Which school is better for internships: Boston University or George Washington University?

For internships during the school year, George Washington usually has the clearer built-in advantage. Its location in Washington, DC makes part-time internships much more realistic during the semester, especially in politics, international affairs, policy, nonprofits, media, and government-adjacent work. Many students pick GW specifically because being in DC lets them combine classes with ongoing internship experience in a way that is unusually accessible.

GW is especially attractive for the student who wants internships woven into weekly life, not treated as an occasional extra. If you can see yourself wanting to be downtown regularly, networking often, and pursuing work tied to federal agencies, think tanks, advocacy groups, embassies, consulting, or communications, GW’s environment is hard to beat. The city is a major part of the education there, and employers are used to hiring students for semester roles.

Boston University works very well for the student whose interests lean more toward business, healthcare, research, tech, media, or the broader private-sector economy of Boston. BU has strong access to a large urban job market and plenty of students do intern during the academic year, but it can feel a bit less centered on semester-long internships as the defining feature of campus life. In Boston, opportunities are real and substantial, but they are spread across industries rather than concentrated in one internship-heavy ecosystem the way DC is.

BU may be the more compelling place for someone who wants internship options alongside a more traditional large university experience, especially with strong connections to hospitals, startups, finance, biotech, and established companies in the city. If your goals are not especially DC-specific, BU can absolutely deliver strong undergraduate experience. But if your main question is where it is most realistic to build consistent in-semester internship experience across a wide range of undergrads, GW has the edge.