When you enroll at Emory College of Arts and Sciences as an Emory Scholar, you are choosing to be engaged in the world in numerous and rewarding ways. The Emory Scholars Program will help connect you with the resources of a major research university, challenging and inspiring you at the same time. We welcome your contributions as a Scholar and a leader in the community, and we look forward to accompanying and supporting you in your journey.

The Scholars Program had its inception in the munificent 1979 gift of $105 million to the University from the Emily and Ernest Woodruff Fund of the Woodruff Foundation. After the announcement of the  gift, Emory President James T. Laney announced that a significant portion of the principal would be set aside to endow generous scholarships based solely on merit, with the aim of attracting to Emory students of the very highest caliber, regardless of their own financial resources. This University-wide program of merit scholarships and fellowships was implemented in the fall of 1981, and the first group of twelve Woodruff Scholars enrolled in Emory College of Arts and Sciences.

Within a short time, the selection process and the programs of the Woodruff and other named scholarships were combined in the Emory Scholars Program. Gradually most merit awards in Emory College of Arts and Sciences came to be part of the Emory Scholars Program, including those held by continuees from Oxford College, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholars and scholarships awarded by the Music Department and the Barkley Forum.

From the earliest days of the Emory Scholars Program, its members have provided leadership in all academic fields and facets of College life, including student government, service organizations, and the arts.. Their distinction is recognized each year by the generous share of national and international post-graduate fellowships they earn. Their presence immeasurably enriches the Emory University community.

-Dr. Vialla Hartfield-Mendez, Spring 2010

Mission

The Emory Scholars Program provides merit-based awards to students who have established strong academic records while actively involved in their school and community.

The Emory Scholars Program is dedicated to the academic enrichment of the University, embracing a challenging standard of achievement locally, nationally, and internationally.

Through diverse extracurricular activities, the Scholars strengthen community-building relationships on and beyond the campus. The Emory Scholars Program offers opportunities for research, focused conversations with faculty, summer study abroad, and internships. Scholars can explore how learning, research, community-building and service make a difference locally and globally.

Scholar Legacy

The Emory Scholars Program builds on the legacy of intellectual enrichment and service that defines Emory College of Arts and Sciences. Acknowledging the past as well as the future, the Scholars Program encourages all recipients to learn more about their particular scholarship and its benefactors.

Individually and as a community, Emory Scholars aspire to academic excellence and positive community and social change. The Emory Scholars community is continually evolving, responding to the dreams and aspirations of its members.