B
Boards
The College has a Board of Advisors, a Board of Trustees, and an Alumni Association Board of Directors. Use title case for these terms.
- He has been a member of the Board of Trustees for 10 years.
(See the Emerson College Leadership page for the most current list of members.)
Bookstore
The Emerson Emporium is located at 114 Boylston Street.
Boston Common
Not Commons.
C
Campus Buildings/Locations
2 Boylston Place
20 Park Plaza (Current location of IT Infrastructure and Enterprise Systems, Human Resources, Business Services, Financial Affairs, Facilities, Communications and Marketing, and Institutional Advancement)
172 Tremont Street
Ansin Building (180 Tremont Street)
Colonial Building (100 Boylston Street)
Cutler Majestic Theatre (219 Tremont Street)
Dining Center (122–124 Boylston Street)
Emerson Contemporary: Media Art Gallery (25 Avery Street)
Equipment Distribution Center (19 Avery Street)
Lion's Den (25 Boylston Place)
Little Building (80 Boylston Street)
Paramount Center (555 Washington Street)
Piano Row (the Max Mutchnick Campus Center and Brown and Plofker Gym are housed in this building) (150 Boylston Street)
Print Copy Center (98A Boylston Street)
State Transportation Building (Current location of Admission) (8 Park Plaza)
Tufte Performance and Production Center (10 Boylston Place)
Union Savings Bank Building (216 Tremont Street)
Visitor Center (104 Boylston Street)
Walker Building (120 Boylston Street)
When citing locations in internal publications (for faculty, students, and staff), it is OK to use building names only.
In external publications, use both name and street location.
Internal pieces: the Walker Building
External pieces: the Walker Building at 120 Boylston Street
Campus on the Common
Note the absence of quotation marks.
Capitalization
Capitalize civil, professional, military, and religious titles that immediately precede personal names. Lowercase titles when they follow personal names.
- U.S. Army Sergeant Amy Liu
- Amy Liu, U.S. Army sergeant
Capitalize named professorships and fellowships.
- Jane and Terry Semel Chair in Screenwriting
Capitalize names of Emerson academic departments and administrative offices in both formal and informal use.
- Department of Journalism/Journalism Department
- Office of Business Services/Business Services Office
- Mark Casey is a professor in the Department of Performing Arts.
- Mark Casey is a professor in the Performing Arts Department.
Capitalize names of Emerson academic programs.
- This year’s award recipient is a Performing Arts major.
Do not capitalize names of external academic programs.
- Professor Bellingham has a PhD in history.
Official course titles should be in regular font and all words except for prepositions and articles should be uppercased. Do not use quotation marks or italicization. Do not use punctuation between a course number and a course name, if used together:
- Magazine Publishing Overview
- VM 366 Digital Imaging for Photographers
Official titles of forms should be in regular font and all words except for prepositions and articles should be uppercased. Informal mentions are lowercased.
- Submit the Course Withdrawal Form by September 10.
- Make sure your health form is filled out correctly.
When referring to Emerson as “the College,” capitalize the C.
- Refer to page 45 for more information about College policies and procedures.
When referring to a specific semester, capitalize the first letter of the season. When speaking in general terms, leave lowercased.
- the Fall 2026 semester; the fall semester
Capitalize Commencement when referring to a specific ceremony. General references are lowercased.
- Jay Leno spoke at Emerson’s 2014 Commencement ceremony.
- Students must submit a graduation application in order to participate in the commencement ceremony.
Capitalize federal only when it’s part of an official name. In general references, it should be lowercased.
- He applied for a job at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- The federal government administers a variety of student aid programs.
In headlines and titles of works, capitalize “important” words. Only capitalize conjunctions and prepositions if they have five or more letters. But do capitalize a preposition that links to a verb.
- How to Gain Course Credit Through Volunteering
- Volunteering: How to Sign Up
When dealing with hyphenated compounds in titles, capitalize both words...
- A One-Act Play
...Unless the first word is a prefix that can’t stand on its own. Then lowercase the second element (unless it is a proper noun or adjective).
- Anti-technology Musings
Captions and Credits
Only add a period at the end of a caption if it is a complete sentence.
- A view of the Emerson campus
- Prospective students take in a view of the Emerson campus.
For a photo/image credit line, just note the names:
- Kara Pitts/iStock
or
- Corbis
Centers
Center for Comedic Arts
Located in the Tufte Performance and Production Center at 10 Boylston Place
Elma Lewis Center
Located at 148 Boylston Street
Lacerte Family Writing and Academic Resource Center
Located at 216 Tremont Street
Max Mutchnick Campus Center
Located at Piano Row. Note that the Campus Center comprises the first, second, and lower level one floors only.
Paramount Center
The Paramount Center houses: the Robert J. Orchard (RJO) Stage, the Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre, the Bright Family Screening Room, a residence hall, and a performance development center (rehearsal studios, soundstage, practice rooms). The main address is 555 Washington Street. The RJO Stage’s address is 559 Washington Street.
Robbins Speech, Language, and Hearing Center
Located at 216 Tremont Street
Tufte Performance and Production Center
Located at 10 Boylston Place
Visitor Center
Located at 104 Boylston Street
Centuries
When noting centuries, use figures.
- the 21st century
- the 1800s
Chairs
The boards have chairs, not chairmen.
Academic departments have chairs, not chairmen.
Cities and States
When referencing a well-known city, it’s not necessary to include the state name.
Include the state when there are multiple cities with the same name.
- Isabella moved from New York City to Boston last year.
- Leonard attended the annual conference in Rochester, New York.
Class Years
Always capitalize the C in Class when referring to a specific class.
- The Class of 1970 is having its reunion this year.
When referring to undergraduate alumni, note the year of graduation, but not type of degree. For graduate alumni, note type of degree and year.
- John Michaels ’56
- Sheila Williams, MFA ’98
Do not use a comma between a person’s name and his/her year of graduation. Also note that the apostrophe should be a single right quotation mark.
- Joan Naumann ’97
Do add a comma between name and graduation year when noting the type of degree.
- Ken Versace, MA ’83, is a member of the Board of Trustees.
Marlboro alumni should be denoted with (Marlboro) after their class year.
- Felix Leos ’04 (Marlboro) published his first poetry chapbook.
Co- prefix
Check Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary for preferred usage. Commonly used words:
- coauthor
- co-chair
- co-curricular
- co-editor
Collective Nouns
A collective noun describes a group. It can take a singular or plural verb, depending on whether it’s describing a unit or individuals.
- The faculty is planning a holiday party.
- Staff are in disagreement about the proposed policy.
When in doubt, add in the word members and use the plural verb.
Colons
Refer to punctuation.
Commas
Refer to punctuation.
Course Titles
Refer to capitalization.