Emerson College Reviews

3.2

39% would recommend to a friend

(316 total reviews)

Jay Bernahardt

16% approve of CEO

21% positive business outlook

Emerson College has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 316 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Emerson College employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

316 reviews
1.0
17 Oct 2025

A difficult place for people who care deeply

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I want to note that ChatGPT was used for this review. I did this because I did not want to come across as angry or opinionated, but rather sincere and concerned for future applicants. Some genuinely kind, mission-driven people still work here and do their best under difficult conditions. The students are creative and inspiring, and those moments of connection remind you why you came to higher education in the first place.

Cons

Poor leadership starting with the president of the school. The president and senior leadership often promote values of collaboration, community, and care, but those ideals are rarely reflected in how employees are actually treated. Frequent leadership turnover creates instability, confusion, and a constant cycle of “new directions” that never take hold. Promises of growth, inclusion, and support are made repeatedly but not upheld. Departments operate in silos, and genuine collaboration is replaced with territorial behavior and defensiveness. Negativity is often normalized, and employees who raise valid concerns are dismissed or made to feel like the problem. Burnout is common, and the emotional toll of trying to work in this environment is significant. Please do your research before applying. The recent publications are not wrong.

1.0
27 Sept 2025

Poorly-Run and Toxic Environment

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The community is creative and engaging. There are a lot of wonderful people around.

Cons

The administration in every way is a con. New president JB came with zero experience, a massive ego, and no idea of what Emerson is all about. They also overload their employees, pay below industry standard, and offer nothing in terms of meaningful professional development. Certain departments' upper management create a toxic environment, and are friends with high-level HR colleagues, so they get away with it.

2.0
4 May 2024

No growth opportunities

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Emerson College has a lot of creative, interesting, and dedicated employees. There is work/life balance for SOME departments. The mission of the school is one that is theoretically sound, but I don't know that the organization embodies the values it claims to want to instill in its student body.

Cons

They offer little to no opportunities for growth/promotions or training their talent base. Competent employees are punished by having more work thrown at them, while underperformers never get fired. It creates a culture where morale is low because there are no monetary/promotional goals to work towards. There is zero clarity around how one can move up in the organization, and this is coming from someone who has asked HR that question on several occasions, only to be met with vague non-answers. The only time I've seen anyone get promoted or offered a raise was when they threatened to quit or had another job offer in hand. At the time of this review (May 2024) the business operation of the College truly feels like a sinking ship at all levels.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 316 Reviews

Glassdoor has 358 Emerson College reviews submitted anonymously by Emerson College employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Emerson College is right for you.