Colleges Emerson College

Emerson College https://emerson.edu

Emerson College is a private institution that was founded in 1880. Emerson is an urban school set on an 8-acre campus in the city of Boston in the heart of the Theatre District. The school’s curriculum focuses on writing, communications, and the liberal arts. Students can get involved with a range of co-curricular activities including Emerson Polling, which provides survey research on political topics and market research; WERS, a popular student-run radio station; and Emerson Stage, for student performances. Fittingly, the literary-focused school has a wide variety of student publications, including The Emerson Review, a literary magazine, and Concrete Literary Magazine, which showcases student poetry and photography. There is also a group called Undergraduate Students for Publishing that publishes student work. There are about 100 other student organizations, including a handful of fraternities and sororities. Emerson College is the only college in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts context.

Academics

Emerson College is divided into two schools (School of Communication and School of the Arts) and eight departments. With a focus on the arts, communications and the liberal arts, Emerson provides students with experience in fields like film, theater, journalism, publishing, public relations, and marketing. In addition to over 30 majors, students may design their own major through the Individually-Designed Interdisciplinary Program. Those interested in dual degree programs can pursue the global BFA in film art with the Paris College of Art, or the international and political communication degree with Franklin University Switzerland. Other options to study globally include semesters at Emerson’s campuses in Los Angeles and the Netherlands, or through the Global Pathways programs. The student-faculty ratio at Emerson is 15:1, and the school has 70% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Cinematography and Film/Video Production, Creative Writing, and Marketing Management.

Special Highlights

Emerson Los Angeles. Situated on Sunset Boulevard (at Gordon St) in Hollywood, the Emerson Los Angeles (ELA) building is a permanent home to Emerson’s decades-old Los Angeles program. The international design firm Morphosis, headed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Thom Mayne, designed a signature building incorporating residential, teaching, and administrative spaces. The 10-story accommodates more than 200 students. The center allows undergraduate students to spend a full fall, spring, or summer semester taking classes in Hollywood and participating in a semester-long internship at enterprises related to their field of study.

Student Organizations. Emerson College offers a large number of organizations, most of which are highly active and diverse, ranging from curriculum-based activities to social action organizations. The EVVY Awards is Emerson’s annual award show. It’s the largest student run, multi-camera, production in the nation; The Emerson Channel is the college’s award-winning television station run by Emerson students; Emerson Dance Company offers master classes, workshops, and events which are open to the entire Emerson community. In addition to participating in internal college activities, the group also engages in community service around the Boston area.

School Mission & Unique Qualities

Emerson College educates students to assume positions of leadership in communication and the arts and to advance scholarship and creative work that brings innovation, depth, and diversity to these disciplines. Emerson draws independent minds from diverse backgrounds around the world through its highly regarded academic programs in communication, the arts, and the liberal arts. Energized by engagement with the creative life of Boston, Los Angeles, and the Netherlands, our students are thinkers and doers who develop daring ideas and bring innovation, depth, and diversity to their disciplines. The college is one of the founding members of the ProArts Consortium, an association of six neighboring institutions in Boston dedicated to arts education at the collegiate level.

Student Reviews…

“Emerson’s student body is passionate, driven, and motivated, and works tirelessly to create incredible productions and projects. On-campus organizations are popular and allow students to gain professional experience before graduating. Professors are knowledgeable and understanding. The environment could be more academically and creatively challenging.”