The Humanities at BU

If you come to Boston University and take our exciting humanities classes in the College of Arts & Sciences, you will study with world-class professors who will help you learn how to:

  • Bridge the different cultures of human experience.
  • Acquire creative and analytical skills that will last a lifetime and serve you well, both inside academia and in many careers in the world beyond.
  • Develop a versatile intelligence for a rapidly changing world.
  • Think critically, speak clearly, and write convincingly.
  • Tell again the stories that connect us, that challenge our minds and souls, and that ground us in the world.

If you come to BU, you will also meet engaged students taking humanities classes in the following academic departments:

 

In addition to the programs above, the College of Arts & Sciences offers a grounding in the classic works of the humanities, as well as the natural and social sciences, through the Core Curriculum.

CAS also houses the Boston University Center for the Humanities, which supports humanities students through student awards for outstanding academic work and paid internships at Boston-area institutions including The Boston Globe, Beacon Press, and the Brattle Film Foundation. Read about students’ experiences in these internships here. The Center also sponsors student curated events, like film screenings. Read here about the first event in the Center’s Incarceration Film series that was conceived and carried about by humanities students.

The following academic programs offer further opportunities to delve into the humanities in a broad range of contexts:

Why study the humanities at BU?

Employers in today’s most competitive fields understand the value of creative thinking, cultural insight, clear writing, and incisive speaking. The skills and knowledge you develop through studying the humanities at BU will prepare you for success in a broad range of fields after graduation—and you will find yourself pulling from your humanities background 10, 20, and 30 years from now.

Most importantly, studying the humanities at Boston University will help you explore what it means to be human.

For a taste of what it’s like to immerse yourself in the humanities at BU, check out these students’ collaboration with former U.S. Poet Laureate and BU Professor of English Robert Pinsky: