Welcome to Boston University!

If this is your first encounter with our website or if you are a returning visitor, I hope you will take some time to browse through its pages and acquaint yourself with the many outstanding educational opportunities that the University provides. With 17 Schools and Colleges offering more than 250 degree programs, I think you will find that there is something here for everyone.

At Boston University, we take our dual missions of teaching and research very seriously. Our commitment to excellence is evident in the ever-increasing competitiveness of the student body we attract and in the exceptional faculty members we engage to instruct them. Our faculty members bring to the classroom a wealth of knowledge and the dedication and enthusiasm to effectively share that expertise with their undergraduate and graduate students.

Boston University is a great American research university. In 2004, over $315 million of research was performed by our faculty, students, and staff. Our high quality graduate programs cover an amazing breadth of investigation. Supporting the research undertaken by our faculty members is also one of the University's priorities; our recently opened $83 million, 187,000-square-foot Life Sciences and Engineering building is but one example of that commitment. Most interestingly, this space is shared by an interdisciplinary faculty from engineering, physical and life sciences, and mathematics.

Boston University was founded as a Methodist Seminary in 1839 and in 1869 was chartered as a university. From its beginnings, BU embraced the ideal of inclusiveness along with academic excellence and in doing so claimed many firsts: first to offer admission to women to all its programs; first in the United States to award a PhD to a woman; and first in the United States to award a degree in theology to a woman. The University's commitment to educational access was not limited to gender only; among its many illustrious alumni we count Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa), the first Native American to graduate with a doctorate in Medicine, Solomon Carter Fuller, the first African-American psychiatrist in the United States, and, of course, Martin Luther King Jr., who graduated with a PhD degree from the University. Today, we are committed to continuing that tradition of inclusiveness.

I hope I have whetted your appetite to learn more about Boston University. We are fortunate to boast two campuses-the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus-in a city renowned for its cultural richness. The great diversity and breadth of our academic offerings are almost matched by the many pleasurable pastimes to be enjoyed in Boston. I hope you will visit our campuses-and our city-soon.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Brown
President