Boston University

📚 Courses & programs at Boston University

Boston University is best known for Boston tech hub location, Strong CS and engineering, Research opportunities, Alumni network. Popular programs for international students include:

• MS Computer Science
• MS Computer Engineering
• MS Data Science
• MBA
• MS Systems Engineering

Class profile: Selective private research university; strong reputation in engineering and CS. Notable alumni: Strong alumni network in Northeast tech and finance.

✅ Entry requirements

💰 Fees & cost of studying

Plan your budget for tuition + living + health insurance + the visa fee. Compare funding with the free scholarship finder.

📝 Step-by-step admission process

1. Shortlist programs & note GRE/GMAT policy
2. Take IELTS/TOEFL + GRE/GMAT if required
3. Prepare SOP, 2–3 LORs, CV & transcripts
4. Apply online (Fall deadlines Dec–Jan)
5. Pay application fee; submit
6. Receive decision → I-20 → F-1 visa

📄 Documents checklist

• Academic transcripts
• Statement of Purpose
• 2–3 Letters of Recommendation
• Resume / CV
• GRE/GMAT (if required)
• IELTS / TOEFL
• Application fee
• Passport copy
• Financial proof (I-20)

🛂 Student visa & post-study work · USA

• Student visa: F-1 student visa
• Work while studying: 20 hrs/week on-campus during term; full-time in breaks
• Post-study work: OPT: 12 months (36 months for STEM degrees)

📅 Intakes & deadlines

All figures are indicative and change year to year — always confirm on the official site (www.bu.edu) before applying.

How Boston University compares in USA

The figures on this page mean little on their own. Set against the 30 other USA universities in our dataset, they say something more useful about where an application to Boston University is likely to be won or lost.

• Selectivity. An indicative acceptance rate of about 52% against a median of 45% across the 30 other USA universities in our dataset. 17 of them are harder to get into than Boston University. It sits on the more accessible side of its national peer group, which usually means a complete, early, well-matched application matters more than an exceptional one.
• Rank in context. QS #322, against a peer median of #89; 23 USA universities rank above it here. Rank is worth exactly this much and no more — it is driven by institution-wide research output and reputation surveys, not by the department you would actually join, so treat it as a coarse filter and judge the programme on its own page.
• English bar. IELTS 7 against a peer median of 7. That is exactly the national norm, so a score built for this application should travel across your whole shortlist. Equivalents: TOEFL 90, PTE 65.

Programme areas: MS Computer Science · MS Computer Engineering · MS Data Science · MBA · MS Systems Engineering. Entry requirements are set per programme, not per university, so the figures above are the institutional baseline — a competitive department inside an accessible university can run far tighter than the headline rate suggests.

Practical order of work for Boston University: clear the English requirement first, because it gates everything and is the only part of the application you fully control; then confirm which of the Fall (Aug) and Spring (Jan) intakes you are targeting, since the typical deadline is Rolling (varies by program) and funding decisions usually close before admission decisions; then build the application around one specific programme rather than the institution. Budget the application fee of $80 per programme, and living costs of $12,000–20,000/yr on top of tuition of ~$52k/yr tuition; total cost of attendance ~$72k.

Figures here are indicative and compiled for comparison. Acceptance rates in particular are institution-level estimates and move year to year — confirm anything you are deciding on against the university's official pages.