As of 2014 [update] , the State of New Jersey recognizes and licenses 66 institutions of higher education (post-secondary) through its Commission on Higher Education. These institutions include four public research universities, seven state colleges and universities, fourteen private colleges and universities (two of which are classified as research universities), eighteen county colleges, fourteen religious institutions, and eight for-profit proprietary schools. [1]
As of July 2020, The U.S. Department of Education listed 166 colleges and universities in its database. This includes technical and vocational schools that offer only certificates or job training as well as degree-granting colleges and universities. [2]
New Jersey was the only British colony to permit the establishment of two colleges in the colonial period. Princeton University, chartered in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, chartered on November 10, 1766, as Queen's College, were two of nine colleges founded before the American Revolution. [3] [4] [5] : passim. In the 1860s, these two colleges competed to become the state's land grant college under the terms of the Morrill Act of 1862 which provided land and funding to expand development of engineering, scientific, agricultural, and military education at one school in each state. Rutgers received the designation in 1864 began to expand instruction in these areas and taking on a hybrid private-public role that paved the way for its transformation into a state university in 1945. Today, Rutgers is a large public research university serving over 65,000 students. Princeton remained a private college and developed into a research university that is one of the nation's eight prestigious Ivy League schools.
On August 22, 2012, then New Jersey governor Chris Christie signed into law the New Jersey Medical and Health Science Education Restructuring Act which divided the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) between Rutgers and Rowan University, creating two public medical schools. [6] [7] According to The Star-Ledger , the law gave Rutgers "nearly all of UMDNJ—including its medical schools in Newark and Piscataway—in one of the greatest expansions in the state university's history" and southern New Jersey's Rowan University would "take over UMDNJ's osteopathic medical school in Stratford." [8]
There are three law schools in the state accredited by the American Bar Association; two at Rutgers (at the university's Rutgers–Newark and Rutgers–Camden campuses respectively) and the other at Seton Hall University 's campus in Newark. [9]
Abbreviation | Accrediting or approving agency |
---|---|
AARTS | Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools |
ATS | Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada |
MSCHE | Middle States Commission on Higher Education |
NJCHE | New Jersey Commission on Higher Education |
New Jersey has a system of 18 public community colleges at the county level statewide. This reflects the fact that each college serves one of New Jersey's 21 counties, except for Atlantic Cape Community College, Rowan College of South Jersey, and Raritan Valley Community College, each of which serves two counties. In 1989, the New Jersey Council of County Colleges was created to promote the advancement of the state's county community colleges. In 2003, governor James McGreevey created the New Jersey Community Colleges Compact, through Executive Order No. 81, as a statewide partnership to enable cooperation between the colleges and various state departments. The county colleges of New Jersey represent 56% of all undergraduate students in the state and offer studies in associate degree and certificate programs. Reflecting long-term trends nationwide, the male-to-female ratio of students in the system is 41% male to 59% female, and 48% of students are over the age of 24. Overall, the system enrolls more than 350,000 students each year on campuses that range in size from 1,300 students at Salem Community College to over 15,000 students at Bergen Community College.
Not all of the county colleges were founded by the State of New Jersey; the oldest county college in New Jersey, Union County College, was founded in 1933 by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration as Union County Junior College; it operated as a private college from 1936 to 1982, and merged with the publicly operated Union County Technical Institute in 1982 to become the current public institution. [14]
School | Location | Founded | Control [10] | Type [10] | Enrollment | Accrediting or approving agency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berkeley College | Newark, Woodland Park, Woodbridge, and New York City | 1931 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Master's | 2,625 [15] | MSCHE |
DeVry University | Iselin | 1931 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Baccalaureate | 95 [16] | HLC |
Divers Academy International | Erial | 1977 | Private | Certifications | 268 | |
Eastern International College | Jersey City and Belleville | 1990 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Special focus | 387 [17] | MSCHE |
Eastwick College | Ramsey, Hackensack, Paterson, and Nutley | 1985 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Not classified | - | ACCSC |
Jersey College [b] | Teterboro, Ewing, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Fort Lauderdale | 2003 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Special focus | - | COE |
Lincoln Technical Institute | Edison, Mahwah, Moorestown, Paramus, South Plainfield, Union, New Britain, Shelton, Columbia, Brockton, Lowell, Somerville, New York City, Allentown, Philadelphia (3 locations), and Lincoln | 1947 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Baccalaureate Associate's | 3,995 [c] | ACICS |
Strayer University | Piscataway | 1892 | Proprietary (for-profit) | Master's | 530 [23] | MSCHE |
University of Phoenix | Jersey City | - | Proprietary (for-profit) | Special focus institution | - | HLC |
School | Location | Founded | Control [10] | Type [10] | Enrollment | Accrediting or approving agency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assumption College for Sisters | Denville | 1953 | Private | Associates | 40 [24] | MSCHE, NJCHE |
Pillar College | Zarephath (Franklin Twp.) and Newark | 1908 | Private | Special focus institution | 241 [25] | MSCHE |
Theological schools are typically classified as "Special Topic Institutions" by the Carnegie Foundation.
School | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Accrediting or approving agency | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Drew Theological School | Madison | 1867 | United Methodist Church | ATS, MSCHE | Founded as Methodist seminary, expanded into Drew University when liberal arts education added in 1928 |
New Brunswick Theological Seminary | New Brunswick | 1784 | Reformed Church in America | ATS, MSCHE | Oldest seminary in the United States; founded as Dutch Reformed seminary in New York City, moved to New Brunswick in 1810, run jointly and shared facilities with Queen's College, later Rutgers College, until 1856 |
Princeton Theological Seminary | Princeton | 1812 | Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | ATS, MSCHE | Second-oldest seminary in the United States and second largest theological library collection in the world behind only the Vatican Apostolic Library in Vatican City |
School | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Accrediting or approving agency | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bais Medrash Toras Chesed | Lakewood | - | - | AARTS | - |
Beth Medrash Govoha | Lakewood | 1943 | Haredi Orthodox Judaism | AARTS | - |
Mesivta Keser Torah | Belmar | - | - | AARTS | - |
Rabbi Jacob Joseph School | Edison and New York City | - | - | AARTS | - |
Rabbinical College of America | Morristown | 1973 | Jewish (Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic) | AARTS | Rabbinical college, also offers orthodox day school for boys and girls and summer programs |
Talmudical Academy of Central New Jersey | Howell | 1972 | Orthodox Jewish | AARTS | Includes an orthodox yeshiva high school and rabbinical college |
Yeshivas Be'er Yitzchok | Elizabeth | - | - | AARTS | - |
Yeshiva Gedola Zichron Leyma | Linden | - | - | (pending) | - |
Yeshiva Toras Chaim | Lakewood | - | - | AARTS | - |
Yeshivat Yesodei HaTorah | Lakewood | - | - | AARTS | - |
School | Location | Control | Founded | Closed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alma White College | Zarephath (Franklin Twp.) | - | 1921 | 1978 | - |
Alphonsus College | - | - | - | 1974 | - |
Bayonne Junior College | Bayonne | - | - | 1951 | - |
Junior College of Bergen County | Teaneck | - | 1933| | 1954 Teaneck | Merged with Fairleigh Dickinson University |
College of South Jersey | Camden | - | 1926 | 1950 | Merged with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey to become Rutgers University-Camden |
Don Bosco College | Newton | - | 1928 | 1990 | Campus sold to County of Sussex to house Sussex County Community College |
Englewood Cliffs College | Englewood Cliffs | - | 1962 | 1974 | - |
Essex Junior College | - | - | - | 1937 | - |
Evelyn College for Women | Princeton | - | 1887 | 1897 | - |
Gibbs College | Livingston, Boston, Norwalk, Tysons Corner, and Cranston | - | 1911 | 1997 | - |
Immaculate Conception Seminary | South Orange - | - | 1861 | 1986 | Now Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, affiliated with Seton Hall University |
ITT Technical Institute | - | - | - | 2016 | - |
Jersey City Junior College | Jersey City - | - | 1929 | 1959 | Students transferred to Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University |
John Marshall College | - | - | - | 1950 | Merged into Seton Hall University as their law school |
Law School of South Jersey | Camden | - | 1920 | 1949 | Became part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
Luther College of Bible | Teaneck | Private, Lutheran-affiliated | - | 1978 | - |
Maryknoll Junior College | - | - | - | 1954 | - |
Mother Savior Seminary | - | - | - | 1961 | - |
Mount Saint Mary College | - | - | - | 1970 | - |
Northeastern Bible College | Essex Fells - | - | 1950 | 1990 | - |
Panzer College of Physical Education | Montclair - | - | - | 1958 | Merged with Montclair State College, now Montclair State University |
Saint Gabriel's College | - | - | - | 1968 | - |
Saint Joseph's College | - | - | - | 1970 | - |
Saint Michael's Monastery | Union City - | - | 1869 | 1984 | - |
Salesian College | - | - | - | 1973 | - |
Shelton College | Cape May - | - | 1907 | 1971 | - |
Tombrock College | - | - | 1956 | 1976 | - |
Touro University College of Medicine | Hackensack | 2007 | 2009 | - | |
Trenton Junior College & School of Industrial Arts | - | - | 1898 | 1967 | Merged with Mercer County Community College |
Union College | - | - | 1933 | 1983 | Merged with Union County Technical Institute to become Union County College |
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) | New Brunswick, Newark, Camden, Stratford, Piscataway, and Scotch Plains | Public | 1954 | 2013 | Most of UMDNJ merged with Rutgers University in 2012–13; the School of Osteopathic Medicine 2013 merged with Rowan. |
University of Newark | - | - | - | 1947 | Merged with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
Upsala College | East Orange and Wantage | Private, Lutheran-affiliated | 1893 | 1995 | Financial issues |
Westminster Choir College | Princeton - | - | 1926 | 1992 | After financial problems, merged with Rider University, maintains name |
Rutgers University, officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States, the second-oldest in New Jersey, and one of nine colonial colleges that were chartered before the American Revolution.
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local industrialists and inventors, especially Edward Weston, NJIT opened as Newark Technical School (NTS) in 1885 with 88 students. As of fall 2022 the university enrolls 12,332 students from 92 countries, about 2,500 of whom live on its main campus in Newark's University Heights district.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution with six locations in New Jersey.
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. Founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a 25-acre (10 ha) site donated by 107 residents, the school was formerly known as Glassboro State College from 1958 until 1992 and Rowan College of New Jersey from 1992 to 1997.
Rutgers University–Newark is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. It is located in Newark. Rutgers, founded in 1766 in New Brunswick, is the eighth oldest college in the United States and a member of the Association of American Universities. In 1945, the state legislature voted to make Rutgers University, then a private liberal arts college, into the state university and the following year merged the school with the former University of Newark (1936–1946), which became the Rutgers–Newark campus. Rutgers also incorporated the College of South Jersey and South Jersey Law School, in Camden, as a constituent campus of the university and renamed it Rutgers–Camden in 1950.
Sussex County Community College (SCCC) is a public community college in the town of Newton in Sussex County, New Jersey. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and several of its programs are further accredited or approved by state government agencies and national occupational standards associations.
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is a medical school of Rutgers University. It is one of the two graduate medical schools of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, together with New Jersey Medical School, and is closely aligned with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate.
Bergen County Technical Schools (BCTS) is a county technical school district that serves as the vocational / technical education arm of all the school districts within the 70 municipalities in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The primary programs offered are the Bergen County Academies and Bergen County Technical High School. It has its headquarters in Paramus.
New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), also known as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, is a medical school of Rutgers University, a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Division of Biomedical and Health Sciences since the 2013 dissolution of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Founded in 1954, NJMS is the oldest school of medicine in New Jersey.
Lincoln Tech is an American group of for-profit postsecondary vocational institutions headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, a provider of career-oriented post-secondary education.
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) is the umbrella organization for the schools and assets acquired by Rutgers University after the July 1, 2013 breakup of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. While its various facilities are spread across several locations statewide, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences is considered the university's fourth campus. From July 18, 2023 Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences renamed to Rutgers Health.(https://rutgershealth.org/chancellor/communications/rutgers-health-brand-name-announcement).
Huntington Junior College (HJC) is a private junior college in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1936 and its campus is currently located in the former Cabell County Public Library building. The college offers six associate degree programs as well as stackable certificates and micro-credentials. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Stanley Silvers Bergen Jr. was an American physician, healthcare educator and administrator, and university president. In 1971, he became the founding president of the incipient College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey which he developed into the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) serving at its helm until his retirement in 1998. While he was president, UMDNJ became the nation's largest public health and science university, home to three medical schools and several allied medical health facilities.