Boston University Part-Time Student Guide: Navigating Your Journey

Embarking on a part-time academic journey at Boston University is an exciting endeavor. Whether you're a College of General Studies (CGS) student or pursuing studies in another school, understanding the available resources and opportunities is key to a successful and fulfilling experience. This guide aims to provide you with essential information and advice to navigate your path at BU, ensuring a smooth transition and maximizing your potential.

Welcome to the College of General Studies (CGS)

For those entering BU through the College of General Studies (CGS), a warm welcome awaits! Whether you're feeling excited, nervous, or a mix of both, rest assured that support is readily available. Transitioning to BU after a gap semester spent working, traveling, volunteering, or taking courses can be a significant adjustment.

Academic Advisors: Your Most Valuable Resource in CGS

Academic Advisors will be your most valuable resource in CGS. They can provide guidance on course selection, academic planning, and navigating university policies and procedures. Don't hesitate to reach out to them with any questions or concerns you may have.

Building Connections: Small Classes, Big Opportunities

With approximately 600 incoming students in CGS, there are ample opportunities to find your community. The small class sizes and team projects foster collaboration and bonding with your peers from day one. Embrace these opportunities to build relationships and expand your network.

Exploring BU Beyond CGS

Beyond the resources within CGS, BU offers a wide array of activities each week, ranging from academic department lectures to kayaking on the Charles River with FitRec. Make the most of these opportunities to explore your interests, discover new passions, and engage with the broader BU community.

Joining Student Organizations: Pursue Your Passions

Be sure to explore the University’s Student Leadership & Impact Center to learn about the hundreds of student organizations available to you. With over 450 student organizations, it's easy to pursue a favorite hobby or try something new. This is a fantastic way to connect with like-minded individuals and enhance your BU experience.

Academic Support and Growth Opportunities

Even before setting foot on campus, CGS provides avenues for academic support and growth.

Collaborative Learning: The CGS Team Approach

To encourage collaboration, you will work as part of a team that includes three professors, an academic advisor, and approximately 80 fellow students. The faculty team meets weekly to collaborate and design a cohesive interdisciplinary experience. This team-based approach fosters a supportive learning environment and promotes interdisciplinary thinking.

Building Your Résumé Early: Internships and Research

As a CGS student, you have access to the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning, allowing you to begin building your résumé early. The center offers funding for students participating in unpaid external internships and connects them with alumni for these placements. You can also partner with a faculty member on research projects, even as a first-year student.

Career Development Resources: The Center for Career Development

Another valuable resource at BU is the Center for Career Development, which is open to all students. They provide guidance on career exploration, resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills, and job searching. Take advantage of their services to prepare for your future career.

Transitioning with Confidence: CGS Support

Starting your first semester of college and making new connections can be nerve-wracking and overwhelming, but CGS is dedicated to ensuring students feel at ease during this transition. Show up, ask questions, and reach out for support. The resources available are designed to make your transition to BU smoother and help you start the semester feeling confident.

Kilachand Honors College: The Keystone Project

The best advice from a Kilachand Alumni was to choose a Keystone Project that was fun. The Kilachand Keystone is a unique opportunity to do a year-long project on essentially whatever you want, with funding and advising.

Exploring the Keystone Pathway

Many students opt to use an honors thesis in their major as the Keystone Project. However, for students seeking a more creative or interdisciplinary project, the Keystone Pathway offers an amazing opportunity to think outside the box and not be bound by the requirements of a thesis. Students have designed playgrounds, written screenplays, and created business plans, among other innovative projects.

Passion-Driven Projects: A Personal Journey

If a traditional research thesis excites you, then go for it! But don’t be afraid to take a chance and do a unique project. One student, with a lifelong dream of writing a poetry collection, transformed a blurry passion project into a beautiful piece of research and artwork. With guidance from Professor Preston in the Keystone Proposal Workshop, they developed research questions, connected with advisors, and planned goals and timelines.

The Poetry of Well-being: A Keystone Example

As a psychology major, the student chose to write a poetry collection about well-being, focusing on flourishing rather than mental illness. They conducted a literature review on the psychology of well-being and a contemporary poetry review to study scientific, lyric, and visual forms of poetry. The writing centered around themes of love, belonging, mindfulness, spirituality, nature, and therapy, using techniques like documentary poetry and experiential perspectives.

Read also: History of the BU Bridge

Advice for Choosing Your Keystone

The best advice is to think about your interests early and choose a project you’re sincerely passionate about, rather than doing what you think you “should” do or what others expect you to do.

Recommended Courses

Boston University offers a wide range of courses to cater to diverse interests.

Writing for Impact: CAS WR 150

This course gives students the opportunity to write for a public audience on topics of their own choosing. Students can write science communication articles, edit Wikipedia pages, and create TED talk-style videos. The class emphasizes impact and real-world implications. One student wrote a science communication article on romantic passion, edited a real Wikipedia page on Taylor Swift’s song All Too Well, and wrote and filmed a TED talk-style video on the health benefits of fun and joy.

Keystone Proposal Workshop: Preparing for Your Project

This course is for Kilachand juniors who are looking to plan out their keystone project. The keystone project can be an honors project in your department (an honors thesis in psychology, the senior engineering design project) or can be a project of your own choosing through Kilachand. A student who took the Keystone Proposal Workshop with Kilachand Director Dr. Carrie Preston found her insight invaluable, helping them formulate a research question, find an advisor, and create a timeline for their project to write a poetry collection on the science of well-being.

The Psychology of Relationships: CAS PS 336

For upperclassmen studying psychology, this course is a must! Students learn the science behind marriage, divorce, flirting & dating, child-parent relationships, family dynamics, and overall communication and empathy. Taking this class can set you up for more resilient, stable, and healthy relationships.

Physical Activity Courses (PDPs)

Did you know that Boston University offers exercise classes at FitRec (our gym) that are open to all students? You can take anything from ice skating to tennis to zen meditation to ballroom dancing. Having PDP courses in your schedule ensures that you have time to move your body, and they are a fun break away from your academic courses.

Navigating the Transition to College

College is a thrilling time of discovery, surprise, and growth. But the transition is hard. Whether you’re moving to BU from across the world or you’re a Boston native, adapting to the academic, social, and lifestyle differences of college takes time.

Avoiding Perfectionism: Embrace Imperfection

It’s easy to feel pressured to make the most of every minute of college. You might expect to make friends quickly, start working on an impressive research project, and keep up a healthy routine of daily workouts on top of your heavy academic schedule and part-time job. However, this naive optimism can be perfectionism in disguise. When you don’t keep up with your workout schedule, you might berate yourself. When you can’t find time to commit to research your first semester, you might feel like a failure. Over time, you'll learn to be compassionate toward yourself and let yourself make a mistake or have a bad day. The truth is, you’re going to have bad days, and that’s okay. When you do, remind yourself that the feeling won’t last forever and that you’re resilient for going through such a difficult transition. Everything is temporary, and it is alright if things are not going how you expected them to.

Journaling: Capturing the Moments

We underestimate just how much we forget. The days of college, especially your first year, go by in a whirlwind. You may take a lot of pictures or think that you’ll always remember the significant moments, but nothing can make up for a firsthand account in your own words of what happened. Journaling allows you to capture your thoughts and experiences in real-time. You can read exactly what you were thinking after your first day of classes, what your first impression of the person who is now your best friend was, and how your perspective on home changed.

Utilizing Well-being Resources

BU has so many resources to improve the well-being of its students. Ask your advisor to chat with you about stress management. Go to events held by The Wellbeing Project. Reach out to Behavioral Medicine. Take a workshop or request a tutor at the Educational Resource Center. And remember that not all self-care has to be focused on academics or medicine! Taking dance classes (or other exercise classes called PDPs that students can register for), joining the meditation club (BU Zen), and signing up for a Writing of Poetry (CAS EN304) course can make your first year enormously easier.

Taking Breaks: Avoiding the Grind

College moves at a fast pace. Cities move at a fast pace. New Englanders move at a fast pace. “The grind” can be self-destructive if we never give ourselves a break. When you have a massive to-do list, it can feel like you’ll never have time to take a night off of homework or go explore the city of Boston. Taking a step away from your workload restores you and helps you focus better when you return to your desk. When you feel overwhelmed, go for a walk along the Esplanade or facetime a friend from home. Not only will you be more productive when you have to get back to work, you will feel better overall.

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