USA Today, Hollywood Reporter zero in on BU

One of the nation’s best undergraduate journalism programs is right here on the Charles River Campus. The College of Communication’s program captured the fourth spot in recent rankings by USA Today.

In its list of the top 10 programs in the country, BU came in behind only Emerson College, Northwestern University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Other schools on the list are the University of Southern California (5), the University of Missouri–Columbia (6), New York University (7), Washington & Lee University (8), Syracuse University (9), and American University (10).

USA Today teamed up with College Factual, an online college matching program, to analyze universities nationwide and identify the best overall journalism programs. The rankings were based on factors such as graduates’ starting and mid-career salaries, whether or not the program is accredited, and how well a particular college did in overall nationwide rankings (BU ranked 41st in US News & World Report’s 2015 annual ranking).

William McKeen, a COM professor and chair of journalism, attributes the collaboration and mutual respect between faculty and students for much of COM’s success.

“Here, the faculty members regard students as merely younger colleagues,” he says. “This happens because of the strong professional chops of the faculty. There’s a feeling of collegiality you don’t often see in this kind of environment. At other schools, you see faculty members who regard students as nuisances. I’m happy to say my colleagues here take pleasure in the accomplishments of the students. They also forge a lifelong professional bond. That’s the reason we’ve been successful. Students looking around at colleges see the mutual respect in our program and they respond to that.”