Boston
Life in Boston is a one-of-a-kind experience––are you ready to lock in?
Shape your future in Boston.
Boston isn’t just a great place to go to college; it’s also a great place to build a future. You’ll be surrounded by peers, professionals, and academics who help you maximize your college experience through hands-on learning that extends far beyond the classroom.
Ready to join the Emerson community?
Congratulations on being selected for Emerson’s incoming class––we can’t wait to help you build your future as you experience all Emerson has to offer.
Opportunities lie around every corner.
Boston is a one-of-a-kind city, filled with unique people, places, and opportunities. Not only is it rich in history and culture, it’s also a great place for students to experience city life in a safe and accessible environment.
Emerson’s urban campus allows easy access to Boston’s thriving downtown offerings, in addition to close proximity with the famous educational hub of Cambridge across the Charles River, and plenty of diverse neighborhoods to explore in the Greater Boston area.
Pursue your passions and explore new interests as you make your home in the heart of this amazing city. You’ll build connections for life with your fellow Emersonians, and find even more people to collaborate with from other local colleges and universities. You’ll discover what makes our local culture so special as you become a Bostonian.
Here, you’ll live and learn around the corner from global news organizations, publishing companies, research institutions, state and local government offices, advertising agencies, media consultancies, nonprofits, and art museums. Our downtown campus—across from the nation’s oldest public park, Boston Common—puts you in the center of it all. Literally.
Before you arrive, we wanted to give you a taste of what you’ll find waiting for you in Boston.
Getting Around Boston and Beyond
Boston’s color-coded transit system, the MBTA, makes exploring the Boston metro area easy, with a subway network (known as the “T” by locals), buses, and commuter trains around the city and surrounding areas. Boston’s Bluebikes bicycle rental program is also a very popular option for students.
Choose your transport
Given Boston’s famous coastal location, you can take boats out to explore history and nature on islands in Boston Harbor. In warmer months, take the high-speed ferry from Boston to the tip of Cape Cod to discover the iconic cultural haven of Provincetown.
Unique cities in local states, such as Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Maine, are just 1-2 hours away by Amtrak or MBTA train from downtown Boston—and even New York City is just a half-day trip away by bus, train, or car. If you’re traveling anywhere by plane, Emerson is incredibly close to Boston’s Logan Airport.
(for January 2025)
There’s something for everyone in Boston.
Emerson is knit into the fabric of Boston, and, in turn, the city powers everything we do. In a metropolitan area with more than 150,000 college and university students, you’ll join in the energy of what many consider to be the best college town in the U.S.
It’s showtime!
Emerson loves theater (and theatre). With our main campus being located in the heart of Boston’s Theatre District, you’ll be steps away from world-class performances at venues including our very own Cutler Majestic Theatre, Emerson Colonial Theatre, and Paramount Center, among other notable theaters and performance spaces.
The College’s own ArtsEmerson presents the best in contemporary theater, in addition to hosting play-reading clubs and conversations about social issues. Emerson students can get free rush tickets to any ArtsEmerson show the day of performances, or tickets can be reserved in advance for $10.
With 15 seasons (so far!), we are the leading presenter of contemporary theater in Boston.
Curtains Up
ArtEmerson’s premiere season (2010–11) included The Merchant of Venice (featuring Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham); death-defying acrobatics and gymnastics in PSY, performed by circus troupe The 7 Fingers; and a celebration of skilled, moving puppetry in Petrushka.
A Decade Down
ArtsEmerson celebrated ten years of theatre while meeting incredible challenges in 2020—bringing programming to the physical stage and online through streamed virtual events. Some notable productions: Plata Quemada, a Chilean play that combines the vividness of a graphic novel through illustration and projection; and State vs. Natasha Banina, a New York Times Critic’s Pick performed live over Zoom.
Current Productions
The 2024–25 season will conclude mid-May with Utopian Hotline, in partnership with the Museum of Science. This show is described as a call to “join together and leave an offering of hope for humanity’s future.”
Explore living history.
Boston holds iconic American history and legendary museums. Explore history throughout the city on the Freedom Trail, the Black Heritage Trail, and see historic ships in Boston Harbor.
Some of the country’s finest art, science, and cultural museums are easily accessible from the Emerson campus, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Science; the Institute of Contemporary Art; the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum; the historic Boston Public Library; and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Best of all—your Emerson student ID will get you in with free or discounted admission!
Museum of fine arts, Boston
The 20th-largest art museum in the world, the MFA Boston contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works of art.
Museum of Science
A nature and science museum on the Charles River, it features 700+ interactive exhibits, daily presentations, a planetarium, and the only domed IMAX theater in New England.
Institute of Contemporary Art
Boston’s premier museum dedicated to contemporary art, the ICA features a wide array of exhibitions, performances, and education programs in a sleek Seaport building.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and museum
The presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy honors the 35th president of the United States. You can also visit his childhood home in nearby Brookline.
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is the third-largest library in the United States, where you can study in historic rooms, and any student can get a library card as a Massachusetts resident!
Isabella stewart gardner museum
One of the most Instagram-worthy museums in Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a stunning downtown mansion filled with historical art and beautiful spaces.
Deliciousness awaits.
Boston has an amazing culinary scene. Explore endless food options and international cuisine near campus and in local neighborhoods, where you can find whatever you crave and discover new favorites. Whether you seek lobster rolls, vegan tacos, bubble tea, or breakfast burritos, Boston is ready to supply all your taste buds need.
Let’s jam. 🤘
If you love music, Boston and the surrounding area has you covered!
Emerson recently joined with the City of Boston and local partners to create the UnCommon Stage, a community space at the corner of Boston Common, right in the heart of the Emerson campus area. Open to the Boston community, it’s a warm-weather haven where you can experience live entertainment daily, along with enjoying a variety of beverages and food. What could be better?
Catch rock, hip-hop, and experimental music shows from Berklee College of Music students and touring artists in venues of all sizes around the city. Explore classical and jazz performances from New England Conservatory of Music students and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the world-renowned Symphony Hall.
Where to find your next Friday night concert:
Times shown are via public transportation (MBTA subway lines) from Emerson, or via a quick walk
- UnCommon Stage (across the street!)
- Orpheum Theatre (9-minute walk)
- TD Garden (13 minutes)
- Symphony Hall (15 minutes)
- Hatch Memorial Shell (17 minutes)
- Middle East Restaurant and Club (20 minutes)
- MGM Music Hall at Fenway (22 minutes)
A cinematic experience.
Are you a film fan, like many Emersonians? Check out the latest box office hits at the large AMC-IMAX theater, which sits right next to Emerson campus buildings. For indie films and great student discounts, Cambridge’s Landmark Kendall Square Cinema and Brattle Theatre, and Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre, show award-winning indie films and offer reduced rates for budding filmmakers and culture fans like our students.
Also: because of our connections to filmmakers, we’ll oftentimes give away free tickets to screenings throughout the semester; and sometimes they’ll include Q&As with the folks behind the film!
Get your film fix at a theater near you:
Times shown are via public transportation (MBTA subway lines) from Emerson, or via a quick walk
- AMC Boston Common 19 (3-minute walk)
- Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (17 minutes)
- Brattle Theatre (22 minutes)
- Coolidge Corner Theatre (26 minutes)
- Landmark Kendall Square Cinema (30 minutes)
Sports fans, rejoice.
Embrace Boston sports pride at a Red Sox, Bruins, or Celtics game in iconic spaces such as Fenway Park (and then again at our championship parades, which go right by campus!) Venture a few blocks from campus to the iconic Charles River Esplanade, which sits between Boston and Cambridge, to take in events such as the world’s largest rowing competition, the Head of the Charles Regatta.
If you can dream it, Boston has it.
Explore abundant green spaces, browse antique bookstores (and cat cafes), or take a study break at one of the independent coffee shops scattered near campus. When you study at Emerson in the heart of Boston, the city is your campus. We can’t wait to see you here!
