All COM undergraduates receive academic advising from the Student Services office. As students prepare to enter their junior year, they officially declare majors, allowing for a stronger professional mentoring partnership with faculty from their department. Students should meet an advisor at Student Services at least once each semester to evaluate requirements and discuss opportunities such as minors, Dual Degree, double majors within COM, elective coursework, study abroad programs, and other University resources. These meetings also allow students and advisors to discuss the ways in which courses relate to programs and to careers.

Feel free to contact COM Student Services at comugrad@bu.edu with any questions, or follow us on Twitter: @comugrad.

The Office of Graduate Affairs and Services, led by the Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs, manages all aspects of admission, retention, academic policy, student life, and services for graduate students in the College of Communication. Graduate Affairs works closely with department and program chairs, student groups, and other offices and departments both within and outside of the College. Graduate students should direct any questions to comgrad@bu.edu.

The College of Communication Career Services office provides a multitude of services and resources to COM students and alumni. Career counseling is available to assist students and alumni in exploring and researching communication careers, discussing their findings and proposed career goals, and receiving professional input on the appropriate steps toward those goals.

A variety of workshops and seminars are offered throughout the school year to enhance students’ upcoming internship and job searches. Workshops include information on resume and cover letter writing, job search strategies, networking using LinkedIn, job interviewing skills, portfolio presentation, negotiating salaries, and understanding benefits.

Special events held throughout the school year include COM Job Fairs, numerous company information sessions, and alumni-student networking events.

A resume specialist is available throughout the week to work one-on-one with students and alumni to critique resumes and cover letters.

Internships are an important component to a student’s education at the College of Communication. Internships play a vitally important role in exposing students to the day-to-day operations of television and radio stations, advertising, marketing and public relations agencies, newspapers, magazines, production houses, and internet and design firms, among others. Additionally, students gain valuable experience to include on their resumes. COM Career Services utilizes BU CareerLink, our online career management system that provides job and internship listings exclusively for BU students and alumni. Hundreds of opportunities can be found through BU CareerLink for both summer and academic year internships.

The COM Career Services website contains information on office hours, services and staff, links to BU CareerLink, our calendar of events, ways to connect with us on social media, information on networking, special opportunities, as well as resume and cover letter samples.

For more information concerning COM Career Services, call 617-353-3490 or email comjobs@bu.edu.

The Communication Research Center (CRC) was established in 1959 as a part of Boston University. It was a pioneer in conducting systematic analyses about the effects of television on children and measuring political opinions and voting intentions. This early work led the CRC to develop a specialty in survey research methodology.

In 1994, the CRC was reorganized and re-launched by Dr. Michael G. Elasmar who was appointed as its Director. Between 1994 and 2002, the CRC’s mission focused on applying the most advanced research methods and analytic techniques for solving client problems that involved one or more communication aspects. Research work for clients was carried out by Dr. Elasmar assisted by a faculty colleague and a team of graduate students. In 1999, the CRC underwent a $500,000 expansion that included the construction of a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, meeting rooms, office space, and a focus group suite that also serves as a small-group experimental lab and a web usability lab.

Beginning in 2002, the CRC’s focus shifted away from solving client problems as the CRC became a hub for bringing together academic researchers to focus on the study of communication as a scholarly topic.

Currently, research fellows affiliated with the Communication Research Center maintain active academic research programs across a variety of study areas including:

• Media effects
• Media studies
• Adoption of new communication technologies
• Political communication process and impact
• Public relations process and impact
• The impact of media on popular culture
• The role of media in international public diplomacy
• The process and impact of international communication
• The impact of media portrayals on gender self-image
• Communication and environment, science and health
• Social media measurement
• Emerging media

Students can be involved in the Communication Research Center by working on the projects of COM faculty members who act as CRC Research Fellows. Please see the homepage of the Communication Research Center for a current listing of activities.

This unique program offers seniors, and graduate and post-graduate students, the chance to develop their writing and reporting skills, focusing on covering national affairs and politics in Washington, D.C.

Boston University Washington News Service

Print and photojournalism students serve as the Washington, D.C., correspondents for New England news outlets such as the Manchester Union Leader, the Bangor Daily News, the Worcester Telegram, and the Cape Cod Times. Students have the chance to hear clips and create a portfolio and résumé reel of national stories.  TV students work as correspondents for local New England television stations. Radio students work as correspondents for New England public radio stations. The BU newsroom is also equipped with state-of-the-art television and radio equipment. The newsroom is located on the Boston University Washington Center in northwest Washington, where students also live.

Journalism Internship

Students are provided with internships in the D.C. bureaus of national news organizations including USA Today, ABC and NBC News, the Boston Globe, National Public Radio, and Congressional Quarterly. Working side by side with national journalists, students can make contacts with potential future employers and earn bylines in national publications.

Political Reporting

A course in political reporting is taught at the Washington Journalism Center. Weekly brown-bag lunches bring students together with newsmakers, editors, bureau chiefs, and top reporters. Special events include visits to the Newseum, meetings with editors and tours of the newsrooms of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today, and attend a taping of NBC’s Meet the Press.

The Washington Journalism Center is a joint program of Boston University’s Department of Journalism and the International Programs Division. Students earn 16 academic credits for the semester. Tuitions and fees are the same as those at Boston University’s Charles River Campus.

The BU Washington Center, where participants in the Washington Journalism Program live and work, has fully equipped newsroom, library, computer lab, student lounge, and classroom facilities as well as fully furnished apartments. The fall semester runs from early September to mid-December. The spring semester goes from mid-January to early May. Visit our website for more information: /com/academics/special-programs/bu-dc/.

The College of Communication Writing Center (located in Room B27A) provides free assistance to students. The center’s tutors advise students on all types of writing, but specialize in formats related to the COM departments: journalism; mass communication, advertising, and public relations; and film and television.

The tutors are drawn from the finest writers in COM’s graduate school. Working one-on-one with the student, a tutor will address whatever issues concern the student, such as organization, logic, concision, clarity, style, and grammar. A student can come in at any stage of the writing process—from brainstorming a topic to polishing a final draft.

The center is open Monday through Friday, with walk-in hours available Monday through Thursday.

Field Production Services (FPS) houses all of the production gear needed to complete your audio/visual projects. From cameras, lights, and microphones to recorders, dollies, and shoulder rigs, FPS is fully equipped for all levels of production. Students in need of equipment can make a reservation online at any time. FPS hours are 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Center for Mobile Communication Studies (CMCS) is the world’s first academic unit to focus solely on social aspects of mobile communication. The mission of the Center is to deepen the College of Communication’s core focus on mediated communication in undergraduate and graduate coursework and outreach, as well as to serve as an international focal point for research, teaching, and service on the social, psychological, and organizational consequences of the burgeoning mobile communication revolution.