S. Representative [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]]]]
[[File:William Howard Taft by Anders Zorn, 1911.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[William Howard Taft]], the 27th [[president of the United States]], who lectured at BU School of Law from 1918 to 1921]]
Boston University alumni include 13 current or former [[United States Governor|governors]] of U.S. states, eight [[United States Senate|U.S. senators]], and 33 members of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]].

Its graduates have achieved a number of historical firsts in United States history, including [[Edward Brooke]] III, the first [[African Americans|African-American]] Senator, [[Barbara Jordan]], the first [[African Americans|African-American]] [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] from a Southern state, [[Gary Locke]], the first [[Chinese Americans|Chinese American]] governor, and [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]], the youngest woman elected to the House.

Notable alumni in American politics include former Defense Secretary [[William Cohen]], former US Ambassador to China [[Gary Locke]], former Senator [[Judd Gregg]], former United States Senator [[Edward Brooke]], former Massachusetts Attorney General [[Martha Coakley]], former Second Lady [[Tipper Gore]], and the former First Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Earle O. Latham. Former President [[William Howard Taft]] lectured on Legal Ethics at the university's [[Boston University School of Law|law school]] from 1918 to 1921.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BU School of Law Timeline |url=http://www.bu.edu/law/about/timeline.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118120155/http://www.bu.edu/law/about/timeline.html |archive-date=January 18, 2014 |access-date=January 16, 2014 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>

After leaving politics in 2014, former Boston mayor [[Thomas Menino]] was professor of the practice of political science at the university until his death later in the year.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Andrew |last2=Bombardieri |first2=Marcella |date=November 12, 2013 |title=Menino to help start urban institute at BU |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/12/mayor-thomas-menino-headed-boston-university-help-run-new-initiative-cities/Q3BwuoO1BAWZ0kGloKV9XM/story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509032016/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/12/mayor-thomas-menino-headed-boston-university-help-run-new-initiative-cities/Q3BwuoO1BAWZ0kGloKV9XM/story.html |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019 |work=The Boston Globe}}</ref>

Television personality [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] studied journalism at the university in the 1970s and was a columnist for the student newspaper, ''The Daily Free Press''.<ref name="Leving 2009">{{Cite news |last=Leving |first=Jessica |date=June 4, 2009 |title=Bill O'Reilly's BU Days |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2009/bill-o%E2%80%99reilly%E2%80%99s-bu-days/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127083759/http://www.bu.edu/today/2009/bill-o%E2%80%99reilly%E2%80%99s-bu-days/ |archive-date=January 27, 2015 |access-date=June 25, 2014 |work=BU Today}}</ref> Describing his time at the university, he wrote, "Throughout that fall at BU, covering stories became a passion for me. I loved going places and seeing new things. I ran around Boston annoying the hell out of everyone, but bringing back good, crisp copy" and "what I learned at Boston University firmly set me on the course I continue to this day. Amidst the chaos of Commonwealth Avenue, I found an occupation that I enjoyed."<ref name="Leving 2009" />

In international politics, Boston University alumni include [[Sherwin Gatchalian]], a Philippine senator elected in 2016, and [[Daniyal Aziz]], a Pakistani politician affiliated with the [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]] who is currently a member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]]. [[Archbishop Makarios]], the first [[President of Cyprus]], studied at Boston University under a [[World Council of Churches]] scholarship. The founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church, [[Fan S. Noli]], received a doctorate from Boston University. [[Moeed Yusuf]], the current [[National Security Advisor (Pakistan)]] to the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]], received his master's and doctoral degrees from Boston University.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moeed Yusuf |url=https://www.bu.edu/pardee/community/moeed-yusuf/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103172735/http://www.bu.edu/pardee/community/moeed-yusuf/ |archive-date=November 3, 2011 |access-date=August 25, 2021 |publisher=Pardee School of Global Studies}}</ref>

===Film and television===
[[File:Geena Davis 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Geena Davis]]]]
[[File:Faye Dunaway Cannes 2011.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Faye Dunaway]]]]
[[File:Julianne Moore (15011443428).jpg|alt=Julianne Moore|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Julianne Moore]]]]
In 2014, ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' took note of the number of female Boston University graduates working in Hollywood.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sandberg |first=Bryn Elise |date=December 12, 2014 |title=Boston University: Hollywood's Secret Female Training Ground |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/boston-university-hollywoods-secret-female-755053 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116055658/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/boston-university-hollywoods-secret-female-755053 |archive-date=November 16, 2019 |access-date=November 16, 2019 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> The university estimates that more than 5,000 alums, 54 percent of them women, work in entertainment. Graduates include famous actors, screenwriters, producers, directors and entertainment industry executives. Over 30 alumni have gone on to win or receive nominations for [[Academy Awards]] and countless have earned [[Emmy Awards]], [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globes]], and [[Screen Actors Guild Awards]].

While a student at BU, [[Harold Russell]] took home the university's first Oscar, winning [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] for ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]],'' going on to earn his BFA in 1949.

[[Faye Dunaway]], regarded as powerful emblem of [[New Hollywood]], earned her BFA from Boston University in 1962. Dunaway won [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for ''[[Network (1976 film)|Network]]'' and received [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] nominations for both ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' and ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]].'' All three films are listed in the [[American Film Institute]]'s [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|100 best American movies ever made]].

[[Beetlejuice]] star [[Geena Davis]] received her BFA in 1979 and went on to win [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for ''[[The Accidental Tourist (film)|The Accidental Tourist]]'' and pick up a nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] as Louise in the feminist classic, ''[[Thelma & Louise]].'' Her [[Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media|eponymous nonprofit]] is cited as producing pioneering, data-driven research on women's presence in film and media. In 2019, the Academy awarded her the [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]] for "whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the film industry", joining the likes of [[Paul Newman]], [[Oprah Winfrey]], and [[Angelina Jolie]].

[[Julianne Moore]], often described by the media as one of the most accomplished actresses of her generation, earned her BFA from Boston University in 1983. Moore won [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for ''[[Still Alice]]'' in 2014 and was named to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time's]]'' [[Time 100|100 most influential people in the world]] in 2015. In 2020, ''[[The New York Times]]'' ranked her eleventh on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

[[Alfre Woodard]] graduated with a BFA in 1974 and joins Moore on the list of greatest actors of the 21st century. Woodard is a board member of [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]], has four [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Emmy Awards]] and an Academy Award nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] in ''[[Cross Creek (film)|Cross Creek]].''

[[Olympia Dukakis]] earned her BA and MFA from Boston University and joins Russel in winning [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for ''[[Moonstruck]].'' Other nominees in the category include [[Mariel Hemingway]], the granddaughter of [[Ernest Hemingway]], for  ''[[Manhattan (1979 film)|Manhattan]]'' and, most recently in 2022, [[Hong Chau]] for ''[[The Whale (2022 film)|The Whale]].''

In the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]] category, alumni [[Roy Conli]] and [[Peter Del Vecho]] had back-to-back wins for ''[[Frozen (2013 film)|Frozen]]'' (2013) and ''[[Big Hero 6 (film)|Big Hero 6]]'' (2014). The two build upon the work of alumna [[Bonnie Arnold]], a prominent figure in initial wave of [[Computer animation|computer-animation]], known for producing ''[[Toy Story]]'', ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]],'' and the ''[[How to Train Your Dragon]]'' series, the latter garnering Arnold nominations for [[Academy Award for Best Animated Feature|Best Animated Feature]] in 2014 and 2019.

===Media and popular culture===
[[File:Howard Stern.jpg|alt=Howard Stern|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Howard Stern]]]]
Boston University graduates in media include radio personality [[Howard Stern]], Bravo executive [[Andy Cohen (television personality)|Andy Cohen]], [[CBS]] producer [[Gordon Hyatt]];<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1963 |title=Gordon Hyatt |journal=Television Quarterly |publisher=[[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]] |volume=2}}</ref> the celebrity chef [[Rocco DiSpirito]], self-help author [[Mark Manson]], ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' bestselling author and serial entrepreneur Dave Kerpen, reality show contestant and television host [[Rob Mariano]], [[Kevin O'Connor (television)|Kevin O'Connor]], presenter of ''[[This Old House]]'' and cohost of ''[[Project Runway]]'', and ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'' magazine editor-in-chief [[Nina Garcia]], comedian [[Marc Maron]] and [[YouTube]] personality [[Jenna Mourey|Jenna Marbles]], [[Craigslist killer]] [[Philip Markoff]], YouTube essayist [[Evan Puschak]] of The NerdWriter, and musician and YouTube personality [[Dan Avidan]].

===Athletics===
1968 Olympic 400&nbsp;m hurdles gold medalist [[David Hemery]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buccini |first=Cindy |date=October 29, 2013 |title=Friends and Memories Bring 5,000 Back to Campus – BU Today – Boston University |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/friends-and-memories-bring-5000-back-to-campus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415024004/http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/friends-and-memories-bring-5000-back-to-campus/ |archive-date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=April 15, 2019 |website=BU Today}}</ref> was a student at BU in the 1960s, and a coach in the 1970s and 1980s. [[John Thomas (athlete)|John Thomas]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seligson |first=Susan |date=January 22, 2013 |title=Track and Field Icon John Thomas Dies at 71 – BU Today – Boston University |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/track-and-field-icon-john-thomas-dies-at-71/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415023742/http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/track-and-field-icon-john-thomas-dies-at-71/ |archive-date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=April 15, 2019 |website=BU Today}}</ref> attended BU in the early 1960s and he won a silver medal in the Olympic High Jump. He was an assistant track coach at BU during the 1970s.

On October 29, 2020, Travis Roy, a philanthropist, motivational speaker, and former BU ice hockey player, died. In 1995, Roy collided with the boards and was paralyzed just 11 seconds into his first hockey game for Boston University, making him quadriplegic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paybarah |first=Azi |date=October 30, 2020 |title=Travis Roy, Who Inspired Millions After a Hockey Tragedy, Dies at 45 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/sports/hockey/travis-roy-dead.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122124032/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/sports/hockey/travis-roy-dead.html |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1996, Roy founded the Travis Roy Foundation to fund research for and help other spinal cord injury survivors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.travisroyfoundation.org/about/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205161532/https://www.travisroyfoundation.org/about/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=Travis Roy Foundation}}</ref> In 2017, BU created the Travis M. Roy Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences after receiving $2.5 million from anonymous donors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Angelo |first=Bob |date=October 30, 2020 |title=Travis Roy, former hockey player who was champion for people with paralysis, dead at 45 |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/travis-roy-former-hockey-player-who-was-champion-people-with-paralysis-dead-45/LQRF7GD7O5AL7IU24BHOU7CRGY/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101141022/https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/travis-roy-former-hockey-player-who-was-champion-people-with-paralysis-dead-45/LQRF7GD7O5AL7IU24BHOU7CRGY/ |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=KIRO |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 29, 2020 |title=Paralyzed ex-BU hockey player Roy dies at 45 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/30219167/travis-roy-philanthropist-spinal-cord-injury-treatment-dies-45 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204211928/https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/30219167/travis-roy-philanthropist-spinal-cord-injury-treatment-dies-45 |archive-date=December 4, 2020 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=ESPN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Travis M. Roy Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences {{!}} Sargent College {{!}} Boston University {{!}} College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College |url=https://www.bu.edu/sargent/about-us/news-spotlights/travis-m-roy-professorship-in-rehabilitation-sciences/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414090228/https://www.bu.edu/sargent/about-us/news-spotlights/travis-m-roy-professorship-in-rehabilitation-sciences/ |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=www.bu.edu}}</ref>

BU athletes also played a significant role in the 1980 [[Miracle on Ice]]. Four players on that team were BU alumni: [[Mike Eruzione]] (team captain, who scored the game-winning goal), [[Jim Craig (ice hockey)|Jim Craig]], [[Jack O'Callahan]], and [[Dave Silk]]. 

==In popular culture==
Boston University has sometimes been referenced in popular culture. For example, in 1962, [[Timothy Leary]] performed his [[Marsh Chapel Experiment]], also known as the "[[Good Friday Experiment]]", in the university's Marsh Chapel.<ref>Penner, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KcMPBAAAQBAJ "The Good Friday Experiment"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101013855/https://books.google.com/books?id=KcMPBAAAQBAJ |date=November 1, 2022}} ''Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years: Early Writings on LSD and Psilocybin with Richard Alpert, Huston Smith, Ralph Metzner, and others'', July 21, 2014. Retrieved on February 12, 2016.</ref> The experiment investigated whether psilocybin (the active principle in psilocybin mushrooms) would act as a reliable entheogen in religiously predisposed subjects. Boston University's campuses have also appeared in several movies, including [[The Social Network]] and [[Ghostbusters (2016 film)]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Griffin |first=Siena |title=BU on Screen: Five movies filmed on (or near) BU's campus |url=https://dailyfreepress.com/06/02/14/198448/bu-on-screen-five-movies-filmed-on-or-near-bus-campus/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Daily Free Press}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Boston University Police Department]]
*[[Boston University Tanglewood Institute]]
*[[Einstein Papers Project]]
*[[Framingham Heart Study]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* Healea, Christopher Daryl. "The builder and maker of the greater university: A history of Daniel L. Marsh's presidency at Boston University, 1926–1951" (PhD dissertation, Boston University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2011. 3463124).
*{{Cite book |last=Kilgore |first=Kathleen |title=Transformations: A History of Boston University |publisher=Boston University Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-87270-070-4 |location=Boston}}
*{{Cite book |last=Saltzman |first=Nancy |title=Buildings and Builders: An Architectural History of Boston University |publisher=Boston University Press |year=1985 |isbn=0-87270-056-9 |location=Boston}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Boston University}}
{{Americana Poster|Boston University}}
*{{Official website}}
*[https://www.bu.edu/brink/about-us/ ''The Brink''], Boston University research news
*{{Cite NSRW |wstitle=Boston University |short=x}}
*{{Cite Americana |wstitle=Boston University |short=1}}
*{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Boston University |short=x}}

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