Boston College
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140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
http://www.bc.edu

Founded in 1863, Boston College is a coeducational university with an enrollment of 9,000 undergraduates and 4,700 graduate and professional students representing every state and more than 99 countries. US News and World Report ranks Boston College 37th among national universities. Boston College confers more than 3,800 degrees in more than 50 fields of study through 11 schools and colleges. Its more than 600 full-time faculty members are committed to both teaching and research and have set new marks for research grants in each of the last ten years. The University is in the process of adding new faculty positions, expanding research, increasing student financial aid, and widening opportunities in key undergraduate programs. Its commitment to its Jesuit and Catholic heritage has recently been manifest in the widely praised Church in the 21st Century Center.

Gasson Hall, the University's signature building, is seen from the portico of Devlin Hall, home to the McMullen Museum of Art. Gasson was named for Boston College President Thomas I. Gasson, S.J., who moved Boston College from Boston's South End to Chestnut Hill, but it was known as the Recitation Building, or variously, the Tower Building, when it opened in 1913.

Boston College was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1863 and, with 3 teachers and 22 students, opened its doors on September 5, 1864. Through its first seven decades, it remained an exclusively liberal arts institution with emphasis on the Greek and Latin classics, English and modern languages, and philosophy and religion.

Originally located on Harrison Avenue in Boston's South End, where it shared quarters with Boston College High School, the University outgrew its urban setting toward the end of its first 50 years. It moved to then-rural Chestnut Hill, on the site of the former Lawrence farm, where ground was broken on June 19, 1909 for the construction of Gasson Hall. Gasson, known at the time as the Recitation Building, opened in March 1913. The three other buildings that would form the core of the campus ­ St. Mary's Hall, Devlin Hall, and Bapst Library ­ opened in 1917, 1924, and 1928, respectively.

During the 1940s, new purchases doubled the size of the main campus. In 1974, Boston College acquired Newton College of the Sacred Heart, 1.5 miles away. With 15 buildings on 40 acres, it is now the site of the Law School and residence halls housing more than 800 students.

Though incorporated as a University from its beginning, Boston College did not begin to fill out the dimensions of its University charter until the 1920s, with the inauguration of the Summer Session, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Law School and the Evening College. The 1930s saw the introduction of the Graduate School of Social Work and the College of Business Administration (now known as The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management). The schools of Nursing and Education (now the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education) followed in 1947 and 1952. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences first offered doctoral programs in 1952, followed by the graduate schools of Education, Nursing, Management, and Social Work.

In 1927 Boston College conferred one earned bachelor's degree and 15 master's degrees on women through its Extension Division. By 1970 all undergraduate programs had become coeducational, and today women comprise more than half of the University's enrollment. In 1996 the Evening College became the College of Advancing Studies, offering master's as well as bachelor's degrees. That same year, the University's longest presidency, 24 years, came to an end when J. Donald Monan, S.J., became chancellor and was succeeded in the presidency by William P. Leahy, S.J.

In 1997, President Leahy announced the implementation plan for "Advancing the Legacy," BC's $260-million, five-year investment to strengthen education, reaffirm its Jesuit and Catholic mission, increase research, and improve the quality of student life.

In November 1999, Boston College launched a $400 million fund-raising campaign. "Ever to Excel: The Campaign for Boston College" will create 100 endowed faculty chairs, add $50 million to undergraduate and graduate financial aid, target support for academic centers, libraries, and selected undergraduate and graduate programs, and help fund new construction, including a planned student center and humanities building.

53% women
47% men
23% AHANA (African-American, Hispanic, Asian or Native American)
2% international
50 states represented
65 countries and territories represented (94 countries and territories are represented among undergraduate and graduate students)

1260-1410 range of SAT scores for middle 50 percent
71% of undergraduate students receive financial aid

650 number of full-time faculty
241 full-time women faculty
1:13 faculty-student ratio
96% faculty with doctorates
112 number of Jesuits living on the Boston College campus, making the University one of the largest Jesuit communities in the world. About half are actively involved, full or part time, in the University's faculty and administration. Twenty-seven are graduate students, and 29 are from foreign countries.

Chestnut Hill, 117 acres
Newton, 40 acres
Brighton, 43 acres
Dover, 79 acres

Eight libraries
2.1 million volumes
Nearly 4 million units of microform
More than 200,000 government documents
6,800 square feet of manuscripts and archival materials

College of Arts and Sciences—34 undergraduate majors, 3 interdisciplinary majors, 16 interdisciplinary minors; 23 master's and 14 doctoral programs

Carroll School of Management—23 undergraduate concentrations; 3 master's and 2 doctoral programs

Lynch School of Education—4 undergraduate majors, 6 interdisciplinary majors; 14 master's and 7 doctoral programs

Connell School of Nursing—1 undergraduate program; 8 master's and 1 doctoral program

Graduate School of Social Work—1 master's and 1 doctoral program

Law School—graduate program

Woods College of Advancing Studies—13 undergraduate majors; 1 master's program and 8 professional studies certificates

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science
Master of Arts
Master of Arts in Teaching
Master of Business Administration
Master of Education
Master of Science
Master of Science in Accounting
Master of Science in Finance
Master of Science in Teaching
Master of Social Work
Certificate of Advanced Educational Specialization
Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies
Doctor of Education
Doctor of Philosophy
Juris Doctor (Doctor of Law)

140,350 living undergraduate and graduate alumni

More than 90 percent of the class of 2008 plans to earn graduate degrees
57 percent of the class of 1988 completed or engaged in graduate study within ten years of graduation

27 varsity teams
All compete at the NCAA Division I level
About 5,400 students participate in 28 intramural sports and clubs.