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Academics
Mercer University’s reputation is built on its rigorous academic programs, outstanding faculty, and state-of-the-art facilities. Yet, tradition plays an important role in the University’s unique identity as a faith-based institution committed to religious and intellectual freedom and respect for religious diversity. Students across Mercer’s 11 schools and colleges benefit from a welcoming atmosphere and small-class learning environment. They learn from a prestigious, yet caring, faculty — not from teaching assistants, as found at many universities. Mercer’s faculty members, whose credentials come from some of the world’s finest academic institutions, are distinguished for both teaching and research. More than 90 percent of the faculty hold doctorates or the highest attainable degrees in their respective fields.
The University’s major academic units include:
College of Liberal Arts
(Macon): The oldest of the University's academic units, the College of Liberal Arts is Mercer's academic cornerstone. The College offers an array of baccalaureate programs in the humanities, fine arts, sciences and social sciences. A unique offering of the College is the Great Books Program, which provides students the opportunity of focused study of the classic writers and thinkers of the Western world.
In 2012, the College opened the Center for Collaborative Journalism, a unique community media collaborative combining Mercer's journalism and media studies program with the professional expertise of The Telegraph, Central Georgia's daily newspaper, and Georgia Public Broadcasting's WMUM-FM, Macon Public Radio. Supported by $5.6 million in grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Peyton Anderson Foundation, the Collaborative seeks to bring a strong clinical component to journalism education while enhancing local news coverage.
Find out more >Walter F. George School of Law
(Macon): Founded in 1873, Mercer's Walter F. George School of Law is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and the first in the state of Georgia accredited by the American Bar Association. Mercer
Law School's educational philosophy is based on a commitment to preparing students for high-quality, general practice in a day-to-day learning environment that is both supportive and professional. Its innovative Woodruff Curriculum — which focuses on ethics and practical skills — earned the Gambrell Professionalism Award from the ABA for its "depth of excellence." With an enrollment of approximately 440 students, taught by an outstanding faculty, Mercer Law School is nationally recognized for its programs in legal writing, moot court, public service, and ethics and professionalism.
Find out more>College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
(Atlanta): For more than a century, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS) has maintained a tradition of excellence and a national reputation for producing leaders in the health care profession and has made notable contributions to the fields of pharmacy and health sciences. Mercer is ranked as the No. 4 private pharmacy school in the United States and among the top private and public pharmacy schools. With the addition of the physician assistant and physical therapy programs, COPHS offers many inter-professional health care education opportunities. The Center for Drug Delivery Research provides graduate students opportunities to conduct research in formulation/ solid dosage forms, microsphere/nanotechnology, vaccine delivery and transdermal delivery.
School of Medicine
(Macon, Atlanta, Savannah):
The School of Medicine was established in 1982 to educate physicians and health professionals to meet the primary care and health care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. The Mercer School of Medicine Doctor of Medicine program utilizes a problem-based education that provides early patient care experiences. The School's academic environment fosters the development of clinical problem-solving and instills in each student an awareness of the place of the basic medical sciences in medical practice. The School of Medicine operates two four-year campuses. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School's primary teaching hospitals: Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus.
Other degree programs offered at the Mercer School of Medicine's Macon campus include the Master of Public Health and Master of Family Therapy Master of Family Therapy, Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences, Master of Science in Preclinical Sciences and Ph.D. in Clinical Medical Psychology. In January 2013, a certificate program in Preclinical Sciences begain its first semester. In Atlanta, the School of Medicine offers the Master of Family Therapy degree.
Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics
(Macon, Atlanta, Douglas County, Henry County, Savannah): Established in 1984, Mercer’s Stetson School of Business and Economics offers undergraduate and graduate (B.B.A., M.B.A.) degrees in Macon and Atlanta, the M.B.A. in Savannah and the B.B.A. degree in Douglas County. The School holds the highest level of accreditation for business education by AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
School of Engineering
(Macon): The school's innovative and academically challenging engineering and engineering-related programs provide students with a comprehensive education, featuring a solid foundation in mathematics and sciences, a core engineering curriculum, a range of courses in engineering specialties and a strong emphasis on communication technologies. The School of Engineering marked its 25th anniversary in 2010 and continues to be ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top three master's-degree-level engineering schools in the Southeast. Known for its breadth of instruction in its undergraduate program and its five-year joint bachelor's and master's degree program, the school combines technical education with hands-on laboratory experience.
Tift College of Education
(Macon, Atlanta, Savannah and Regional Academic Centers): Established in 1995, the Tift College of Education prepares more professional educators than any other private college or university in Georgia. It offers baccalaureate and graduate degrees and has programs on the Macon, Atlanta and Savannah campuses, as well as in the University's Regional Academic Centers. Guided by the conceptual framework of the "Transforming Practitioner," the College is dedicated to preparing effective teachers and educational leaders who aspire to grow professionally throughout their careers, while also seeking to transform the lives of students.
James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology
(Atlanta):Established in 1996, McAfee School of Theology brings Jesse Mercer's founding vision of providing students with a classical and theological education full circle as it prepares students for the ministry. McAfee shares Jesse Mercer's concern that churches have pastor-leaders who understand Scripture and can clearly articulate their Christian beliefs. The School offers master's and doctoral degrees, along with a growing number of ministerial concentrations. The innovative, fully integrated curriculum is taught by nationally recognized scholars who are committed Christians. Along with a network of partner churches, McAfee is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
(Macon, Atlanta): Nationally recognized Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, the oldest nursing program in Georgia, is grounded in its heritage of educating students to provide superior nursing care. All undergraduate nursing students are members of the National Student Nurses Association, thus providing them superior leadership and professional development opportunities. 12 Mercer university Mercer's renowned nursing faculty and staff are dedicated to advancing the institution's vision of being known as a center for academic excellence that fosters the development of nurses committed to practice in evolving global environments.
College of Continuing and Professional Studies
(Macon, Atlanta, Regional Academic Centers): Established in 2003, the College of Continuing and Professional Studies offers undergraduate and graduate programs to working adults seeking professional advancement or transition and leadership roles in and beyond their communities. The College provides students with distinctive, multidisciplinary programs that integrate theory and practice, liberal learning and professional education, and knowledge and experience. The College also offers general education and elective courses for undergraduate colleges and schools at the Regional Academic Centers and on the Atlanta campus, professional certificate programs for organizations and public agencies, and a transition program for English Language Institute and other international students who desire to transition to undergraduate colleges and schools throughout the University.
Townsend School of Music
(Macon): Established in 2006, Townsend School of Music is nationally recognized for its artist faculty, award-winning students, wide range of performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities. Townsend offers a thorough and rigorous curriculum, providing a conservatory- quality music education within a university environment. Students benefit from small class sizes and individual instruction from faculty who regularly perform on campus and at major national and international venues. Specialized music programs include the Townsend McAfee Institute for Graduate Church Music Studies and the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings.
Division of Library Services
(Macon, Atlanta): The mission of the Mercer University libraries is to serve as learning-centered gateways of information resources through robust collections and innovative, technology-rich patron services to support the educational endeavors of the University community. The four Mercer libraries and three Regional Academic Center libraries offer a wide range of print, non-print and electronic resources, including Web-based library catalogs and remotely accessible full-text databases.
Mercer is a full participant in GALILEO, the award winning statewide library network that brings full-text resources, e-books and indexes to the researcher's desktop.
Libraries serving Mercer students are:
- Jack Tarver Library, Macon
- Monroe F. Swilley Jr. Library, Atlanta
- Regional Academic Center libraries in Henry County, Douglas County, Eastman and Newnan
- Medical Library and Peyton T. Anderson Learning Resources Center in the School of Medicine, Macon
- Health Sciences Library at Memorial University Medical Center, serving as a partner resource for the Savannah campus
- Furman Smith Law Library in Walter F. George School of Law, Macon
Mercer University Press
(Macon): Mercer University Press has published more than 1,200 books since its establishment in 1979. It publishes approximately 30 scholarly books each year, generally in the areas of religion, philosophy, Southern history and culture, regional studies and literature. The Press holds membership in the Association of American University Presses.
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