Emory University

Overview

Emory University is a private university in Atlanta, Georgia, that focuses on research, particularly in the field of healthcare. It has the largest healthcare system in the state, the Emory Healthcare, consisting of seven major hospitals. Emory was established by the Methodist Episcopal Church as a college in 1836, making it the second oldest higher learning institution in the state.

Today, Emory offers degree programs across its 9 academic divisions such as arts and sciences, business, law, medicine, nursing, public health, theology, and graduate studies. Students hail from different parts of the US and from around 100 countries.

In 1836, the Methodist Episcopal Church established what would soon evolve into Emory, named after the Methodist bishop, John Emory. About two decades hence, the Atlanta Medical College was opened, which would become the Emory University of Medicine of today. The college would be embroiled in the American Civil War with all its students enlisting for the Confederate Army.

Through the years, Emory would expand to establish the nursing school in 1906 and the theology school in 1914. The next year, the college would be chartered as Emory University and relocated to Druid Hills as a recipient of a land grant from Asa Griggs Candler, the founder of Coca-Cola Company.

Emory has produced numerous luminaries in the fields of politics, literature, business, and sports. They include 11 US Congress members, one US vice president, one US Speaker of the House, one US Supreme Court justice, one Olympic medalist, 2 Nobel Peace laureates, several Pulitzer Prize winners, and Fortune 500 CEOs.

Since its inception, the university has progressively expanded its academic foundation with the opening of new colleges and schools, namely: the College of Arts and Sciences and the Oxford College in 1836, Emory University School of Medicine in 1854, Neil Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in 1905, Emory University School of Law in 1916, Goizueta Business School in 1919, and Rollins School of Public Health in 1990.

Students can also pursue their study abroad through Emory’s Centers of International Programs Abroad, which is affiliated with a number of foreign universities including the National University of Singapore, Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, Oxford University, Trinity College Dublin, and Tel Aviv University.

Meanwhile, the Emory University library system houses more than 3.9 million print and digital volumes and provides access to 83,000-plus electronic journals. Among its collection are a rare edition of Daniel Dafoe’s Robinson Crusoe, works of Alice Walker, Flannery O’Connor, and W.B. Yeats.

You can also learn more about the educational performance of Emory University in our ranking of US universities & colleges.