Teaching
"A destination university ... able to recruit leading scholar/teachers ... blending expertly a focus on teaching and research ...“
Emory University Vision Statement
Emory's academic strength is grounded not only in the cutting-edge research of a top 20 university, but also in the liberal arts tradition of engaged teaching.
At Emory College of Arts and Sciences, faculty members typically teach at all levels of instruction, providing broad-based access to the university's most distinguished scholars. Undergraduate classes at Emory College and Emory's Oxford College have an average size of 19 students, and the student/faculty ratio is 7 to 1.
The Faculty-in-Residence Program places distinguished, tenured and visiting professors in undergraduate and graduate housing, to foster informal mentoring and academic interaction. University President James W. Wagner, and his predecessor, William Chace, have been among the participants.
The relatively compact campus means professors and students often run into each other outside the classroom, while eating lunch, going to the gym and attending events.
Academics at every level make a point of being accessible to students:
• Emory President Jim Wagner holds regular office hours for students who want to share ideas, ask for support and even seek career advice.
• Former President Jimmy Carter, a distinguished professor, holds town hall meetings and lectures at each school within Emory every year, and provides student internship opportunities at The Carter Center.
Emory's Center for Interactive Teaching provides guidance and resources to faculty and students to help them make the most of digital media and technology-enhanced learning techniques.
All doctoral students participate in the Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity program, the first of its kind among Emory's peers. It provides an introduction to college-level teaching along with mentored teaching experiences.
Courses that follow the Theory-Practice Learning curriculum create a connection between classroom work and hands-on experience. Such innovative approaches to learning have earned recognition from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, naming Emory in 2006 as one of the first schools in the country to receive the foundation's "Community Engagement" designation.
Emory encourages the pursuit of classroom leadership with distinctions including:
In addition, the Thomas Jefferson Award honors a faculty or staff member for significant service exhibited through personal activities, influence and leadership.
