Fordham vs Boston University for communications: which is better for undergrad?

For undergraduate communications, Boston University usually has the edge if you want the deepest preprofessional training and the broadest media-related opportunities built into the academic experience. BU’s College of Communication is one of the school’s most visible undergraduate programs, and being in Boston gives students steady access to internships during the school year. If your goal is to be immersed early in a large communications ecosystem with a lot of peers aiming for media careers, BU is often the more direct path.

BU tends to fit the student who wants a communications program that feels central to campus life rather than peripheral. You would likely find more course variety within communications itself, more student media infrastructure, and a bigger pipeline into industries like journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, and entertainment. For someone who learns best by doing, that matters a lot because the school has a strong reputation for hands-on work and industry-facing experiences.

Fordham makes more sense for a student who wants communications within a somewhat more classic liberal arts environment and likes the idea of building a media career through New York City access. Fordham benefits from its location, especially for internships in media, publishing, PR, and corporate communications, and that can be a real advantage if you are proactive. It can be especially appealing for someone who wants smaller-scale advising, values discussion-based classes, or may want to pair communications with strong humanities or business-related coursework.

On pure reputation in communications, BU is more widely recognized specifically for that field at the undergraduate level. On internships, Fordham’s New York location is a serious asset, but BU is hardly limited there and has its own strong network in Boston and beyond. If you want the strongest communications-focused identity and a more established undergraduate media training environment, BU stands out. If you want city access in New York plus a communications path that feels more personalized and liberal-arts-oriented, Fordham can be a very smart choice.