Program Notes

• BU meets 100% of your financial aid need for first-year US students and permanent residents with demonstrated need
• ACT/SAT Optional—not required 
• STEM-designated program

Perfect the Art & Science of Campaigns That Work

Why Choose BU’s BS in Media Science? 

What Can You Do with a BS in Media Science?

A BS in Media Science from BU COM qualifies you for more strategic roles than a typical mass communication degree. Media science is laser focused on how and why media messages work. Our program also pulls in some of the content creation work you’d find in a media communication major. You’ll be an expert at research methods, data analytics, and evidence-based campaign design and storytelling.

Jobs of BS in Media Science Alumni

BU COM BS in Media Science graduates have gone on to roles with:

Employment Rate for BS in Media Science Alumni

91% 

of BS in Media Science grads are employed, in school, or other chosen activity

70% Employed, 21% Continuing Education, 9% Still Seeking

Source: based on 33/44 surveyed graduates of the 2024 class.

Placement into Prestigious Graduate Programs

Some recent placements include:

• UCLA Law School
• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• New York University
• Duke Law

Hear from BU COM Alumni

BS in Media Science grads aren’t just LinkedIn connections—they’re in your classrooms. One week they’ll pop in to guest-host a lecture or bring you a real AdLab/PRLab project to tackle. The next, they’re sharing an internship lead or paid research gig. Need live data? Alumni share social-listening dashboards and survey panels for your projects. 

Thanks to Boston’s packed agency scene, they can swing by for a Friday campaign critique—or hire you part time as you finish your degree.

Comparing Programs

• Our Media Science BS emphasizes data and experiments that lead to careers in analytics and research. You’ll study media effects, audience analytics, and evidence-based message design. It’s ideal for data-curious creatives who want to test and refine campaigns with research. 
• Media Communication majors tend to emphasize content creation and channel strategy leading to digital producer roles, and Mass Communication degrees tend to be more of a broad survey of media history, policy, and practice to train up generalists. There can be some overlap between the two.
• Our Public Relations BS shows you how to conduct strategic storytelling, stakeholder engagement, and crisis comms while serving real clients—great for relationship builders and brand guardians. 
• Our Journalism BS teaches you to report, write, shoot, and code in a newsroom-style setting; perfect for truth seekers who thrive on deadlines and want to hold truth to power.

How to Get a Job in Media Science

Your portfolio and network are key to landing a job in media science. Look for a BS in Media Science that layers hard data skills onto hands-on client work. BU COM does just that, where Boston doubles as your internship playground. Most grads log two or more internships and a real campaign, so by Commencement you’ve already done the job—making it easier to snag the one that matters.  

Curriculum Overview

Challenge yourself with classes in media writing, media theory, communication research, media law and policy, and design strategy and software. Different from a mass communication degree, the BS in Media Science digs deeply into strategy. 

Focus your studies further by choosing courses in political campaigns, health campaigns, or marketing communications, or other electives to create a degree that is tailor fit. You can pull in some content creation work as you would in a media communication major if desired.

Choose a BS in Media Science with Real Experience

Run Real Research

In the Communication Research Center and the Zimmerman Family Social Activation Center, you’ll design surveys, scrape social feeds, and present insights to live clients. Student polls have landed in NPR, Bloomberg, and other respected roundups. Hiring managers will see you can turn raw data into a deck-ready strategy.

Collaborate in Pitch Campaigns

You can join student-run agencies like AdLab—the country’s longest-running, student-run ad agency—and PRLab. Clients range from Boston Children’s Hospital to Digitas and HubSpot. Graduate with case studies in addition to class projects.

Create Content That Connects

COMLab is BU COM’s student-powered media studio. Run like a start-up, it lets you pitch, produce, and publish across every screen—breaking news, documentaries, scripted stories, and strategy work for real clients. Pick a track, join the team, and leave with portfolio pieces that live far beyond the classroom.

Hold Coveted Internships

Classes wrap by early afternoon, so you can hop the Green Line for a 10-minute ride to places like Hill Holliday, IBM, Wayfair, the Celtics, or a dozen other partners. You can rack up 600+ paid internship hours before senior year, plus references from the very people who hire entry-level analysts.

Examples of BS in Media Science Internships:

• BlackRock
• Amazon
• Schneider Electric
• Toast POS
• Warner Music Group
• ActBlue

Browse a list of internships in advertising, film, television, journalism, and public relations.

Learn with Industry Experts and Scholars

BU BS in Media Science profs are in the field, not the faculty lounge—publishing NYT-cited studies, running eye-tracking and social-listening labs, and funneling live agency briefs and raw data to your projects. Get active mentors and a robust network through their media science industry connections.

Meet the BS in Media Science Faculty

Enjoy Student Life at BU COM

BU life is fast paced, creative, diverse, and full of energy—just like Boston. With 450+ clubs, D1 sports, and a campus in the heart of the city, you’ll never be bored. It’s the kind of place where you can find your people and chase what excites you. And did we mention four years of guaranteed housing?  

Visit Us

Challenge yourself with classes in media writing, media theory, communication research, media law and policy, and design strategy and software. Focus your studies further by choosing courses in political campaigns, health campaigns, or marketing communications, or other electives to create a degree that is tailor-fit. Get involved in one of the many clubs and organizations at COM, such AdLab, PRLab and the COMmunicator.

The BS in Media Science is a program that sends its graduates to a wide range of fields: advertising, public relations, marketing communication research, politics, healthcare, international relations — any field where media communication is essential. Which is to say, anywhere. 

Teachers, Researchers, Mentors

COM boasts faculty steeped in both research and practice, large in number and diverse in expertise. They are internationally recognized thought leaders in the fields of advertising, public relations, media law, psychology, political communication, design, and more. 

Faculty members serve as mentors for students to leverage the technology at COM’s Communication Research Center, COM’s primary research hub, and the state of-the-art social media tools offered at the Zimmerman Family Social Activation Center. Faculty and staff also assist you in landing internships and fellowships to position them for success after graduation.

Benefit from Boston

One of BU’s greatest resources is its location. Consistently ranked among the most livable cities in the world, Boston is “America’s college town,” a city rich in history while remaining on the cutting edge. Boston is a Top 10 U.S. media market, and home to some of the world’s best creative agencies, media companies and leading employers — offering boundless opportunities for internships and careers.

Purpose Driven

COM stands out from our peers. Our faculty offers a mix of researchers and practitioners who endorse a cross-discipline, hands-on approach to learning. Our location lies at the heart of an electric, media-savvy city.

But it may be COM’s shared values that matter most. We believe that communication requires diversity, critical thinking, and creative expression. We believe that communication must be grounded in truth, authenticity, effectiveness, and purpose. We believe that communication builds understanding among people and across society.