, the State of New Jersey recognizes and licenses 96 institutions of higher education (post-secondary) through its Commission on Higher Education. These institutions include eight public research universities, six state colleges and universities, fifteen private four year colleges, nineteen community colleges, thirty one religious institutions (as "Talmudic Institutions/Theological Seminaries"), and fourteen for-profit proprietary schools (as "Proprietary Institutions With Degree-Granting Authority"), two graduate schools, and one two-year religious college.
As of February 2026, the United States Department of Education listed 156 New Jersey institutions in its database. This includes technical and vocational schools that offer only certificates or job training, as well as degree-granting colleges and universities.
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.McCormick, Richard P., Rutgers: A Bicentennial History (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966). 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.State of New Jersey, New Jersey State Legislature, A.3102/S.2063: "New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act" (second reprint), later codified as P.L. 2012, c.45. Retrieved April 8, 2014. 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."Heyboer, Kelly, and DeMarco, Megan, "Gov. Christie signs N.J. higher education merger bill", The Star-Ledger, August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
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 Universitys campus in Newark.American Bar Association. "ABA-Approved Law Schools by Year". Retrieved April 8, 2014.
Colleges and universities
+ Key Abbreviation Accrediting or approving agencyAARTS Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic SchoolsATS Association of Theological Schools in the United States and CanadaMSCHE Middle States Commission on Higher EducationNJCHE New Jersey Commission on Higher Education
Public colleges and universities SchoolLocationFoundedControlCarnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education: Institution Lookup . Retrieved March 26, 2014. TypeEnrollment(Fall 2024)Accrediting or approving agency The College of New Jersey Ewing Township 1855 Public Master's 8,141 MSCHE Kean Jersey City Jersey City 1927 Public Master's 5,429 MSCHE Kean University Union and Hillside 1855 Public Doctoral/Professional Universities 13,905 MSCHE Montclair State University Montclair, Little Falls, and Bloomfield 1908 Public Research university 23,375 MSCHE New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark 1881 Public Research university 13,247 MSCHE Ramapo College Mahwah 1969 Public Master's 5,981 MSCHE Rowan University Glassboro, Camden, and Stratford 1923 Public Research university 21,026 MSCHE Rutgers University New Brunswick, Piscataway, Camden, and Newark 1766 Public Research university 69,259 MSCHE Stockton University Galloway and Atlantic City 1969 Public Master's 8,631 MSCHE Thomas Edison State University Trenton 1972 Public Master's 7,544 MSCHE William Paterson University Wayne 1855 Public Master's 9,942 MSCHE
Private 4-year colleges and universities SchoolLocationFoundedControl TypeEnrollment(Fall 2024)Accrediting or approving agency Caldwell University Caldwell 1939 Private Master's 2,005 MSCHE Centenary University Hackettstown, Long Valley, Parsippany, Edison, and Pleasantville 1867 Private Master's 1,398 MSCHE Drew University Madison 1867 Private Master's 2,232 MSCHE Fairleigh Dickinson University Madison, Florham Park, Teaneck, and Hackensack 1942 Private Master's 10,930 MSCHE Felician University Lodi and Rutherford 1942 Private Master's 2,427 MSCHE Georgian Court University Lakewood 1908 Private Master's 2,013 MSCHE Monmouth University West Long Branch 1933 Private Research university 4,767 MSCHE Princeton University Princeton 1746 Private Research university 9,137 MSCHE Rider University Lawrence 1865 Private Master's 4,003 MSCHE Saint Elizabeth University Morris Twp. and Florham Park 1899 Private Master's 871 MSCHE Saint Peter's University Jersey City 1872 Private Master's 3,572 MSCHE Seton Hall University South Orange, Newark, and Nutley 1856 Private Research university 9,571 MSCHE Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken 1870 Private Research university 8,469 MSCHE
County community colleges
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 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 compact is administered by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, which makes recommendations on the deployment and use of county college resources in addition to providing educational and training materials to the college administrations to further their goals. The council was founded in 1989 under statute 18A:64A-26 of the New Jersey legislature to promote the advancement of the county community colleges of New Jersey.
Not all of the county colleges were founded by the State of New Jersey; the oldest county college in New Jersey, Union College (New Jersey), 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.Union County College, "About UCC - History". Retrieved 5 March 2014.
SchoolCounty servedCampus locationsFoundedEnrollment (fall 2024) References Main campus viewAtlantic Cape Community CollegeAtlanticCape MayMays Landing and Cape May Court HouseBergen Community CollegeBergenParamus, Hackensack and LyndhurstBrookdale Community CollegeMonmouthLincroft, Freehold Township, Wall Township, Neptune Township and Long BranchCamden County CollegeCamdenBlackwood, Camden, and Cherry HillCounty College of MorrisMorrisRandolphEssex County CollegeEssexNewark and West CaldwellHudson County Community CollegeHudsonJersey City and Union CityMercer County Community CollegeMercerWest Windsor and TrentonMiddlesex CollegeMiddlesexEdison, New Brunswick, and Perth AmboyOcean County CollegeOceanToms River and Stafford Township Passaic County Community CollegePassaicPassaic, Paterson, Wanaque, and WayneRaritan Valley Community CollegeHunterdonSomersetBranchburgRowan College at Burlington CountyBurlingtonMount LaurelRowan College of South JerseyGloucesterCumberlandSewell and VinelandSalem Community CollegeSalemCarneys Point TownshipSussex County Community CollegeSussexNewtonUCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ UnionCranford, Elizabeth, Scotch Plains and PlainfieldWarren County Community CollegeWarrenWashington
Graduate-only institutions SchoolLocationFoundedControl TypeEnrollmentAccrediting or approving agency Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Nutley 2015 Private Special Focus 610 MSCHE, LCME
For-profit institutions SchoolLocationFoundedControl TypeEnrollmentAccrediting or approving agency American Institute of Medical Sciences and Education Piscataway 2004 Proprietary(for-profit) Special focus 472 ABHES, MSA-CSS Berkeley College Newark, Woodland Park, Woodbridge, and New York City 1931 Proprietary(for-profit) Master's 1,996Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Institution Profile: Berkeley College-Woodland Park, Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Retrieved August 31, 2023. MSCHE Best Care College South Harrison 1997 Proprietary(for-profit) Special focus 44 ACCSC Chamberlain University North Brunswick 1889 Proprietary(for-profit) Special focus 1,226 HLC CTOR Academy Hoboken 2007 Proprietary(for-profit) Special focus - CODA DeVry University Iselin 1931 Proprietary(for-profit) Baccalaureate 67 HLC Eastern International College Jersey City and Belleville 1990 Proprietary(for-profit) Special focus 495 MSCHE Eastern School of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine Bloomfield 1997 Proprietary(for-profit) Special Focus 42 ACAHM, Eastwick College Ramsey, Hackensack, Paterson, and Nutley 1985 Proprietary(for-profit) Not classified 2,992 ACCSC Jersey College Teterboro, Ewing, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Fort Lauderdale 2003 Proprietary(for-profit) Special focus 4,478 COE Lincoln Technical Institute Edison, Mahwah, Moorestown, Paramus, South Plainfield, Union 1947 Proprietary(for-profit) BaccalaureateAssociate's 5,115 ACICS Strayer University Piscataway 1892 Proprietary(for-profit) Master's 796 MSCHE
Independent religious schools
Religious colleges SchoolLocationFoundedControl TypeEnrollmentAccrediting or approving agency Assumption College for Sisters Denville 1953 Private Associates 30Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Institution Profile: Assumption College for Sisters, Mendham, New Jersey, Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Retrieved April 8, 2014. MSCHE, NJCHE Pillar College Zarephath (Franklin Twp.) and Newark 1908 Private Special focus institution 556Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Institution Profile: Pillar College (Somerset Christian College, Zarephath, New Jersey), Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Retrieved April 8, 2014. MSCHE
Christian theological seminaries Theological schools are typically classified as "Special Topic Institutions" by the Carnegie Foundation.