Emily Gertsch serves as Director of Graduate Studies and Senior Lecturer of Music Theory at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, where she has been a member of the faculty since 2012. She earned a Ph.D. in Music Theory from Florida State University, completing a dissertation on narrative approaches to Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet and Piano Quartet that reflects her interests in prolongational analysis and musical meaning.

At the University of Georgia, Gertsch teaches graduate courses in prolongational tonal analysis, form and analysis, music theory pedagogy, and narrative theory. She also teaches and oversees the second-year undergraduate core music theory curriculum. In recognition of her excellence in teaching, she received the inaugural Hugh Hodgson School of Music Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017.

Gertsch's scholarly work has been presented at national and regional conferences, including the Society for Music Theory, the Semiotic Society of America, Music Theory Southeast, and the Texas Society for Music Theory, where she received the Colvin Award for Outstanding Student Paper.

Before joining the University of Georgia in 2012, Gertsch taught at Furman University. Her teaching has been recognized with the Phi Mu Alpha Outstanding Teaching Award at Furman University, and she was nominated for multiple teaching awards while at Florida State University. She holds a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from The Catholic University of America and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Music Theory from Furman University.