Claim: Boston University has 17 colleges.

Boston University -LRB- commonly referred to as BU -RRB- is a private research university located in Boston , Massachusetts . The university is nonsectarian , and is historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church .   The university has more than 3,900 faculty members and nearly 33,000 students , and is one of Boston 's largest employers . It offers bachelor 's degrees , master 's degrees , and doctorates , and medical , dental , business , and law degrees through 17 schools and colleges on two urban campuses . The main campus is situated along the Charles River in Boston 's Fenway-Kenmore and Allston neighborhoods , while the Boston University Medical Campus is in Boston 's South End neighborhood .   BU is categorized as an R1 : Doctoral University -LRB- very high research activity -RRB- in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education . BU is a member of the Boston Consortium for Higher Education and the Association of American Universities . The University was ranked 39th among undergraduate programs at national universities , and 32nd among global universities by U.S. News & World Report in its 2017 rankings .   Among its alumni and current or past faculty , the university counts eight Nobel Laureates , 23 Pulitzer Prize winners , 10 Rhodes Scholars , six Marshall Scholars , 48 Sloan Fellows , nine Academy Award winners , and several Emmy and Tony Award winners . BU also has MacArthur , Fulbright , Truman and Guggenheim Fellowship holders as well as American Academy of Arts and Sciences and National Academy of Sciences members among its past and present graduates and faculty . In 1876 , BU professor Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in a BU lab . American Civil Rights Movement leader and 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. received his PhD in Theology from BU in 1955 .   The Boston University Terriers compete in the NCAA 's Division I. BU athletic teams compete in the Patriot League , and Hockey East conferences , and their mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier . Boston University is well known for men 's hockey , in which it has won five national championships , most recently in 2009 .