Colleges Rutgers University

Rutgers University www.rutgers.edu

Rutgers University–New Brunswick, the flagship home of Rutgers, is a public institution that was founded in 1766 as Queens College, and officially became The State University of New Jersey in the mid-20th century. It is recognized as the eighth oldest institution of higher learning in the US. Its location in New Brunswick and Piscataway straddles the Raritan River and offers convenient access to New York City and Philadelphia, as well as the popular beaches of the Jersey Shore. The University sits on 2,656 acres of a charming tree-lined campus where state-of-the-art research and academic facilities host a convergence of world-class programs in disciplines as disparate as Philosophy and Oncology, Physics and Theater, Urban planning and Oceanography. Students can join more than 750 student clubs and organizations. Freshmen are not required to live on campus. The University is split into five mini campuses, each with a unique setting and identity, student center, and dining options. Rutgers offers students study abroad opportunities in more than 50 countries.

Academics

Rutgers University offers more than 100 distinct bachelor, 100 masters, and 80 doctoral and professional degree programs across nearly 200 academic departments, degree-granting schools, and colleges, many of which offer graduate programs. Rutgers is a member of the Association of American Universities, and is classified among R1 Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activities. Rutgers is home to unique institutions such as the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, and the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station, where students take hands-on courses in the sciences and work on community projects. The University awards one of the highest numbers of doctorate degrees per year among US schools. The student-faculty ratio at Rutgers is 15:1, and the school has 42% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. Popular majors include Information Science, Psychology, and Finance.

Special Highlights

Aresty-Byrne Seminars. The Byrne Seminar Program and the Aresty Research Center have joined forces to create specialized Aresty-Byrne Seminars. These seminars are a one-credit course, limited to 20 students. Aresty-Byrne Seminars will help participating students gain awareness of the nature of scientific research and confidence in the skills and activities it entails and accrues the personal and professional benefits that participation in authentic research has been shown to provide.

Writers House. Writers House is an undergraduate learning community at our New Brunswick campus that provides a gateway to the experience of creativity and serves as a laboratory for developing expression in all the media of the twenty-first century. At Writers House, students can work on poetry, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction, autobiography, grant-writing, nature writing, and screenwriting. They can also collaborate on documentary film-making, multimedia composition, and web design. The goal of Writers House is to give students direct access to writing’s constructive and life-changing powers for personal and social good.

School Mission & Unique Qualities

Rutgers University’s facilities across the five campuses include a golf course, botanical gardens, working agricultural, horse, dairy, and sustainable farms, a creamery, an ecological preserve with multiple use trails, television and radio studios, theaters, museums, athletic facilities, helipads, a makerspace, and more. The area of Rutgers’ New Brunswick-Piscataway campus is composed of several constituent colleges and professional schools stretched across six municipalities, so the individual campuses are connected by an inter-campus bus system. The Rutgers bus system is the second-largest bus service in New Jersey and one of the largest in the country. Originally home to the first college newspaper in the US, the University’s current college newspaper, The Daily Targum, established in 1869, is the second-oldest newspaper after The Dartmouth.

Student Reviews…

“Despite it being a really large state school you can still find ways of making interesting and meaningful connections with the students and faculty. In just a few months I was able to find my niche at my dorm complex, as well as the different clubs that I attended.”