Emma Willard School is a place to discover what it means to look within yourself and see your future on the horizon. By seeking out a school where you belong, you already show that you are ready for something more than the high school experience.
Emma Hart Willard founded her school on the basis of providing girls with a first-class education equal to that of men—one that challenged, inspired, and enabled them to serve and shape their worlds.
More than 200 years later, Emma Willard School proudly continues to carry on this mission.
Emma Willard School's curriculum focuses on three pillars: Intellectual Flexibility, Purpose & Community, and Equity & Justice. Our academic program offers more than 140 courses, including Emma's own unique Advanced Studies options. Personalized study programs enable students to dive deep into a topic or field of their choosing, and gain hands-on experience.
Education at Emma isn’t limited to the classroom—it’s woven into the fabric of our community. With students from around the world and across the United States, and faculty and staff with a wide breadth of life experiences, you will broaden your perspective the moment you walk onto campus.
Bonds created in the residence and dining halls, while practicing for an athletics match or arts performance, at one of our many cherished traditions, and all the little moments in between, define the Emma experience.
Wherever life takes you, your connection goes with you. Community connectedness is a longstanding Emma Willard School tradition carried on by our alumnae. Our vast network of over 8,000 unique, intelligent alums spans the world, and includes Olympians, top-level politicians, high-profile CEOs, and acclaimed architects.
An education is one of the most powerful gifts you can give a girl. When you give to Emma, you honor our fearless founder’s legacy, and allow Emma Willard School to offer incomparable educational experiences for tomorrow’s leaders, and in many cases, make their time here possible.
Honoring its founder’s vision, Emma Willard School proudly fosters in each young woman a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world.
By Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion Gemma Halfi
It’s 8 o’clock in the morning on a Sunday in late January, and an anticipated email pops into the inbox of every student and employee in the Emma Willard community—just as it has for the 12 days prior, and will continue to do for the 8 days following.
By Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion Gemma Halfi
It’s 8 o’clock in the morning on a Sunday in late January, and an anticipated email pops into the inbox of every student and employee in the Emma Willard community—just as it has for the 12 days prior, and will continue to do for the 8 days following.
Xavier McKinzie is the associate director of college counseling at Emma Willard School. Xavier joined Emma Willard in 2022 and most recently worked in admissions and recruiting for higher education at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. We asked Xavier four questions about his start at Emma.
There have been many exciting developments at Emma Willard School since authoring our five-year strategic plan Leading with Purpose in October of 2021 and in the wake of the public launch of Infinite Horizon: The Campaign for Emma Willard School in May of 2022. Read on for a Q&A video from our Head of School Jenny Rao.
Welcome to Emma Willard School, a private day and boarding high school for girls in Troy, NY, and a leader in girls' education for over 200 years.
PLEASE NOTE: All visitors to campus must check in with Campus Safety, which can be found at the red flag entrance to Sage Hall (Pawling Ave. entrance).