Former names | New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair (1908–1927) Montclair State Teachers College (1927–1958) Newark Normal School of Physical Education and Hygiene (1917–1928) [1] Panzer College of Physical Education and Hygiene (1928–1958) Montclair State College (1958–1994) |
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Motto | Carpe Diem (Latin) |
Motto in English | "Seize the Day" |
Type | Public research university |
Established | September 28, 1908 |
Accreditation | MSCHE |
Academic affiliations | |
Endowment | $119 million (2023) [2] |
Budget | $485.6 million (2022-23) [3] |
President | Jonathan Koppell |
Administrative staff | 3,662 [4] |
Students | 22,570 [5] |
Undergraduates | 18,062 [5] |
Postgraduates | 4,508 [5] |
Location | , , United States 40°51′32.78″N74°11′55.27″W / 40.8591056°N 74.1986861°W |
Campus | Large Suburb, 486 acres (1.97 km2) |
Newspaper | The Montclarion |
Colors | Red and white |
Nickname | Red Hawks |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division III – NJAC |
Mascot | Rocky the Red Hawk (formerly, the Indians) [6] |
Website | montclair.edu |
Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university [7] in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New Jersey. [8] As of June 2024, there were 22,570 total enrolled students: 18,062 undergraduate students and 4,508 graduate students. [5] It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". [9] The campus covers approximately 252 acres (1.02 km2). The university offers more than 300 majors, minors, and concentrations. [10]
Plans for the State Normal school were initiated in 1903, [11] and required a year for the State of New Jersey to grant permission to build the school. [11] It was then established as New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair, a normal school, in 1908 [11] approximately 5 years after the initial planning of the school. [11] At the time, Governor John Franklin Fort attended the dedication of the school in 1908, [11] and the school was to have its first principal Charles Sumner Chapin that same year. The first building constructed was College Hall (now known as Cole Hall), and it still stands today. At the time, the campus was around 25 acres (100,000 m2), had 8 faculty members and 187 students. [11] The first graduating class, which numbered at 45 students, [11] contained William O. Trapp, who would then go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 1929. The first dormitory was then built five years later, in 1915, and is known as Russ Hall. [11]
In 1927, Harry Sprague was the first president of Montclair, [11] and shortly afterwards the school began being more inclusive of extracurricular activities such as athletics. In 1927, however, after studies had emerged concerning the number of high school teachers in the state of New Jersey (only 10% of all high school teachers received their degrees from New Jersey), the institution became Montclair State Teachers College and developed a four-year (Bachelor of Arts) program in pedagogy, becoming the first US institute to do so. In 1937 it became the first teachers college accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. [11]
In 1943, during World War II, several students, with permission from the president, Harry Sprague, joined the US Navy as volunteers to train for the war. It was also a time when students and faculty sold war bonds to support US American troops. [11]
In 1958 the school merged with the Panzer College of Physical Education and Hygiene to become Montclair State College. [11] The school became a comprehensive multi-purpose institution in 1966. [11] The Board of Higher Education designated the school a teaching university on April 27, 1994, and in the same year the school became Montclair State University. [11] It has offered Master of Arts programs since 1932, Master of Business Administration since 1981, Master of Education since 1985, Master of Science since 1992, Master of Fine Arts since 1998, Doctor of Education since 1999, and Doctor of Environmental Management in 2003 (now the PhD in Environmental Science and Management). PhD degrees were added in Teacher Education and Teacher Development in 2008, Counselor Education, Family Studies, Mathematics Education, Communications Sciences and Disorders by 2014, and most recently Clinical as well as Industrial/Organizational Psychology (2021). In 2018, Montclair State University graduated more than 30 doctoral students.
In 2004, NJ Transit opened the Montclair State University station, [12] which links the university to New York City. [12] The building of the MSU Station cost $26 million [12] to complete, including a 1,500-space parking deck. [12] In 2015, the university established the School of Communication and Media and added two new buildings to its campus; the Feliciano School of Business and the Center for Environmental and Life Sciences (CELS). Partridge Hall was fully renovated and in 2016, became the new School of Nursing, which welcomed its inaugural class of students that fall. In 2016, Montclair State University was designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). [13] In 2017, Montclair State was designated a public research university by the New Jersey Legislature. [7] The new state-of-the-art home for the School of Communication and Media opened in fall 2017, followed in 2018 by the opening of the Center for Computing and Information Science in the former Mallory Hall, which underwent a complete renovation and expansion. In 2016, the university's classification was changed from a Masters to a Doctoral Research University, [14] and in 2019, was changed to R2: Doctoral University – High Research Activity. [15]
Number | President [16] [17] | Years in Office | Notes |
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– | Charles S. Chapin | 1908–1924 | Principal of New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair. Chapin Hall is named for him. |
1 | Harry A. Sprague | 1924–1951 | Principal, then first president of the College. Harry A. Sprague Library and Sprague field named for him. |
2 | E. DeAlton Partridge | 1951–1964 | Partridge Hall is dedicated to him. |
3 | Thomas H. Richardson | 1964–1973 | Acting President from 1964 to 1966. Namesake of Richardson Hall. |
4 | David W.D. Dickson | 1973–1984 | First African American president of the College. Dickson Hall is dedicated to him. |
5 | Donald E. Walters | 1984–1987 | Initiated an honors program, an international studies program and seminars on ethics and values. [18] |
6 | Richard A. Lynde | 1987–1989 | Acting President |
7 | Irvin D. Reid | 1989–1998 | "...Spearheaded a successful effort to upgrade Montclair State from a college to a university... " [19] Irvin D. Reid Hall is dedicated to him. |
8 | Gregory L. Waters | 1997–1998 | Acting President |
9 | Susan A. Cole | 1998–2021 | First female and Jewish president of the university. Susan A. Cole Hall is dedicated to her. |
10 | Jonathan G.S. Koppell | 2021–present | Current president of the university. |
Montclair State University comprises seven colleges and six schools, each led by a dean or director. The colleges and schools organize and conduct academic programs within their units (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral, and Certificate Programs) and work cooperatively to offer interdisciplinary programs. [20] [21]
The John J. Cali School of Music is part of the College of the Arts. [22] The Cali School of Music provides a wide range of study and performance opportunities for its undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a professional certification program in Music Education and the Artist's Diploma and Performer's Certificate degrees in classical and jazz performance. [23] The noted string quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, was in residence at MSU from 2002 to 2020. [24] As part of their new residency programs, the Cali School welcomed the Harlem Quartet as its new quartet-in-residence and introduced Jessie Montgomery as its composer-in-residence. [25] In 2021, the Cali School implemented the Cali Pathways Project, a scholarship program designed to create dynamic and comprehensive pathways to higher education and careers in music for talented student musicians from underrepresented backgrounds. [26]
Included in the College of the Arts is the School of Communication and Media (SCM). [22] This will change in July 2025, as the SCM will become its own college in 2025 [27]
The school opened a well-equipped, modern facility in fall 2017. It features a 187-seat Sony Digital Cinema Presentation Hall, four broadcast-ready HD + 4K studio and control rooms, motion picture stage for digital filmmaking, and an Audio Production Center featuring a Foley stage, a performance stage and audio sound labs. [28]
The College of Education and Human Services houses the Center of Pedagogy, with oversees the Teacher Education program. Majors across the university earning teacher credentials are administered jointly by the Center of Pedagogy and the department that houses the student's major. [29]
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State offers 20 undergraduate majors and more than 40 minors. [30] The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is the largest college by enrollment within Montclair State.
Montclair State supports and encourages interdisciplinary programs. In 2019, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Mathematics have teamed up to offer the only Master of Science in Computational Linguistics program in New Jersey.
The College of Science and Mathematics (CSAM) offers programs in the natural, physical, life, and computational sciences. Located in Richardson Hall are the Department of Physics and Astronomy, [31] Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, [32] and the Student Success Center. Reid Hall houses the Department of Biology and the Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences Program. [33] The School of Computing and the Department of Mathematics are housed in the Center for Computing and Information Science.
The Center for Environmental and Life Sciences (CELS) houses the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, [34] which includes Earth and Environmental Science; Geographic, Environmental and Urban Studies; and Sustainability Science. CELS also houses the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies, New Jersey Center for Water Science and Technology, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center, Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Lab, Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, and the interdisciplinary PhD Program in Environmental Science and Management. [35]
The Feliciano School of Business offers undergraduate as well as MBA programs. Students may opt to choose the Bachelor of Arts approach or the Bachelor of Science. The school offers a BA degree program culminating in a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. In 2016, the MBA program became available in a fully online format. [36] The School of Business also offers post-MBA certificate programs. In 2015 a brand new building for the Feliciano School of Business opened, dedicated to Mimi and Edwin Feliciano.
In 2016, Montclair State University launched a School of Nursing. It offers RN-to-BSN and four-year BSN programs. [37] The school is housed in a state-of-the-art facility that includes mediated classrooms, computer study areas, a nursing skills laboratory, anatomy laboratory, and high-fidelity and home care simulation rooms. [38]
Montclair State began offering master's degree programs in 1932, beginning with the Master of Fine Arts degree; the university began to grant doctoral degrees in 1998, after receiving state approval to establish a Doctor of Education degree in pedagogy [39] and Doctor of Environmental Management degree in 2003. In the fall of 2019, the university had about 300 doctoral students in eight programs. [40]
University College is an academic home for students to pursue interests that will lead them to their eventual academic concentration. University College admits about one-third of incoming freshman, as well as approximately 1,400 returning and transfer students who have yet to declare a major. Once University College students have been admitted to their chosen majors, they will transition onto the college or school of that academic program. [41]
Academic rankings | |
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National | |
U.S. News & World Report [42] | 179 |
U.S. News & World Report listed Montclair State as No. 179 among all national universities in its 2022 rankings, No. 19 in Top Performers on Social Mobility and No. 88 in Top Public Schools. U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Graduate Schools ranked several of the University's programs among the best in the nation, including its education program (second in New Jersey and 103 in the nation), its Master's in Public Health program (second in New Jersey and 135 in the country) and its Master's in Business Administration program (fourth in New Jersey and 185 in the nation). Montclair State University's online Master of Arts in Educational Leadership program was ranked No. 1 in New Jersey and No. 25 in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report 2020 Best Online Programs rankings. The Feliciano School of Business was included in the 2020 edition of "The Best Business Schools" published by The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2019 Edition included Montclair State in its rankings of America's greenest campuses. Money magazine ranked Montclair State among the nation's "Best Colleges for Your Money" in 2020. Money also ranked the university at No. 16 on its 2020 "Most Transformative Colleges" list. Campus Pride named Montclair State a "Premier Campus" in its 2020 Campus Pride Index, the national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. Montclair State earned the maximum five stars out of five, one of only two institutions in New Jersey to do so.
Montclair State University's athletic teams have played under many names in the school's history. From the late 1920s to '30s, the school played as the "Big Red" and featured a large scarlet "M" on its uniforms. Next, Montclair State Teacher's College competed as the Indians, using a logo with a Native American chief's profile with the initials "MSTC" emblazoned on the caricature's headdress. [43] The initials were changed to "MSC" when the school became Montclair State College in 1958. In response to the growing concerns voiced by Native Americans, the school changed its nickname to the Red Hawks in August 1989, [43] named after the Red-tailed hawks that are indigenous to the area. Montclair’s Athletic teams all play in the NCAA Division III (Campus Teams). Montclair’s 2023 season was wonderful for the men’s soccer team, they would win the NJAC Division and would go on to make it to the semi finals of the National Championship before falling to Connecticut College on penalties.
Montclair State University athletics are in the NCAA Division III in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The university currently offers the following sports:
The original Montclair State University campus consisted of College Hall, Russ Hall, Chapin Hall and Morehead Hall, all built between 1908 and 1928. It was 2 miles south of the intersection of U.S. Route 46 and Route 3. Housing for students returning from World War II was added near the end of the war. Between 1950 and 1980, Montclair State gradually acquired land from a former traprock quarry and expanded its facilities with an additional 23 buildings. Montclair State University began its next phase of growth in the late 1990s to accommodate New Jersey's growing student population. Dickson Hall was dedicated in 1995. The building is named for David W.D. Dickson, the first African American president of Montclair State University. The Floyd Hall Arena, an ice skating rink, was built in 1998. Science Hall, the home of the Department of Biology, opened in 1999. The Red Hawk Diner was built in 2001, making it the first diner on a university campus in the United States.
MSU's most recent master plan contained $650 million in capital construction and improvements. [49] The major projects under this new program were:
Montclair State University CDP | |
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Country | United States |
State | New Jersey |
County | Passaic, Essex |
Area | |
• Total | 0.36 sq mi (0.92 km2) |
• Land | 0.36 sq mi (0.92 km2) |
• Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
Elevation | 364 ft (111 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 2,180 |
• Density | 6,123.60/sq mi (2,365.73/km2) |
Time zone | UTC– 05:00 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC– 04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) |
FIPS code | 34-47524 [53] |
GNIS | 2806142 [51] |
Montclair State University is a census-designated place (CDP) covering the Montclair State University campus in Passaic and Essex counties.
It first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 Census with a population of 2,180. [54]
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
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2020 | 2,180 | — | |
U.S. Decennial Census [55] 2020 [52] |
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2020 [56] | % 2020 |
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White alone (NH) | 878 | 40.28% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 695 | 31.88% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 0 | 0.00% |
Asian alone (NH) | 119 | 5.46% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 0.00% |
Some Other Race alone (NH) | 1 | 0.05% |
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) | 43 | 1.97% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 444 | 20.37% |
Total | 2,180 | 100.00% |
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