From school rankings to world-class research—there are so many reasons to be #ProudtoBU. See how you can show your Terrier pride.

World-class reputation & rankings

  • Ranked #7 in top US colleges for international students by Forbes.
  • Ranked #12 in the US for most employable graduates by Times Higher Education.
  • Ranked #17 in Top 50 Best Colleges in Big Cities by Newsweek.
  • Ranked #20 in Most Innovative Schools by by U.S. News & World Report.
  • Ranked #25 for Best Value by U.S. News & World Report for academic excellence.
  • Ranked #41 among national universities by U.S. News & World Report.

The incoming Class of 2028

  • The 3,268 students were admitted from a pool of more than 78,749 applicants.
  • 91% ranked in the top 10% of their high school class.
  • 21% are first-generation college students.
  • They represent 49 states and 70 countries.

Our alumni & friends

  • Nearly 3,000 Terriers from around the world returned to campus for Alumni Weekend 2024, showcasing their Boston University pride at events including the Back to BU Beach Festival, BU Night at Fenway Park, and the Best of BU Alumni Awards.
  • Suffragist leader and BU Law alumna Alice Stone Blackwell helped reconcile the American Woman Suffrage Association and National Woman Suffrage Association, two competing organizations in the women’s suffrage movement, into the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The movement had split earlier over disputes about the degree to which women’s suffrage should be tied to African-American male suffrage.
  • As iconic leaders in the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon’59) and Howard Thurman (Hon.’67) advocated for nonviolent activism to drive social change.
  • BU alumnus Drew Weissman (CAMED’87, GRS’87, Hon’23) won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines.

Countless alumni and friends are making their mark, leading innovation, shaping the future, and inspiring with their extraordinary accomplishments. Explore Bostonia Magazine to discover the remarkable stories of BU alumni making a difference around the globe.

Faculty & staff

  • Alexander Graham Bell, a BU professor from 1874 to 1879, invented the telephone in 1876 after having his research on a new device for transmitting speech funded by BU.
  • Elie Wiesel, a BU professor from 1976 to 2011, was a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, playwright, and award-winning writer. His personal experience of the Holocaust led Elie Wiesel to use his talents as an author, teacher, and storyteller to defend human rights and peace throughout the world.
  • MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipients: Lucy Hutyra, a CAS professor of Earth and environment, won in 2023. Ibram X. Kendi, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and founder of BU’s Center for Antiracist Research, won in 2021; Danielle Citron won in 2019 while she was at the BU School of Law; and Nancy Kopell, a William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and a CAS professor of mathematics, won in 1990.

BU faculty and staff are truly outstanding, earning prestigious awards and recognition for their groundbreaking research and fresh ideas. Explore The Brink to delve into their latest discoveries and studies. And check out the impressive honors, publications, and accolades achieved by our distinguished current and past faculty members.

BU Firsts

Since its founding in 1869, Boston University has been at the forefront of some of the 19th and 20th centuries’ most significant social and technological changes. For example, BU was the first:

  • University to open all its divisions to female students
  • University in the United States to have a college of music (1873)
  • American university to exchange professors with European universities
  • To admit women to its medical school, the School of Medicine (1873)
  • University in America to award a Ph.D. to a woman (1877)
  • To offer a degree in public relations (1947)
  • To have a graduate school of dentistry (1963)
  • In the nation to have a combined cancer research and teaching laboratory (1965)

Distinguished Alumni Awards

Since their inception in 1946, the Boston University Alumni Awards have been the highest honor that we bestow on our alumni. Awardees are honored each year during Alumni Weekend in the presence of the alumni, students, families, and guests gathered to celebrate this important tradition.

Terriers of the Year

BU alumni are trailblazers. From engineering to literature, Terriers are paving the way for others and writing their own stories. Whether in space or on the playground, our alumni spread care and empathy for the community. They continue to inspire with a heart for service and discovery, soaring to new heights—both figuratively and literally. To wrap up each year, we celebrate by highlighting a few incredible alumni who are leaving an indelible mark on the world. Look out for this year’s list on the Terrier Dispatch!