BU Virtual extends Boston University’s academic excellence to learners around the world. In close collaboration with faculty across BU’s schools and colleges, we design and deliver flexible online programs that carry the depth, rigor, and intellectual energy of a leading research university.
Through BU Virtual, students engage with world-class scholarship, diverse perspectives, and learning experiences that connect theory with practice—preparing them to advance their careers and contribute meaningfully to their fields and communities.
Explore BU’s growing portfolio of online programs in high-demand fields, developed in collaboration with top tier faculty and researchers at Boston University.
BU Virtual offers a coordinated suite of interdisciplinary AI online graduate programs designed to prepare professionals for leadership in the rapidly evolving world of AI. Unlike a “one size fits all” approach, our interdisciplinary ecosystem builds on Boston University’s strengths across business, computing, engineering, technology, and education to provide broad perspectives that enhance real-world relevance and impact.
Building on BU Virtual’s commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary excellence, we are excited to introduce a new suite of online graduate degrees launching in 2026, focused on workforce transformation in artificial intelligence.
These programs will equip learners with cutting-edge technical skills, ethical frameworks, and strategic insights needed to lead in AI-driven industries. Developed through close collaboration across BU’s renowned faculty, this next generation of online degrees will prepare professionals to shape the future of work, technology, and society.
The work we are doing today will shape the future of global online education tomorrow. We believe that our work at BU Virtual, which is done in collaboration with our award-winning schools and colleges, brings a new level of innovation, reach, and access to learners around the globe and reinforces our commitment to inclusion at scale. —Wendy Colby, VP and Associate Provost
Wherever you are in your life or career, BU Virtual helps you develop the knowledge and capabilities needed to navigate a complex and evolving professional landscape.
Our online programs combine BU’s academic rigor with practical, applied learning—equipping you to think critically, lead effectively, and adapt with confidence. As part of Boston University’s global community, you gain access to distinguished faculty, a powerful alumni network, and the enduring advantages of a BU education.
BU Virtual is redefining online graduate education by delivering rigorous, career-focused programs to a broad and diverse audience. Our flagship degrees, including the Online MBA, Online Master of Public Health, and Online Master’s in Data Science, combine academic excellence, innovative teaching, and flexible formats to meet the needs of today’s working professionals. Grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration and ongoing innovation, these programs empower learners to advance their careers while engaging with a vibrant global community.
BU Virtual meets learners where they are, with flexible online programs designed for working professionals and students at different stages of their academic and career journeys. Whether you want to build new skills, deepen your expertise, or prepare for new opportunities, BU offers online degree and certificate programs that support your goals.
In partnership with faculty across Boston University’s schools and colleges, BU Virtual expands access to the University’s research, teaching, and innovation. Explore online programs that connect you to BU’s academic excellence, real-world relevance, and global community.
Boston University College of Communication Professor Ayse Lokmanoglu won the prestigious fellowship this past week, becoming one of 24 in the 2026 cohort. What will Lokmanglu’s research focus on? As an emerging media studies professor in the College of Communication, Lokmanoglu’s work focuses on how we think about the internet, particularly images, in politically tense […]
Most managers can use AI. Very few can lead with it. That's the gap that's about to define the next decade of business careers — and it's wider than most leaders realize. McKinsey's 2025 Superagency in the Workplace report found that 92% of companies plan to increase AI spending in the next three years, yet […]
The job of a communications leader looked very different five years ago. The channels were the same — paid, earned, shared, owned — but the speed, the scale, and the tools weren't. Today, generative AI is writing first drafts, predictive models are choosing audiences, and 23% of ads at the most recent Super Bowl involved […]
Before Vivian Muzyk became a graduate student in public health, she was a journalist. She earned a master's in journalism from the University of Georgia, started her career as a writer and editor at Southern Living, and spent years in nonprofit communications — including as director of communications at the American Heart Association in Birmingham. […]
Search for a master's in AI right now and you'll get three very different degrees in the same list: deep technical programs for engineers, data science degrees built around statistics and modeling, and a newer category aimed at the professionals making AI work inside organizations. They may look adjacent on a search results page, but […]
An AI software engineer is a specialized developer who designs, builds, and deploys applications powered by machine learning, artificial intelligence, and generative AI. The key difference between traditional software engineers and AI software engineers lies in how they build applications. While software engineers rely on explicit logic and predefined code structures, AI software engineers construct […]
MLOps, or machine learning operations, is a set of practices that functions as an assembly line for building, deploying, and running machine learning (ML) models at scale. By fostering collaboration between data scientists, software engineers, and IT teams, MLOps enables organizations to automate machine learning workflows and deploy ML models efficiently across production environments. The […]
Software development is undergoing one of the most significant shifts in its history. Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool developers use—it is becoming embedded in how software is built, deployed, and even how it behaves in production. On April 24, Professor Ed Solovey (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and collaborator Osama Alshaykh will present […]