Registration for Summer 2025 is open and ongoing. Course access will be on 8/18/2025.
Per Emerson College requirements, all students are required to comply with a number of clearances to participate in all in-person experiences. These requirements impact clinical placements as well as any Immersion coursework which happens in Boston. CastleBranch is a third-party service used to screen and manage your medical documents.
Students are required to initiate their CastleBranch account when beginning their applied graduate plan of study and maintain the clearances across the remainder of the program.
How to Start Your Order
From the main CastleBranch page, you will select Place Order at the top right of your screen. On the next page, you will enter EQ81 as the Package Code then click Submit to initiate the order. You must use your Emerson email and you will need your student ID number to place your order.
For other directions and additional information, please refer to this CastleBranch Reference Guide.
$138, one-time fee at the time of setting up your account (as of 09/08/2023)
$58, if only ordering a background check
Drug testing is available for an additional cost, if required by individual placement sites
All costs are at the responsibility of the student including additional clearances that may be requested by a placement site.
Students will be prompted to set their CastleBranch account in preparation for applied graduate courses.
If completing foundational courses, students will receive a notice to set up their account 8 weeks prior to the start of applied courses.
If not required to complete any foundational courses, students will receive a notice to set up their account following the completion of a live Program Orientation session.
The Disclosure and Authorization form (D&A) is required to allow CastleBranch to complete your background checks as part of the Emerson College package. This form is key to the activation of your account, and needs to be completed and returned to CastleBranch within 30 business days. Failure to complete this form in this timeframe may result in additional charges or temporary suspension of your CastleBranch account. These delays may impact your ability to complete your clearance processing and prevent your participation in in-person learning such as Immersion or Placement.
The D&A form is linked below. The following information can be used to complete the associated fields on the D&A form.
Organization name: Emerson College
Order number: Your CastleBranch account number
CAC: EQ81 (same as the package code)
Due Course Access date (2 weeks prior to start of live sessions) of a student's first term of applied graduate courses.
Due by week 7 of the term in which a student is slated to attend CD 657. Submissions that are made outside the term in which you attend may not be accepted due to shifting policies or guidelines set by Emerson College.
Must be administered no earlier than 90 days prior to a student's attendance at CD657 Immersion. The TB requirement must be approved on CastleBranch by the deadline above along with any other outstanding clearances to guarantee attendance at Immersion and any upcoming in-person learning experiences.
If TB is administered outside of the window stated above, it will be rejected and must be re-ordered.
Students should refer to their CD 601 Clinical Methods I syllabus for more information on these deadlines.
Placement sites may require additional clearances for students. In order to begin placement, students must attain all requirements requested by the site by the term start date.
Failure to maintain all compliant clearances, throughout the program, can impact a student's ability to continue in placement and ability to graduate.
Criminal and sexual offenses
Required to be completed prior to end of add/drop
2 doses of a measles vaccine + 2 doses of a mumps vaccine + 2 doses of a rubella vaccine, separately, all required
This condition can take 4 months to complete if getting the full vaccination series
2-dose vaccination series, both doses are required to be in compliance
This condition can take 1 month to complete if getting the full vaccination series
No documentation is required if you were born in the United States before 1980*
History of previously having chicken pox will NOT fulfill this requirement
3-dose vaccination series
This condition can take 6 months to complete if getting the full vaccination series
Please contact your Student Success Advisor if you need to get this series
Either a TB skin test or the QuantiFERON Gold Blood Test
Questionnaire must be fully completed (including your diagnosis and ID number)
Questionnaire and test results must be merged in 1 file to be processed and completed.
If your CastleBranch account says “In Progress” the documents have not been received. Please email immersion@emerson.edu for assistance.
1-dose vaccination within the past 10 years, and any time after age 11.
Vaccine must contain all 3 components: Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis
This can be written as either a DTap or TDAP- they are the same vaccine
1-dose vaccination on/after 16th birthday
Waiver form acceptable if you are 21 years of age or older
Must provide proof of current health insurance coverage
Must maintain coverage throughout the program to maintain compliance
Details as to what the coverage must include can be found here
Documentation from a health care provider that you are cleared to attend your program with no restrictions and in general good health.
Must contain your name, the date, and be signed by a professional
May be from any time in the previous 12 months
To be completed as part of CD-601: Clinical Methods 1
Additional $25 if ordered through CastleBranch
Ordered using package code EQ81dt.
Place the order, and then you will be sent a registration form with a number to help locate a site to administer the drug test.
For additional questions, please contact CastleBranch Customer Support directly.
What if I'm not comfortable with these requirements?
Emerson College policies apply to all students, staff, and faculty regardless of location, program, or housing status. While Emerson respects the autonomy of all of our students, these requirements and clearances are implemented to support the health and safety of the community while you're completing your degree. If you have specific questions or concerns, please have a conversation with your SSA and they can direct you to information or resources as appropriate.
Not a problem; that is very common. Please review the notes left for you by the human who reviewed the documentation. They will provide very specific feedback as to why your item does not meet the Emerson College requirements. Please reference the myCB Resource Guide- Compliance Tracker (continued) page 11 for tips and tricks to access the feedback and how to avoid rejections in the future.
Reach out to the program if you continue to encounter difficulties in uploading documentation, or you have concerns about meeting the stated deadline for the term in which you’re enrolled in Immersion.
When should I get my TB Test?
You should schedule your TB test for no earlier than Week 2 of the term. The TB testing should be done within 90 days of your first in person course (CD657 Immersion). If you have questions or concerns about the timing, please email immersion@emerson.edu for support. You will not be able to use a TB test from the past, so we strongly encourage waiting until the term in which you’re enrolled in CD657.
How do I merge my TB Questionnaire and my TB Results?
All Emerson students have access to Adobe Acrobat. We recommend opening the completed/saved PDF of your TB Risk Assessment Questionnaire and the PDF of your test results in Acrobat. You can use the “Combine Files” tool to make one unified file for uploading.
You also have a built-in tool in the CastleBranch Platform. Please reference the myCB Resource Guide- Managing My Account (page 4) section for directions.
How do I know if my TB results are actually being reviewed?
If your status reads “In Progress” your documents have not been received and are not being reviewed. You will need to contact customer service to remove the stuck items and resubmit. This error is most often caused by uploading multiple files that are too large to be processed. All files must be under the 5mb size restriction.
I need to get a series of vaccinations- can I still attend the class??
Emerson College requires that individuals be as vaccinated as possible when attending in person learning experiences. This means that if you are due for a dose of a vaccine prior to your in person coursework, we ask that you prioritize receiving as many doses of a series as possible. You must have at least 1 dose in each of the vaccine series (MMR, Varicella, Hep B) to attend any in-person courses. You will be required to complete and upload documentation of the remainder of these clearances as soon as possible to remain in compliance with these requirements. You will receive an email reminder following the Immersion course to help you do so.
What if my Hep B series has only 2 vaccines? Can I still attend the class??
Yes- a series of two doses (depending on the vaccination) can be accepted. This documentation should clearly indicate the vaccine is only a 2 dose series. Please reach out to CastleBranch customer support if you have been assigned the third dose in error on your Clinical Requirements Tracker.
Do you require a specific form for a physical?
No- Emerson does not have a required form you must use. We do provide you with a template, but documentation of a well visit should meet the requirement.
How do I share my clearances with my placement site?
You must share the information from your CastleBranch clearances directly with any placement site who requests that information. Please reference the myCB Resource Guide- Managing My Account (page 4) section for directions.
If I have any technical difficulties, how do I contact CastleBranch?
You may contact CastleBranch by calling (888) 723-4263 or emailing customerservice@castlebranch.com. If you need further assistance, reach out to our Student Success Team.