Description
Emerson College invites applications for the position of Dean of Graduate Studies. Reporting to Emerson’s Provost, Dr. Alexandra Socarides, and working closely with its President, Dr. Jay Bernhardt, the Dean will be responsible for providing vision, leadership, and operational oversight of this dynamic and evolving part of the academic enterprise. Building on Emerson’s established reputation for excellence and creativity, the Dean will create and implement a plan to grow, advance, and innovate the College’s graduate degree and certificate programs in the context of its five-year strategic plan, Extraordinary Emerson 2030.
The Position
Serving on the Provost’s core leadership team, the Dean is the academic leader of Emerson’s Graduate Studies. The ideal candidate will be accomplished in their field and able to move fluidly across various areas represented in the graduate programs, demonstrating the ability to understand and engage with a broad range of academic and creative disciplines. The Dean will hold a tenured faculty appointment in one of the College’s academic departments.
Requirements
The Dean of Graduate Studies’ responsibilities and expectations will include:
-Developing and bringing to life a vision and strategy for post-baccalaureate education aligned with Extraordinary Emerson 2030
-Championing the division’s role in the education, research, and service missions of the College
-Collaborating with the school deans, graduate program directors, and faculty to build new, innovative, and scalable graduate programs as well as enhance existing graduate programs
-Ensuring that the division sustains the highest standards for student support, engagement services, and professional and career development opportunities
-Building programs and initiatives that support the lives and experiences of graduate students
-Overseeing the Graduate Council, which is responsible for reviewing existing programs and approving curricular changes
-Collaborating closely across the College leadership, including the Vice Presidents of Enrollment Management, Marketing & Communications, and Institutional Advancement
-Developing external partnerships that align with the College’s goals
-Managing budget, planning, and administrative processes
Additional opportunities include:
-Developing new interdisciplinary programs across Emerson’s programs and departments,
-Exploring the potential value of external partnerships to expand degree and non-degree offerings and to broaden enrollment
-Refining approaches and tools that can inform Emerson’s graduate offerings
-Further developing and scaling Emerson’s international graduate offerings by leveraging Emerson’s existing relationships and developing new ones
-Collaborating with the Associate Vice President for Executive Education to strengthen Emerson’s non-degree, professional development programs for established and emerging executives
-Collaborating with the Assistant Vice President for Career Development to further enhance career support for graduate students
Qualifications
-Academic credentials, graduate teaching experience, graduate mentoring, and research and/or creative record commensurate with appointment as a tenured full professor in a department of one of the College’s three schools
-Capacity to develop and articulate a vision for graduate education that draws on and differentiates Emerson College
-Demonstrated academic leadership and administrative experience
-Demonstrated commitment to inclusive and academic excellence, as well as shared governance
-Demonstrated ability to grow programs in strategic, data-driven, and innovative directions
-A record of establishing successful degree and non-degree programs at the post-baccalaureate level
-Experience working effectively with faculty, students, staff, administrators, and alumni from a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives
-Excellent management and organizational skills
-An understanding of budgeting and financial planning, including experience in developing, managing, and advocating for resources
-An understanding of the range of instructional modalities (in-person, hybrid, online, low residency)
-Experience working with external partners (e.g., 2U) preferred
Equity and inclusion are core values at Emerson College, along with creativity, innovation, curiosity, expression, and collaboration. The successful candidate must demonstrate a commitment to Emerson’s core values.
The anticipated salary range for this position is $200,000-$240,000 annually.
Graduate Studies is the division of Emerson College responsible for graduate-level programs and certificates. The division portfolio currently features 15 master’s-level (MA, MS, and MFA) degree programs and 4 for-credit certificate programs in a range of applied and professional fields; these programs include in-person, hybrid, and fully online offerings. Each degree program is led by a graduate program director.
New degree programs are developed by faculty in collaboration with department chairs, school deans, and the Dean of Graduate Studies. The academic department is responsible for the content and instruction of each degree program. A faculty member from the primary department serves as the graduate program director for each program. The collaborations that lead to degree programs create dynamic, timely offerings that extend Emerson’s reach beyond the full-time undergraduate student space.
In 2025-2026, there were about 1,500 graduate students at Emerson, pursuing Master’s-level work in a variety of dynamic and innovative programs. The largest graduate-degree programs are the online and in-person MS in Communication Disorders, the MFA in Creative Writing, the MFA in Popular Fiction Writing & Publishing, and the MA in Publishing & Writing. Emerson’s graduate programs are accredited by NECHE or by accreditors specific to their disciplinary areas.
Emerson College
As its mission statement establishes, “Emerson College’s mission is to educate and elevate extraordinary artists, communicators, scholars, and professionals for the betterment of society. We pursue this mission through world-class teaching, practice, performance, and discovery that are experiential, innovative, and inclusive.” This mission guides and shapes all Emerson programs, whether for undergraduate or graduate students.
Founded in 1880 and spanning three distinct global campuses, Emerson College serves over 3,500 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students from more than 70 countries and all 50 states. Its main campus is located in the heart of Boston’s Theatre District and offers the entire Emerson community experiences that are sewn into the very fabric of Boston. Emerson’s Los Angeles campus provides a West Coast experience for up to 215 Emerson junior and senior students pursuing semester-long internships related to their field of study in iconic Hollywood. The Kasteel Well campus in the Netherlands has been a hub for international scholarship and research for nearly 40 years and serves as a living-learning community for up to 90 Emerson students each semester. Emerson enjoys strong partnerships with institutions across the world, including the Paris College of Art, which adds to the richness of the Emerson experience. Emerson also has its Emerson Prison Initiative (EPI), which works to democratize access to college education.
Emerson educates future leaders in the arts, communication and media; inspires generations of students to think boldly and creatively; and ensures that all students, faculty, staff, and alumni contribute powerfully to the cultural, social, political, and civic landscape. Deliberately grounded in the liberal arts and interdisciplinarity, the College-wide curriculum enables students to pursue academic majors and programs such as Media Arts Production, Journalism, Creative Writing, Marketing Communication, Publishing, Theatre, Political Communication, Communication Science and Disorders, Comedic Arts, and many more across the institution. Emerson's community is passionate and creative; its students are critical storytellers at a critical time.
Emerson has a collaborative shared-governance model. In addition, faculty and many administrative staff are unionized: Emerson’s full-time faculty teach, perform, research, advise, and serve under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement; affiliated (less than full-time) faculty work under the terms of a different collective bargaining agreement; and administrative staff in selected functional areas and position classifications are also unionized.
Emerson College believes the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence is fostering a campus climate where everyone can thrive. As a community of scholars and storytellers, we continually strive to cultivate a community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent, characterized by the intentional inclusion of individuals from varied backgrounds, perspectives, beliefs, and values.
To Apply
The search process will unfold with the greatest possible attention to candidate confidentiality. Required application materials include a CV, a letter of interest, and a list of 5 references. The letter should reflect how a candidate’s qualifications and experience match those described in this leadership profile. Application review will begin on March 1, 2026, and continue until the position is filled. Inquiries can be sent to Brooke Knight, Dean of Faculty and Associate Provost, at brooke_knight@emerson.edu.
