Dean's Letter to Applicants

February 7, 2017

Dear Applicants to the Laney Graduate School,

In light of recent events surrounding immigration issues, I write to affirm that the Laney Graduate School, and Emory University, continues to welcome and support international students from all over the world.

At the Laney Graduate School, we are proud to welcome, train, educate and graduate international scholars.  International students make up nearly 24% of our graduate student population, and at last count represented 71 countries from all across the world.  We provide the same financial support for international students and domestic students, and we provide a range of services and programs to respond to the specific needs of international students, with special services designed to help maintain visa status and support for enhancing academic and professional English language skills. 

Diversity, inclusion and global engagement are critical to the Laney Graduate School’s mission to foster an environment of inclusion.  We are committed to ensure the range of educational benefits that can only come from diversity across the academic community.  Our goal is not just to compete for the very best students, but to be their first choice — your first choice — for graduate school.  At Emory, we want to provide all the conditions where you can do your very best work.

Emory University is in Atlanta, Georgia, a vibrant international city that is home to global corporations, NGOs and institutions of public culture, like Coca Cola, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE International, The Carter Center, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the High Museum of Art.  Our faculty and students are engaged in research in nearly every corner of the globe, and Emory is a partner to many organizations with international foci.  

The recent executive order suspending immigration from designated countries is fundamentally at odds with Emory’s globally engaged culture as well as with our standing as a leading global research university. In response, Emory University has joined with other American colleges and universities to advocate for these restrictions to be lifted and to urge a recension of the order.

We encourage you to continue pursuing graduate training in the United States and at the Laney Graduate School. Applications to our graduate programs are reviewed on their merit, without regard for national origin or immigration status.  

While we await the outcome of current litigation surrounding the executive order, please know that at the Laney Graduate School, you will be welcomed, supported and prepared for success in whatever professional pathway you choose, wherever you choose.

With kind regards,