Boston University does not on principle have a formal mission statement or an explicit set of goals. We believe that mission statements, when not merely empty form, can imprudently narrow an institutions identity and purposes. Instead of a single codified mission, Boston University emphasizes the diversity of legitimate intellectual, educational, and creative motives among its 15 Schools and Colleges offering programs to more than 29,000 students.

The Universitys founding document, the Charter of 1869, calls for the promotion of "virtue and piety, and learning in such of the languages and of the liberal and useful arts and sciences, as shall be recommended from time to time by the said corporation...." Boston University fulfills this charge by providing both traditional liberal arts and programs in areas such as health care, education, management, and communication.

Boston University offers undergraduate, graduate, and certificate educational programs, supports research aimed at discovering new knowledge, and fosters artistic contributions. The University also supports efforts to improve human welfare and the condition of society.

A central concern is the individual student. Boston Universitys academic programs are founded on the principle that the student must acquire substantive knowledge, intellectual skills, contextual understanding, personal discipline, and commitment to ethical behavior. Programs can encourage growth in these areas, but the ultimate responsibility for success lies with the individual student. Boston University recognizes an important division of duties: the Universitys obligation is to ensure a coherent curriculum focused on significant topics taught by knowledgeable faculty members who are also excellent teachers; the students obligation is to pursue his education with initiative, open-mindedness, and commitment.

University living begins with academics, but it doesn’t end there. At Boston University, the list of social, athletic, artistic, and other types of clubs is more than 300 lines long, and runs from Alpine Racing to Zen. The most popular? That would be Broomball, a game played on a hockey rink, but without the benefit of ice skates. There are literary clubs, classic rock clubs, real rock—as in geology—clubs, and clubs for almost every participatory sport one can imagine.