Humanities
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What defines graduate education at Boston College?
Founded in 1863 as Boston’s first institution of higher learning, Boston College (BC) is today one of the nation’s foremost universities, home to world-class research facilities and faculty at the forefront of their fields. True to the University’s Jesuit, Catholic mission, BC’s diverse graduate programs prepare scholars to advance the common good through scholarship and research that addresses the most vital challenges and questions facing the world today.
“At Boston College, we hope our students become women and men of depth of thought and creative imagination, who are ready to engage the needs of our world and well-prepared for meaningful lives of leadership, scholarship, and service.”
Gregory Kalscheur, S.J.,
Dean of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences
Graduate Education in the Arts and Sciences
The Graduate School of the Robert J. Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences (MCGS) is the oldest of BC’s eight graduate and professional divisions, home to 28 Ph.D., M.A., and M.S. programs in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.
The Morrissey College’s graduate degree programs combine academic rigor with a signature emphasis on personal, ethical, and spiritual growth. Grounded in a commitment to liberal arts education, faculty members are renowned for being both groundbreaking researchers and uncommonly attentive teachers and mentors.
Morrissey College faculty approach their roles as educators and mentors with the same dedication and passion they bring to their research. With small class sizes and a committed academic advisor for every graduate student, MCGS is small enough to get to know you as a person, yet large enough to prepare you for a career as a leader in your field.
You will be challenged to reflect on how your research and scholarship will improve the lives of others. As part of a top-tier R1 Research Institution, it certainly has the resources and facilities to help you bring that impact to life.
Home to more than 35 colleges and universities, as well as some of the nation’s best art museums and cultural institutions, Greater Boston is an ideal place for graduate study. Boston College’s campus is located an easy trolley ride from downtown, next to popular student neighborhoods. Wherever you choose to live, you will have access to a wealth of events and gatherings on the city’s many campuses as well as to the city’s unapparelled career opportunities in the fields of research, education, technology, medicine, business and public service.
Life in Boston
95%
Boston College faculty hold doctoral degrees
100%
funding support for doctoral students
35+
research centers and institutes
US$70.2M
in total sponsored research grants in 2022-23
“I have been blessed with many great opportunities in the department here and have always benefitted particularly from the interdisciplinary and cross-departmental dialogue. For example, I was able to do research for the History Department translating 19th-century classical Chinese texts. Currently, I am a graduate fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, and this also allows me every week to read and discuss the research work of fellows across a variety of disciplines. ”
Yiyang Zhuge
PhD in Political Science
Hear from students
“I like being part of a large research university and a large department because I get to learn from brilliant peers who are applying different methods to different topics, as well as colleagues in other departments who work on topics related to mine. There are several communities in my department and in the wider Arabic community around Boston College. As a member of the Middle East Astaza! Ensemble, I play music each week with people with roots across the Arabic world. I’ve also gotten involved in launching a new podcast studio with Professor Sajdi, along with a series of podcasts from faculty and students, including an episode of my own, about the history of the One Thousand and One Nights.”
Khalil Sawan
PhD in History
