Points of Pride

U.S. News Rankings

U.S. News Rankings

Our school has been ranked among the best nursing schools in prestigious publications and online news media. See our U.S. News rankings.

US News and World Report

School of Nursing

US News and World Report

Emory University

  • No. 21 in National Universities
  • No. 11 in "Best Colleges for Veterans"
  • No. 17 in "Best Value Schools"
  • No. 28 in "High School Counselor Rankings"

Health Resources and Services Administration

School of Nursing

  • Ranked among the top 20 nursing programs in the country for students receiving NURSE Corps scholarships

National Institutes of Health

School of Nursing

National Research Council

School of Nursing

  • Received strong ratings in the 20 categories that were measured in the National Research Council survey, particularly in the areas of student support and outcomes, faculty productivity, and diversity

The Princeton Review

Emory University

  • Top 75 "Best Value Colleges" among private schools (2014)
  • No. 4 in "Best College Dorms" list
  • No. 19 in "Best Science Lab Facilities" list
  • No. 13 in "Best-Run Colleges" list

Distinguished Faculty

Our students are taught by the best and brightest faculty who are recognized for being experts in the field of nursing. School of Nursing faculty include:

  • 37 American Academy of Nursing Fellows
  • 2 National Academy of Medicine Fellows
  • 7 American College of Midwives Fellows
  • 8 American Association of Nurse Practitioner Fellows
  • 5 Atlanta Business Chronicl Heath Care Heroes
  • 5 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Recipients
  • 4 Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award Winners
  • 1 Georgia Professor of the Year Award Winner

Recent Recognition

Many of our alumni stand as shining examples of what it means to be a nurse leader:

  • Oncology Nursing Society
    Jan. 2018
    Prof. Deborah Watkins-Bruner selected to receive the 2018 Oncology Nursing Society Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson Distinguished Award for Consistent Contribution to Nursing Literature.
  • Florida State University Alumni Association
    Nov. 2017
    Sandra Dunbar, PhD, RN, received the Grads Made Good Award for distinguished alumni.
  • March of Dimes Georgia
    Nov. 2017
    Three Emory Nursing faculty members earned top honors from the March of Dimes of Georgia at the organization’s 2017 Nurse of the Year Awards. Among the winners were Erin Ferranti (Community Health Award Winner), Jennifer Adamski(Critical Care Award Winner) and Janice Withycombe (Pediatric Award Winner).
  • American Public Health Association Latino Caucus
    Nov. 2017
    Clinical Professor Judy Wold was honored as a Local Award Winner in the "Institution" category from the American Public Health Association Latino Caucus for her work with the Migrant Farm Worker Family Health Project.
  • American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Foundation
    Oct. 2017
    Kelly L. Wiltse Nicely, Program Director in Nurse Anesthesia, along with a group of researchers, were awarded the John F. Garde Researcher of the Year Award by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists Foundation.
  • healthcareers.com
    Aug. 2017
    Assistant Professor Imelda Reyes, program coordinator for the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing pediatric nurse practitioner-primary/acute care programs, was named one of the "Nurse Practitioners You Must Follow on Twitter."
  • Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research
    Aug. 2017
    Assistant Professor Canhua Xiao named the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research’s (FNINR) Protegee Award winner.
  • American Association of Critical Care Nurses
    June 2017
    Assistant Clinical Professor and Adult Gerontology Acute Care Program Director Jennifer Adamski, DNP, CCRN, who was appointed to the 2017-2018 board.
  • American Association of Nurse Practitioners
    June 2017
    Dr. Ursula Kelly will be inducted into the 2017 fellowship class.
  • American Association of Nurse Practitioners
    June 2016
    Drs. Lisa Muirhead and Rasheeta Chandler-Coley inducted into 2016 Fellowship class
  • Sigma Theta Tau International
    July 2016
    Drs. Deborah Bruner, Elizabeth Corwin, and Linda McCauley are inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.American Society for Radiation Oncology Sept 2016Dr. Deborah Bruner's abstract, NRG Oncology/RTOG 0415, Phase 3 Noninferiority Study Comparing 2 Fractionation Schedules in Patients with Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: Prostate Specific Quality of Life Results, is selected for plenary session of 58th conference and wins "Best of ASTRO" Award.
  • American Academy of Nursing
    Oct 2016
    Drs. Sharon Close, Jennifer Foster, Patricia Riley, Suzanne Staebler, Holly Ann Williams, Kathryn Wood, and Kate Yeager are inducted into the 2016 fellowship class.
  • National Academy of Medicine
    Oct 2016
    Dr. Deborah Bruner is elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine).
  • March of Dimes of Georgia
    Nov 2016
    Drs. Rasheeta Chandler-Coley and Suzanne Staebler are selected for Nurse of the Year Awards in Informatics, Research & Evidence-Based Practice and Academic Education categories, respectively.
  • American College of Nurse-Midwives
    2015
    Dr. MaryJane Lewitt was inducted as a Fellow of the ACNM
  • J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
    2015
    Dr. Jenny Foster received the William J. Fulbright Award
  • American Association of Nurse Practitioners
    2015
    Dr. Dian Evans was inducted into the AANP
  • American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
    2015
    Dr. Ann Rogers received the Pioneering Spirit Award from the AACN
  • Oncology Nursing Society
    2015
    Dr. Deborah Watkins Bruner was named the Oncology Nursing Society's 2015 Distinguished Nurse Researcher
  • Southern Nursing Research Society
    2015
    Dr. Elizabeth Corwin received the SNRS Distinguished Researcher Award and Dr. Bonnie Jennings received the inaugural Research in Nursing & Health Authorship award
  • March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Award
    2014
    Dr. Elizabeth Corwin was selected as a March of Dimes Nurse of the Year in the academic education category
  • National League for Nursing
    2014
    Dr. Elizabeth Downes was inducted into the National League for Nursing's Academy of Nursing Education
  • Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association
    2014
    Dr. Carolyn Clevenger was elected President-elect of the Gerontologica Advanced Practice Nurses Association
  • Woodruff Scholar Early Independence Award
    2014
    Dr. Chuck Downs was selected as the 2014 Woodruff Scholar Early Independence Award from the Woodruff Health Sciences Center
  • American Heart Association Fellow
    2014
    Dr. Faye Routledge was elected as a Fellow into the American Heart Association
  • American Academy of Nursing Fellowship
    2014
    Dr. Tami Thomas and Dr. Melissa Pinto were inducted into the American Academy of Nursing Fellows, one of the highest honors in nursing
  • American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
    2014
    Dr. Carolyn Clevenger and Dr. Suzanne Staebler were inducted into the American Association of Nurse Practitioners - one of the highest honors for nurse practitioners

Leading Research

Our researchers have received international recognition for excellence in a wide array of subjects in health care ranging from cancer and environmental health to pediatrics and genetics.

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is among the top five nursing schools in the U.S. for funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), securing $8.9 million in NIH research funding as part of a total portfolio of $17.9 million in 2018.

Emory Nursing received 24 NIH research and training awards from the NIH in 2018. This included 11 new projects for the year.

The new NIH awards are:

  • Disparities in HIV/AIDS: Examining Retention in Care and Health Literacy (ENRICH). The purpose of this F31 fellowship, entitled ENRICH (Examining Retention in Care and Health Literacy), is to utilize an adapted health literacy model to evaluate the effect of health literacy on retention in care and its subsequent effect on racial disparities and HIV clinical outcomes.

        Principal Investigator: Ashley Anderson.

  • Maintenance and Enhancement of the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort: Exposome Profiling via High-resolution Metabolomics and Integration of Microbiome-Metabolome-Epigenome Data. This award supports the continued recruitment of pregnant African American women and their infants to better understand psychosocial, biobehavioral, and environmental risk factors for preterm birth and neurodevelopment through 18-months of age. It is also evaluating child obesity and neurodevelopment at 2-5 years of age under the Environmental Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program.

        Principal Investigator: Anne Dunlop.

  • Exploring the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in Psychoneurological Symptoms for Children with Solid Tumors. This study will explore the hypothesis that stomach ailments such as heartburn and diarrhea are associated with cancer treatment-related gastrointestinal and psychological/neurological symptoms.

        Principal Investigator: Jinbing Bai.

  • Training in Interventions to Improve Outcomes in Chronic Conditions. This research training grant will educate and train nurse scientists in the development and testing of interventions to address some of the most compelling issues confronted by persons with chronic conditions and their families, and to improve the outcomes of both.

       Principal Investigator: Sandra Dunbar.

  • Center for the Study of Symptom Science, Metabolomics and Multiple Chronic Conditions. The goal of this award is to address the increasing number of individuals living with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) and in particular, Black men and women, the group most often negatively affected in the United States. The Center for the Study of Symptom Science, Metabolomics and Multiple Chronic Conditions will both strengthen the capacity of junior nursing faculty to make use of sophisticated metabolomic and microbiome technologies and cutting-edge data analytic and undertake innovative research to reduce symptoms in individuals with MCC, improving public health for generations to come.

        Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Corwin.

  • Center for Children’s Health, the Environment, the Microbiome, and Metabolomics (C-CHEM2) Supplement. This administrative supplement allows the Emory Children’s Environmental Health Center to work with other Children’s Environmental Health Centers (CEHC) and Community Outreach and Translation Cores to create capacity among the CEHCs to effectively use social media for research translation and community outreach and engagement. This project will establish a unified national mechanism for rapidly disseminating key children’s environmental health research findings or clinically relevant messages via social media. The products from these efforts will serve as a template for other National Institute of Environmental Health Science and children’s environmental health focused communities to adopt.

        Principal Investigator: Linda McCauley.

  • An Effectiveness-Implementation Trial of SPIRIT in ESRD Supplement. "Sharing Patient's Illness Representation to Increase Trust," or SPIRIT is a 6-step, 2-session, face-to-face intervention to promote cognitive and emotional preparation for end-of-life decision making for patients with end-stage renal disease and their surrogates. This study proposes a multicenter, clinic-level cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of SPIRIT.

        Principal Investigator: Mi-Kyung Song.

  • The Persistence of Cardiometabolic Dysregulation in Postpartum African American Women: The role of the gut microbiome and the lipidome. The purpose of this project is to test the hypothesis that the composition of the gut microbiome, and resulting metabolic endotoxemia, contribute to a unique lipidomic signature, which in turn, is associated with clinical markers of the persistence of pregnancy-associated cardiometabolic dysregulation. The primary goal of this here is to develop expertise in omics technologies, specifically microbiome and lipidomics, for use in clinically oriented risk prevention research, which will highly complement her women's health.

        Principal Investigator: Erin Ferranti.

  • Hypertensive Medication Adherence in Young African American Women. The specific aims of this cross-sectional dissertation study are to examine the relationships among sociodemographic & clinical profiles, high blood pressure perceptions, and BP medication adherence; and examine the relationships between psychosocial factors, resilient coping style, and blood pressure medication adherence when controlling for sociodemographic factors in a sample of young hypertensive African-American women.

        Principal Investigator: Telisa Spikes.

  • Developing a Distance Education System to Train Savvy Caregiver Program Interventionists: Extending Access and Capacity in Community-Based Delivery of Evidence-Based Interventions. This project will develop a web-based system that uses distance education methods along with manuals and protocols to train, certify, and monitor the performance of interventionists to deliver the Savvy Caregiver program (Savvy), an evidence-based dementia family caregiver psychoeducation program.
  • Testing Tele-Savvy, an On-line Psychoeducation Program for Informal Alzheimer’s Caregivers Supplement. This project will test the efficacy of an internet-delivered psychoeducation program for Alzheimer’s family caregivers, Tele-Savvy, by enrolling 216 caregivers in a randomized trial that uses an attention control wait-list design.

        Principal Investigator: Ken Hepburn.

Our faculty are comprised of internationally-recognized health care educators, researchers, and clinicians from nursing, medicine, and public health. Our researchers have received international recognition for excellence in a wide array of subjects in health care ranging from cancer and environmental health to pediatrics and genetics.

Notable Alumni

June Connor
MN, RN, NE-BC
(MN 81)

Emory Healthcare
VP Nursing Operations, EHC and Chief Nursing Officer/COO at Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital

Deena Gilland
DNP, RN, NEA-BC
(MSN 2007, DNP 2018)

Emory Healthcare
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Emory Ambulatory Care Clinical Instructor

Kay Lawton
RN, MN
(BSN 78, MN 84)

Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Management Officer, Center for Global Health

J. Michael Pate
BSN, MN, BC
(MN 81)

U.S. Department of State, Managing Director for Clinical Services

Laura Layne
RN, MSN, MPH
(BSN 2005, MSN/MPH 2006)

Georgia Department of Public Health Deputy Chief Nurse/Quality Improvement

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