Boston University College of Arts & Sciences

Congratulations to our 2026 Goldwater Scholarship recipient, Sojung Bok (CAS'27) 🎉

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation provides scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

CAS faculty and students weigh in on Boston hosting the 2026 World Cup.

Read more: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2026/world-cup/?utm_campaign=bu_today&utm_source=email_20260611_full&utm_medium=1_featured_story&utm_content=arts

In a new CAS English course titled "The Voice of Poetry," Annette Frost, public humanities manager at the BU Center for the Humanities, leads an experiential class that spans centuries of poetry. The course encourages students to engage more deeply with poems by exposing them to a wide range of work from the 16th century to the present day.

“We focus on reading poems out loud and figuring out what changes for the students when they hear [them]” Frost said.

Read more: https://www.bu.edu/cas/arts-sciences/article/giving-poetry-a-voice/

Patrick Keys, assistant professor of earth & environment, discusses how he uses "sci-fi prototyping" to help science students envision future climate scenarios through creative writing.

By imagining concrete futures and the people living in them, students are then challenged to work backward to identify the real-world policies and scientific pathways needed to get there.

Read more about Keys and his independent 500-level Earth & Environment course here: https://www.bu.edu/cas/arts-sciences/article/is-it-science-or-is-it-fiction-in-this-classroom-its-both/

For a decade, Yair Lior, senior lecturer in comparative religion, has taught iterations of a class on the interactions between science and religion.

Now, he's teaching his students about transhumanism during the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

“There’s something about technology that has the promise of salvation, immortality,” Lior said.

Read more: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2026/cas-class-religion-and-science/

At Boston University’s 153rd Commencement on Sunday, Commencement speaker Reshma Kewalramani (CAS’98, CAMED’98, Hon.’26), and president and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals spoke of identity and an abundance mindset.

“Through my journey, I found that my different identities and roles don’t undercut each other. They make each other stronger,” Kewalramani said.

“People with an abundance mindset share information, build teams, mentor generously, and collaborate relentlessly," she said. "Scarcity often feels safer in the short term, but abundance always wins in the long run.”

Congratulations to the class of 2026!

See the full recap: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2026/bu-153rd-commencement/

Congratulations to our graduates! 🎓🎉

Today, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences confers 163 doctor of philosophy degrees, 396 master of arts, master of science, and master of fine arts degrees, and 2,672 bachelor of arts degrees on our graduates.

In Community Writing, a College of Arts & Sciences course taught by Professor Jessica Bozek, BU students connect with older adults at the Brookline Senior Center and exchange stories across generations.

"The conversations give students the benefits of communicating with other people, but also exposure to more perspectives — often perspectives of people who they would not encounter in their daily lives," Bozek said.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDpbfWF-S28

Congratulations to Professor of Sociology and Director of the Initiative on Cities Loretta Lees, who has been awarded the Royal Geographical Society’s Patron’s Medal. The Patron’s Medal recognizes Professor Lees’ groundbreaking contributions to urban geography and her leadership in the study of gentrification, housing, and urban inequality.

Learn more about Professor Lees' award: https://www.bu.edu/ioc/2026/05/12/ioc-director-loretta-lees-awarded-royal-geographical-societys-2026-patrons-medal/