How does undergraduate teaching compare between Boston University and Williams College?

For undergraduate teaching alone, Williams College offers the more consistently intimate, faculty-centered experience. Its small liberal arts structure means most classes are small, professors teach the core undergraduate curriculum directly, and students can build close relationships with faculty across several years. Williams is especially distinctive for its tutorial courses, in which two students work closely with a professor, write frequent papers, and discuss their ideas in depth.

A student who learns best by speaking often in class, receiving detailed feedback on writing, and having professors know their academic interests will likely find Williams unusually strong. Because Williams has a primarily undergraduate focus, there are far fewer situations where graduate students are central to teaching or where an introductory course feels anonymous.

Boston University can provide excellent teaching and very accessible professors, but the experience is less uniform because BU is much larger and includes extensive graduate and professional programs. Introductory courses, particularly in popular STEM, economics, and social science fields, may be lecture-based and can enroll many students. Discussion sections, lab instructors, teaching assistants, and office hours often play an important role in making those courses feel smaller.

BU may suit a student who wants access to a broad research university, a huge range of specialized courses, and professors doing active work in a field, while being proactive about building relationships. In upper-level seminars, honors courses, research labs, and smaller departmental classes, BU students can receive substantial individual attention. The key difference is that at Williams, close classroom interaction is built into the default undergraduate model; at BU, students can create a similarly personal academic experience, but they need to choose smaller classes, use office hours, and engage early with faculty.