Is American University or Boston University better for communications majors?

For communications, Boston University usually has the stronger overall academic reputation, while American University stands out if you want communications tied closely to public affairs, politics, advocacy, or Washington-based media. BU’s College of Communication is especially well known across journalism, film and television, advertising, PR, and media production, and Boston gives students access to major media, agency, and corporate internships. American’s School of Communication is respected too, but its biggest advantage is location: being in DC puts you close to political communications, nonprofits, government-related PR, and policy-focused media work.

BU fits the student who wants a bigger, more established communications ecosystem with lots of specialization inside the major. If you are drawn to PR, advertising, journalism, digital media, or production in a setting with strong name recognition in those fields, BU tends to carry more weight. It also benefits from being part of a large private research university with broad campus resources and a city that has real media and business access.

American makes more sense for the student who sees communications as connected to politics, international affairs, social impact, or strategic messaging in public-facing institutions. Its DC setting is not just a bonus, it shapes the kind of internships students get during the school year. For someone interested in political comms, advocacy campaigns, think tanks, NGOs, or government-adjacent PR, American can feel more directly plugged in.

For media or PR specifically, the answer depends on which version of that world you mean. If you mean agency work, brand strategy, journalism, or broader media industries, BU is often the more recognized choice. If you mean public affairs messaging, issue advocacy, campaign communication, or institutional communications in DC, American can be just as compelling and in some cases more strategically located.

So in terms of general reputation for communications as a major, BU usually gets the edge. In terms of targeted access to DC-centered internships and political or public-interest communications, American has a very real niche advantage.