Special Standing Courses
Non-degree special standing courses are an affordable and convenient opportunity for students to take select public health classes without the commitment of enrolling into a degree program.
Special standing students are admitted Rollins School of Public Health students, but they are not seeking a degree. These students may enroll in courses of interest, after they have been admitted to Rollins, if there is space available in the course and their academic backgrounds meet course prerequisites.
Those interested in applying for Special Standing Status are encouraged to follow the application process below as soon as possible. The application deadline for Summer 2025 courses is April 30. The summer term begins May 16.
APPLY (STEP 1): If you have never applied to Rollins School of Public Health as a non-degree student OR have not done so in the past five years, you must complete and submit an application. Emory University employees and graduates interested in registering for special standing courses are also required to submit an application for admittance.
REQUEST ENROLLMENT (STEP 2): If you have been admitted to Rollins School of Public Health as a non-degree student within the last five years, follow Step 2.NOTE: If you submitted an application and were admitted as a special standing student to the Rollins School of Public Health within the past five years, you are NOT required to submit another admissions application to register for courses. Students can register for public health classes only. Enrollment in classes within another Emory University school will require admittance to that school.
Questions regarding applying for special standing should be addressed to the Office of Admissions & Student Services at sphadmissions@emory.edu.
Questions about enrolling in classes after being admitted should be addressed to the Office of Enrollment Services at rsphenrollmentservices@emory.edu.
Apply
Admission Requirements
Transcripts
Rollins must receive official transcripts from the registrar of the institution at which you received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. It is preferred that applicants submit official electronic transcripts from their undergraduate institution to sphadmissions@emory.edu. Alternately, transcripts may be mailed and are not "official" unless received in the academic institution's sealed envelope. All documents must be in English or accompanied by an official notarized literal translation.
Special standing application materials must be submitted to the Admissions department at the Rollins School of Public Health located in the Office of Admissions and Student Services on the seventh floor of the Grace Crum Rollins Building. Materials may also be mailed to:
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
Office of Admission and Student Services
1518 Clifton Rd NE
Mailstop 1518-002-1AA
Atlanta, Georgia 30322
For additional questions or concerns regarding the admissions process please contact the Admissions Office by e-mail at sphadmissions@emory.edu or call 404-727-3956.
Admission Application Deadlines
Spring
The deadline to apply for spring admissions is December 15.
Summer
The deadline for summer admissions is April 30.
Fall
The deadline to apply for fall admissions is August 14.
Register for Classes
Registration Requirements
Students who were recently admitted and/or admitted in the past five years should email the Office of Enrollment services at rsphenrollmentservices@emory.edu for the Special Standing Registration form. If you have not submitted an application for admittance to Rollins you may not register for special standing courses.
Enrollment forms will be processed in the order they are received. Registration is based on students meeting pre-requisites and space availability. On the Registration Form, we ask students to share how they have met the pre-requisites of the course via previous coursework and/or professional experience.
All students in special standing status enrolled in a courses, even if enrolled in an online class, must abide by all information on the Emory Forward website and submit complete immunization records including both flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. Detailed information will be sent to students after registration.
NOTE: The registration processing dates listed below are the start dates for processing special standing registration forms. Student's registration will be confirmed by email after processing has begun.
Registration Processing
Spring
Processing of registration forms for spring semester courses will begin December 15.
Summer
Processing of registration forms for summer courses will begin April 15 date.
Fall
Processing of registration forms for fall courses will begin after incoming students pre-register.
The Summmer 2025 course schedule is available here. For information on how to navigate Atlas, click here. RSPH courses will be offered in person and online. Additional information, including details about online and/or asynchronous online components to in person classes, may be found on Atlas.
Students interested in Executive MPH program courses must be enrolled no later than TBD and complete a self-paced orientation. For all other programs students may be enrolled through the add/drop/swap period for traditional term classes ending May 20. To view Summer 2025 Academic Dates, click here.
Students who are interested in applying for course enrollment should email rsphenrollmentservices@emory.edu.
Courses Available by Department:
Hubert Department of Global Health (HDGH)
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (BIOS)
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences (BSHES)
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health (EH)
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
Department of Epidemiology (EPI)
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM)
| Course Number & Title: |
| TBD |
Everyone taking courses at Emory University must adhere to Emory's Honor Code and is responsible for adhering to its contents. A copy of the Emory Honor Code may be accessed here.
The cost per credit hour for academic year 2024-25 is $2,370 per credit hour plus additional fees.
After a student registers for the desired courses, payment must be made to Emory University via the Student Accounts and Billing Office. Details of how to pay a bill are found here.
All fees must be paid by the payment deadline.
No special standing public health fellowships/scholarships or other financial assistance program are available to students in special standing. Students must be enrolled in degree programs to be considered for financial aid at Emory University. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 404-727-6039.
Emory employees should contact Human Resources for questions regarding their courtesy scholarship eligibility. The courtesy scholarship application will become available once the employee has submitted an application for admission.
Books for all courses can be purchased at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore located in the Oxford Road Building.
If the special standing applicant is accepted the first time, but does not enroll for the initial semester of acceptance, and that applicant wishes to take classes during a subsequent semester, the applicant may write to the Rollins Admissions office to request that his or her file be reactivated for the semester he or she wishes to enroll.
Acceptance into special standing does not guarantee acceptance into the degree-seeking category. Special standing students who decide to apply as degree-seeking candidates must complete and are bound by the same application/admission process as other Rollins degree-seeking applicants. This includes the degree-seeking fall admission policy as outlined in the catalog and on the Admissions section of the website. Therefore, should you decide to apply as a degree-seeking student, you will need to apply online through SOPHAS, the centralized application service utilized by Rollins.
If a special standing student decides to apply to a Rollins degree program and is accepted as a degree-seeking candidate, up to nine (9) credits taken as a special-standing student may be transferred to the degree-seeking status. The transfer of individual course credits will transfer as long as the credits fulfill program degree requirements.
If a special standing student is considering eventually applying to be a degree seeking student, he/she should talk with the department ADAP to assure that the course selection is appropriate for the degree program and will transfer.
Special standing students will have school email addresses, access to Canvas (the learning management system), as well as access to online library resources. ALL students, including those in Special Standing Status are required to have a laptop for use during class.