•AVERAGE: 69
Part of the Rutgers University system, Rutgers University-Newark dates back to 1908, the year the oldest constituent part (the New Jersey Law School) was founded. A series of mergers over the next 30 years between smaller institutions eventually led to the University of Newark in 1936 – which was overtaken by Rutgers as a new campus just a decade later. Today two campuses – the main Rutgers-Newark campus, and the Rutgers Health Sciences Campus at Newark – form the RU-N homebase. On its own merits, Rutgers-Newark has been nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top 75 public university, as well as winning accolades for individual departments, programs, and schools.
Academic Programs
Rutgers-Newark is an exceptionally selective university; only around 10% of applicants are accepted. Because of the degree of competition, academic success is only a small part of making the cut; exceptional extracurriculars, particularly service and leadership, make the biggest difference between the fat envelope and the thin envelope. While the student body is large, Rutgers-Newark takes pride in providing an undergraduate experience more like that of a small college, with strong mentoring and small classes that foster a feeling of community and cooperation.Rutgers-Newark is also a central site for graduate and professional education, as well as a high level of research productivity. As the home of the Rutgers Law School – the oldest in New Jersey, formed in 1908 as the New Jersey Law School – RU-N provides a top-tier law education for New Jersey’s prospective attorneys. The Rutgers Business School, which is ranked one of the best in the nation by U.S. News and the Wall Street Journal, is also headquartered in Newark. From its downtown urban campus, Rutgers-Newark is a key institution for research into urban issues, with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center, the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, and the Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies. RU-N is also home of the world’s most prestigious jazz archive, the Institute of Jazz Studies.
Student Life
With a 12,000 strong student body on the urban Newark campus, Rutgers-Newark has a nearly even split between undergraduate and graduate students, Rutgers-Newark has long been ranked the most diverse campus in the US by U.S. News & World Report, a tradition that goes back even to the University of Newark, which made unprecedented strides in outreach to first-generation college students, commuters, and people of color. With only a quarter of the student body made up of Caucasians, the other three quarters are made up almost equally of African-American, Latino/Hispanic, and Asian-American students, with almost 100 international nations represented. The Commission on Diversity and Transformation seeks to keep RU-N a model of diversity and unity.Rutgers-Newark is also deeply engaged with the city it calls home, taking an active role in the economic uplift and revitalization of Newark. New Jersey’s oldest and largest city has seen struggles, but Rutgers-Newark takes part directly providing everything from legal counsel and support from the law school, to business school services advising and supporting small businesses and local entrepreneurs. RU-N has been praised by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for its service to Newark, including service learning embedded in the curriculum, and community service sponsored by student clubs and Greek organizations.