How does undergraduate teaching compare at Boston University and Amherst College?

The biggest practical tradeoff is scale: Amherst offers a consistently small, discussion-centered undergraduate environment, while Boston University provides more academic breadth and research resources but has a less uniform classroom experience. At Amherst, virtually all courses are taught with undergraduates as the central focus, and students commonly build close relationships with professors through small seminars, office hours, and advising. At BU, many professors are deeply engaged teachers, but large introductory lectures and the size of the university can require more initiative from students seeking individual attention.

Amherst’s liberal arts structure is designed around undergraduate teaching. Faculty members teach rather than delegating core instruction to graduate students, and the college’s open curriculum can make it easier to pursue courses across fields and develop sustained mentorship with professors. Its small student body also means professors and classmates are more likely to know one another outside a single course.

BU is a major research university with substantially more departments, specialized courses, professional-school options, and research labs. In upper-level classes, especially within a major, courses can become quite small and professors can be very accessible. However, the experience varies more by department and course level; a first-year student in a popular subject may encounter large lectures and need to attend office hours, join a smaller discussion section, or seek research opportunities to create the same level of connection.

For a student whose top priority is reliably close faculty access and teaching centered almost entirely on undergraduates, Amherst is the clearer choice. BU makes more sense when you also place high value on a large university’s course selection, urban setting, and research ecosystem, and are comfortable taking an active role in finding mentorship.