For Current BU Students
If you are currently a BU student and wish to transfer into COM (Intra-University Transfer or IUT), we have certain requirements that you will need to achieve. Please review the Intra University Transfer Form on our Forms page. With questions, please contact COM Undergraduate Affairs (COM, Room 123) at (617) 353-3471 or by email at comugrad@bu.edu.
For Non-BU Students
We are excited you are interested in the Boston University College of Communication (COM). Students who are considering transferring to COM from outside of Boston University should be in contact with the Boston University Transfer Admissions Office to learn more about the application process and the application requirements.
Once a transfer student has been admitted and paid the BU tuition deposit, they will be connected to COM Undergraduate Affairs and our Academic Advising team. We will send new transfer students information about COM and the process to plan and register for courses shortly after the tuition deposit deadline. COM Undergraduate Affairs office can be reached at (617) 353-3471 and is located at the College of Communication, Room 123. We will assist in course planning, while taking into consideration the courses the student has or will complete at their current institution as well as any AP, IB or other credits a student may have completed prior to their acceptance to Boston University. Information on Advanced Credit and what BU accepts can be found online here.
Transfer students will need to obtain approval for each course from the offering department by working with Transfer Admissions. Students will need to collect and submit all their course syllabi to Transfer Admissions. Courses may be accepted as specific Boston University courses, as courses in specific departments, but without an equivalent (for example CAS HI 1TR), as general electives that can count towards the 128 required units for graduation, or some courses may not be accepted to Boston University. Some courses you have taken may already be in our system. You can check to see if your previous University has classes listed here.
Please note that communication courses taken at another institution can only transfer to Boston University as electives. Our college requires all specific communication courses for a major completed through the College of Communication (COM) to be done at Boston University. To avoid potential significant overlap of previously completed communication coursework, students may petition to be waived out of an identical COM course. If the petition is approved, the student is then be required to take a four unit Boston University COM course in its place. This is a two-step process via transfer credit approval process through Admissions and then a subsequent petition (with syllabus) through their COM major department. Our COM Undergraduate Affairs academic advising staff will work with students through the process. The COM Petition Form is on our Forms page.
All students planning to earn an undergraduate degree from the College of Communication (COM) must successfully complete the course, COM CO 101 with a grade of a “C” or better. COM CO 101 is a course that is unique to Boston University (BU) and COM. Therefore, all undergraduate students pursuing a degree from COM must complete this course at BU. Transfer credit from outside colleges and universities or other substitutions for COM CO 101 are not allowed.
Students may only attempt COM CO 101 for a letter grade a maximum of two times (“W” grades do not count as an attempt). If a student does not meet the minimum grade requirement in COM CO 101 during their second attempt, they will not be eligible to earn an undergraduate degree from COM. Only 4 units of COM CO 101 can count toward the unit total required for graduation.
Students entering BU as an outside transfer student fall 2020 and after will complete a set of Boston University general education requirements, the BU Hub, and also complete a COM major. COM majors open to transfer students from outside BU who enter the fall 2020 semester or after include:
- B.S. Advertising
- B.S. Public Relations
- B.S. Media Science
- B.S. Journalism
- B.S. Film and Television
If you click here you will be directed to our curriculum guides page for those particular programs as well as depict BU Hub general education requirements for transfer students from outside BU entering fall 2020 and after. You’ll notice some BU Hub general education requirement lines are pre-populated by courses you will need to take as a major at Boston University in the College of Communication. You can find more information about BU Hub general education requirements for transfer students here.
Please keep in mind that all communication courses for the degree need to be taken at Boston University. Communication courses taken at outside colleges and universities can only transfer to BU for elective credit. Additionally, please keep in mind that all BU Hub general education requirements must also be taken at Boston University too.
Unlike students who start at BU as first-years (freshmen) who must complete 26 BU Hub general education requirements, external transfer students enrolling at BU fall 2020 and later will only need to complete 10 BU Hub general education requirements. Therefore, the academic course work that you transfer in from your previous institution will essentially fulfill 16 BU Hub general education requirements leaving you with 10 BU Hub general education requirements to complete while enrolled at Boston University.
If you are a student interested in transferring from another institution, we strongly encourage you to take that institution’s first-year student composition writing sequence. For students planning to major in Film and Television at BU we also encourage you to complete two terms (through second term proficiency) of a foreign language. Other courses you take at your previous institution should follow their curriculum guidelines and general education requirements.
You can learn so much more about transfer students and Boston University, including top reasons to transfer to BU here.