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Boston College

Boston College's course descriptions average 67 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so Boston College reads 0.5 points further right.

ShowCompared withDepartments

Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)

Boston College: 67 (likely range 65.5 to 68.5) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

4%Far left92–100

31%Left75–91

43%Center-left59–74

8%Center42–58

6%Center-right26–41

4%Right9–25

3%Far right0–8

194 plotted courses (the ones with a political subject). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right. Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes.

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Framing Subject

Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes. A course on slavery or the Holocaust lands far right and a course on Marx or the Soviet Union lands far left, whether the course praises, criticizes or simply describes it.

Underlined: words the model quoted from the description when we asked it, after scoring, to explain its score.

Furthest-left subjects

ENGL 4562 · Marx, Marxism, and Modern Culture100

English & Comparative Literature

This course will introduce students to Marxism, both as a revolutionary practice and as a theory of modern culture. We will start out by spending a couple of weeks familiarizing ourselves with Marxs own writings, getting a handle on some of…

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SOCY 3375 · American Economic Crisis and Social Change100

Sociology

Course is offered every semester. Course is offered every semester. This course offers a new way to think about American and global capitalism, focusing on our values, our intertwined economic, environmental and social crises exploding in…

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THEO 7055 · Global Politics, Political Theology, and Ethics94

Religious Studies

This course will employ decolonial critiques, African theology, and liberation theology to examine politico- economic inequality and conflict in the world today. The class will analyze international human rights, international law, and…

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Furthest-right subjects

ARTH 4427 · Early Medieval Art in Ireland and Britain0

Art & Art History

The course will examine the development of art in Ireland and Britain in the Early Medieval period and the production of Irish and English missionaries on the Continent. Emphasis will be placed on the following: 1. manuscripts, sculpture,…

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HIST 2401 · U.S. History I0

History

Fulfills the US History requirement for Majors.Followed in spring semester by HIST2402.This course is an introduction to United States History from the pre-Columbian Era to the end of the Civil War. The principal text will be the first…

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HIST 4551 · American Hate0

History

Fulfills the US History requirement for History Majors Racism is, unfortunately, as American as apple pie and baseball. This course explores the roots of racial hatred and the changes in American racism over time. In addition to studying…

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Why this number, in plain words

Political lean of course descriptions. Average Framing score (0 = far right, 50 = center, 100 = far left) of the scored courses in the group.

50 is the survey-anchored center of US adults on each issue (the "moderate" place of the ANES/GSS/PRRI seven-label ruler), not the cohort midpoint; scores above 50 read leftward, below 50 rightward.

Counted: courses with a Framing score (categories L/R/B/C). The likely range (95% interval) is 65.5 to 68.5; a comparison whose range overlaps this one is not a reliable difference.

Most course descriptions carry no political lean at all and are not in this average; the "share described from the left" view counts them.
Readings are of catalog description text, not of teaching, syllabi or individual professors.

Boston College by department (share of courses described from the left)

Department	Left-framed share	Courses
Sociology	34.8%	66	view
Ethnic & African American Studies	33.3%	48	view
English & Comparative Literature	14.8%	135	view
History	14.8%	122	view
Religious Studies	6.1%	196	view
Economics	6.0%	117	view
Philosophy	3.8%	106	view
Art & Art History	3.5%	86	view
Psychology	2.4%	84	view
Political Science	0%	89	view

Lean (mean Framing score) is not published per department within a school; only the left-framed share is. Department rows carry no interval.

Details: exact rows, definitions and method

Name	Metric	Value	95% interval	n	scored
Boston College	mean_bias_score	67	65.5 – 68.5	1,049	106
All 100 schools	mean_bias_score	67.5	67.4 – 67.7	124,290	10,124

Formula: SUM(bias_score) / COUNT(bias_score)
Interval: normal approximation: mean +/- 1.96 * sd / sqrt(n), sample sd (n-1); undefined when n < 2
Model / prompt / snapshot: gpt-5.6-sol · r12 (2026-10-16-le49-r12) · 6df50b10
Metric caveats: Scored courses only (L/R/B/C); N and I carry no score and are excluded, so n here is smaller than the group's course count. Scores are model readings of catalog description text against a fixed anchored definition, not teaching or syllabi. The interval covers sampling noise in the mean only; it does not represent model reading error. Every value carries a `method` label: exact_rows or histogram_midpoint.

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