The nine schools that make up Emory University have big plans for the 2025-26 academic year, from welcoming new faculty to introducing new programs and initiatives. Here’s a roundup of incoming class stats and other things to come, as listed by each school.
Candler School of Theology
Incoming class: Candler welcomes its largest incoming class in a decade, with 216 students from 26 states and four countries, including a record number of students in the newly redesigned Master of Arts in Religion and Leadership program.
New faculty: Joining the faculty are Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones, assistant professor of theology and Africana studies, and Craig Ford, visiting assistant professor of ethics. Sarah Coakley, Anglican priest and Norris Hulse Professor Emerita at Cambridge University, will serve as the 2025-26 Alonzo L. McDonald Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Life and Teachings of Jesus and Their Impact on Culture.
Noteworthy events: Candler will host four public lectures on Wednesday, Sept. 24, and Thursday, Sept. 25, offering conversations to help church leaders respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by the growing Christian nationalism movement in the U.S. “Pastoral Leadership in a Time of Christian Nationalism” will feature lectures by noted journalists and scholars Tim Alberta, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Katherine Stewart and Matthew D. Taylor, national experts whose work explores the intersections of religion, politics and culture. The lectures are free, with both in-person and online attendance options. Learn more and register for the lectures.
In her role as McDonald Chair, theologian Sarah Coakley will present public lectures on Wednesday, Oct. 15, and Tuesday, Oct. 21, on the theme “Re-thinking ‘Mysticism’ and ‘Mystical Theology’ in Turbulent Times.”
Learn more at the Candler School of Theology website.
Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Incoming class: Emory College welcomes a stellar, high-achieving first-year class of 1,456 students representing 43 states plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Armed Forces Pacific and the Northern Mariana Islands. Their citizenships include 60 countries, not counting the U.S. Approximately 14% of the class identifies as first-generation students.
Fantastic faculty: Emory College welcomes 26 new faculty members this fall, reflecting ambitious hiring across the sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts, and continued investment in liberal arts excellence in research and teaching.
New leadership: Nichole Fazio joins Emory College as senior associate dean for undergraduate education. She will lead the Office for Undergraduate Education, which supports students from orientation to graduation through advising and academic success programs.
New home for Pathways: The B. Jones Center will soon be the new home for the Emory College Pathways Center. Opening in January 2026, the 18,000 square-foot renovated space will include staff offices, peer advising areas, an updated Career Closet and an employer suite for industry and graduate school interviews. The space strongly enhances the center’s mission as a hub for career discovery, pre-health advising, undergraduate research and experiential learning connecting students with resources that prepare them for life beyond Emory.
Redefining data: The Department of Quantitative Theory and Methods is now the Department of Data and Decision Sciences. The name change reflects the field’s evolution and growing student interest, while signaling the department’s interdisciplinary strength.
Year of Compassion: Emory College is leading the university-wide Year of Compassion initiative in collaboration with the college’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics. The initiative will highlight how students, faculty and staff bring compassion into academic and community life. Visit the Emory College website for details.
Learn more at the Emory College website.
Goizueta Business School
New faculty: Goizueta continues to attract top academic talent, welcoming six new faculty members including Hancheng Cao, assistant professor of information systems and operations management; Maximilian Gaerth, assistant professor of marketing; Ella Xu, assistant professor of marketing; Ludovica Castiglia, assistant professor of organization and management; Laura Wallace, assistant professor of organization and management; and Ira Bedzow, associate professor in the practice of organization and management.
Expanded access and flexibility for Evening MBA: Designed for working professionals, Goizueta’s top-ranked Evening MBA program now offers both spring (January) and fall (August) start dates. Students can tailor their experience by choosing from online, hybrid or on-campus formats. Eligible Emory employees and their dependents can take advantage of the Emory Courtesy Scholarship, which covers a portion of tuition.
Elevating business and careers: Emory Executive Education has expanded its portfolio of learning solutions for individuals and organizations with more topics and formats available. Designed to meet evolving business and career needs, courses cover topics including leadership, strategy, analytics, change management, AI in business and more. Reduced rates are available for Emory University and Emory Healthcare employees, Emory alumni, nonprofits and groups.
Learn more at the Goizueta Business School website.
Laney Graduate School
Incoming class: The James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies welcomed 497 new students, with 68% of students pursuing PhDs and 21% seeking master’s degrees, and an additional 11% completing certificates. The incoming class includes students from 37 states across the U.S. and 39 countries.
New leadership: LGS welcomed two new leaders. Tamara Caspary was named associate dean for strategic projects. In this role, she will collaborate with senior leadership to promote interdisciplinary engagement among students and faculty. Kevin M. Bonney has been appointed assistant dean of teaching innovation. Bonney will work in close partnership with the LGS Academic Affairs team and the Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences to align teaching with best practices in graduate education.
Scholarship in action: Laney graduate students continue to achieve at the highest levels. Hayley Roy, a PhD candidate in history, spent her spring and summer conducting a Fulbright-funded archival research project in Germany. Her work explores the intersections of nationalism, colonialism and gender in the development of modern nursing.
New master’s program: This summer, the graduate school welcomed its inaugural cohort of students into the new standalone, one-year Master of Science (MS) in Economics degree, developed in collaboration with Emory College. This intensive program is designed for students seeking to deepen their understanding of economic theory and data analysis.
ENVS welcomes inaugural Environmental Sciences and Society PhD cohort: Laney welcomed the first cohort of doctoral students to the new Environmental Sciences and Society PhD program. This innovative program was born out of the reputation and scholarly impact of 50 cross-disciplinary faculty members whose expertise spans the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Learn more at the Laney Graduate School website.
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing
Incoming class: The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is excited to welcome approximately 642 students this fall across pre- and post-licensure programs.
New faculty: The School of Nursing is thrilled to welcome six faculty members this fall.
New alumni: The school celebrated 176 of its newest alumni during the August Graduation and Pinning Ceremony. These students graduated from the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) program, the Master of Nursing Pathway to Master of Science in Nursing (MN to MSN Pathway) program and the Distance Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (DABSN) program.
New rankings: The School Emory School of Nursing master’s degree program was ranked best in the nation for the third consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report. The school’s undergraduate program is also ranked No. 1 by U.S. News.
Faculty honors: Sixteen members of the Emory Nursing community will be among the distinguished nurse leaders inducted into the American Academy of Nursing 2025 Class of Fellows this October. Those honorees are Jennifer Adamski, Curry Bordelon, Brittany Butts, Nancye Feistritzer, Ellen Harvey, Angela Haynes-Ferere, Kay Kennedy, Andrea Knopp, Heather Meissen, Jennifer Moon, Anita Rich, Bethany Robertson, Trisha Sheridan, Athena Sherman, LeeAnna Spiva and Paula Tucker.
Learn more at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing website.
Oxford College
Oxford Launch London: For the first time, 45 members of the incoming class will start their Oxford education in London alongside faculty members Sarah Higinbotham and Pablo Palomino. The group will join the rest of their classmates for orientation week on campus before traveling to London, where they will be immersed in a rich cultural and academic environment for their first semester in college.
New faculty and staff: Elise Blasingame (Political Science), Ross Cawthon (Physics), Danielle Griffin (English) and Lyndsey Prosser (Chemistry). Following a national search, Rev. Brent Huckaby was selected as Oxford’s permanent chaplain, and Claire DePalma joined Campus Life as the new director of Life Design, Leadership and Engagement (formerly known as SILT).
Teagle Foundation grant: Oxford recently received a $275,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation in partnership with Emory College of Arts and Sciences. The three-year award is part of Teagle’s prestigious Cornerstone: Learning for Living initiative and will support the humanities through a new Professional Advancement Through Humanities Study (PATHS) certificate program.
Summer Experience Program: This summer, Oxford hosted its fourth annual Summer Experience program for 65 rising sophomores and juniors from Newton County and surrounding high schools. The weeklong program included classes taught by Oxford faculty and workshops focused on college readiness.
Ideas Festival Emory: Oxford College will be the site of the Emory Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement’s second annual Ideas Festival Emory on Saturday, Oct. 18. The festival will feature a stellar lineup of scientists, musicians, writers, filmmakers and other creators and influencers.
Learn more at the Oxford College website.
Rollins School of Public Health
Incoming class: Rollins is welcoming 226 first-year Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) students this fall. The school will support a total of 520 degree-seeking students for the 2025-26 academic year, including PhD and dual degree students, as well as the inaugural class of Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) students. The Rollins student body represents 39 U.S. states and 39 countries.
New programs: This fall marks the launch of the new online DrPH program at Rollins. Applications open this fall for the new MSPH in Data Science and Master of Health Administration (MHA) programs at Rollins. The MHA program will be a part-time, hybrid program tailored to mid-career professionals seeking to advance their skills in health care management. The MHA program will be offered in collaboration with Emory Healthcare and the Goizueta Business School and will provide interdisciplinary training for students from faculty and staff across the three institutions.
Supporting a healthier Georgia: Rollins researchers lead impactful research initiatives throughout Georgia. In the northwest, Dana Barr and her research team recently collected and analyzed 177 samples from residents of Rome and Calhoun for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They found that 23% of participants had PFAS levels high enough to warrant additional medical testing and evaluation. Meanwhile, Noah Scovronick conducted a community-engaged study in Brunswick, Georgia. The city has 23 Superfund sites, all contaminated with toxic substances and chemicals. Scovronick and his team continue to partner with residents to assess the community’s exposure to environmental toxicants.
A new research center: Stephen Patrick, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, recently launched the Emory Center for Child Health Policy. The center is dedicated to conducting research on public attitudes toward child health policy issues and regularly directs statewide and national polls. Recent projects include the Emory-Rollins National Child Policy Poll, which analyzed support for health policy changes impacting children’s health, and the Rollins-Gallup Public Health Priorities Survey, which identified the top public health priorities among Americans.
Learn more at the Rollins School of Public Health website.
School of Law
Incoming class: Emory Law welcomes new students from 40 states plus the District of Columbia and 12 countries for the JD, LLM, SJD and MLS programs.
New gifts: Walter Jospin 79L, his wife, Senior Superior Court Judge Wendy Shoob, and their family have donated $400,000 to establish the Judge Marvin H. Shoob Endowed Scholarship. This gift, which honors the extraordinary life and legacy of Marvin Shoob — a towering figure in Georgia’s legal community — is the start of a campaign to create a $2 million endowment to support law students studying at Emory Law’s new William and Jane Carney Center for Business and Transactional Law. Read the full story.
Key upcoming events:
- Pro Bono Fair, Wednesday, Sept. 24
- EPIC Conference, Saturday, Oct. 4
Learn more at the School of Law website.
School of Medicine
Incoming students: On July 21, 138 students matriculated to the MD program. Of the incoming students, 92% are non-traditional students (meaning they have been out of college for a year or more). Eighteen students received other graduate degrees prior to medical school; 33 claim Georgia as home.
Classes began for the Physician Assistant (PA) program on Aug. 4. The 55 students who make up the Class of 2027 were selected from a pool of more than 1,500 applicants. They have an average of more than 5,100 hours of health care experience prior to Emory. Emory PA students take advantage of immersive education for a Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) that deeply integrates ultrasound technology into their foundational and clinical training. This type of curriculum goes beyond traditional lectures, offering extensive opportunities for students to actively engage with POCUS devices and apply their knowledge in realistic scenarios.
On June 2, the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program welcomed 52 students in the class of 2028. The students come from 20 U.S. states, plus South Korea, China and Taiwan. The most common undergraduate majors include exercise science and kinesiology. The DPT program was ranked no. 4 in the country according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 Best Graduate Schools.
The Anesthesiologist Assistant (AA) program’s Class of 2027 began on Aug 18. The 42 students of the incoming cohort come from across the U.S., with an average age of 25 and an average undergraduate GPA of 3.73. Over the summer, incoming AA students had opportunities to connect with senior students and program administrators via remote sessions. They are now on campus attending courses, hands-on skills and simulation labs, and small group discussions.
Orientation for the Genetic Counseling Training Program began on Aug. 12, with an incoming cohort of 12 students selected from the largest applicant pool in the program’s history. Before orientation, incoming students participated in interviews with potential Focus Internship mentors so that they could start their research projects soon after arrival. Potential projects this year span multiple areas of practice and include a variety of genetic conditions across the lifespan, as well as bioethics, medical education and genetics service delivery.
On Sept. 2, classes begin for the Radiologic Technology Certificate Program, which has recently joined the School of Medicine’s health professions program offerings. Over two years, these students learn to use medical imaging to diagnose various conditions. Emory Decatur Hospital, where the program has operated since 1962, will continue to serve as the off-campus instructional site.
Incoming residents and fellows: 480 new residents and fellows joined Emory this summer. Our exceptional trainees play a critical role in our academic health system, caring for patients and families while also honing their clinical expertise and collaborating with faculty on important research.
Emory’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program is among the largest in the U.S., with 1,465 residents and fellows in 122 programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Emory also provides oversight for 100 non-ACGME programs. During their training, which can range from one to nine years after medical school, residents and fellows become progressively more independent in providing skilled, compassionate care to patients. Fellowship training follows residency and provides even more specialized training. Emory residents and fellows rotate at 68 training sites, gaining exceptionally broad exposure to a range of patient populations, conditions and acuity levels.
Learn more at the School of Medicine website.
Photos by Kay Hinton, Emory Photo/Video.