Boston College

What is the history of Boston College?

Boston College is a private Jesuit university founded in Boston in 1863. Jesuits established it principally to educate the children of the city's growing Catholic immigrant population. Despite its name, it is now a university offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees.

The institution began in Boston's South End and moved its main campus to Chestnut Hill in the early 20th century. Gasson Hall, originally called the Recitation Building, became a defining feature of the new campus. Later developments included the establishment of the Law School and nursing school, the expansion of graduate study, and the creation of the School of Theology and Ministry. Those changes help explain why an institution founded as a college now spans fields from liberal arts and business to nursing, law, and theology.

What are the faculties and departments at Boston College?

Boston College organizes its academics across eight schools and colleges. Undergraduates primarily study in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Carroll School of Management, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, and Connell School of Nursing. The Woods College of Advancing Studies offers additional undergraduate and graduate options, including pathways of interest to adult learners.

Other academic units are the Boston College Law School, School of Social Work, and School of Theology and Ministry. Examples of undergraduate fields include biology, economics, English, finance, political science, psychology, nursing, and human-centered engineering. Students should check the catalog for the school that offers a prospective major: admission pathways, course sequences, and opportunities to change schools can differ, particularly for programs with professional or clinical requirements.

Boston College combines major requirements with a university Core Curriculum. The reported student-to-faculty ratio is 10 to 1, but that institution-wide measure does not predict the size of a particular introductory lecture, laboratory, or seminar.

What is the location of Boston College?

Boston College's main campus is in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in a suburban setting west of central Boston. The campus extends into the neighboring communities of Newton and Boston, and some university facilities, including the Law School, are away from the main Chestnut Hill campus.

The MBTA Green Line's Boston College stop provides a public-transit connection to Boston, though travel times depend on the destination and service conditions. Students considering internships, clinical placements, or off-campus jobs should account for those trips rather than assuming every opportunity is close to campus. Boston Logan International Airport is the principal airport for longer-distance travel.

What is the mission and vision of Boston College?

Boston College describes its mission as combining academic study with intellectual inquiry, ethical reflection, and service to others. Its Jesuit and Catholic identity shapes its stated educational philosophy, including an emphasis on examining how knowledge relates to human and social concerns.

That identity is visible in the Core Curriculum, Campus Ministry, service opportunities, and academic study of religion and ethics. Applicants need not assume that participation in Catholic worship is required to study at the university. Prospective students who have questions about a particular religious requirement should examine the requirements of their intended degree rather than treating the university's mission as a substitute for the catalog.