Montclair State University is a nationally recognized Research Doctoral University that empowers students, faculty, and researchers to exceed expectations and drive innovation. Montclair State University delivers the instructional and research resources of a large public university in a supportive, sophisticated, and diverse academic environment. Building on 114 years of distinguished history, Montclair today has ten colleges and schools that serve more than 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students with more than 300 doctoral, master’s, and baccalaureate degree programs.
Montclair ranks among the top 10 universities nationally for social mobility and is noted for its exceptional student outcomes that far exceed experts’ predictions. Montclair is a designated R2 Doctoral Research Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) – one of only two in New Jersey and the largest in the state. Situated just 12 miles from New York City on a beautiful 252-acre suburban campus, the University welcomes a diverse population of students representing 42 U.S. states and territories and 113 countries. As an HSI institution, Montclair State University is majority-minority serving. More than 33% of undergraduate students are the first in their family to pursue higher education and nearly 44% are Pell eligible. Montclair also ranks in the top 13% of 4,500 postsecondary institutions in the U.S. for return on investment.
In addition to a broad range of traditional programs, Montclair State University offers programs in more contemporary and evolving areas such as Molecular Biology, Nutritional Science, Public Health, Child Advocacy, TV/Digital Media and Sports, Events and Tourism Marketing, Recording Arts, Data Science, Business Analytics as well as cross-disciplinary programs in areas such as justice studies, sustainability, language engineering, computational linguistics, and math education. Montclair has a doctoral program in Teacher Education and Teacher Development that is one of very few in the nation that explicitly prepares educators of teachers. Montclair offers a Ph.D. in Environmental Management which combines interdisciplinary research in the sciences with training in management and policy formation, as well as a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Montclair State University also offers a Ph.D. in Communication and Speech Disorders and the Au.D. in Audiology occupying one of the finest clinical and research facilities in the tri-state region. The instructional programs of Montclair are currently distributed among the following colleges and schools: 1) College of Humanities and Social Sciences; 2) College of the Arts; 3) College for Community Health; 4) College for Education and Engaged Learning; 5) College of Science and Mathematics; 6) Feliciano School of Business; 7) John J. Cali School of Music; 8) School of Communication and Media; 9) School of Computing; 10) School of Nursing; 11) University College; 12) The Graduate School; 13) Bloomfield College of Montclair State University.
Key Facts
- Founded as the New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair in 1908
- Located in New Jersey communities of Montclair, Little Falls, and Clifton
- Main campus encompasses 252 acres
- Over 300 majors, minors, concentrations, and certificate programs; over 200 degree programs
- 22,570 total students, the largest enrollment in Montclair history
- 18,062 undergraduate students
- 4,508 graduate students
- 22 residential communities capable of housing 5,200 students
- Student to teacher ratio: 17 to 1
- Average class size: 25
- A Carnegie designated high research activity (R2) and community engaged doctoral university
- Recent faculty awards and honors include a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, a Carnegie Fellowship, and multiple National Science Foundation Early Career Award winners.
Financial and Operational Highlights
- Montclair State University’s annual budget for the current fiscal year is $522 million.
- To support its commitment to affordability, MSU has consistently maintained tuition rates among the lowest of the four-year public colleges and universities in the state, and increased scholarship funding by more than 63 percent over the past five years.
- Keeping low tuition rates has been challenging in a state that historically does not fund its institutions well. While general operating support allocated by the State of New Jersey has increased by almost one-third in the current fiscal year, state appropriations fund only 21 percent of the operating budget today, compared to 46 percent in 2001.
- Credit ratings agencies continue to rate Montclair State University as a financially strong and stable university. Moody’s currently rates MSU as A2, and Fitch as A+ with a stable outlook.
- Montclair State University has enjoyed much recent success at developing additional revenue sources. Extramural research funding has trended strongly upward, reaching a record high of $22 million received in the most recent fiscal year.
- Philanthropy is also becoming a more important source of funding. The Soar campaign, which concluded on June 30, 2020, raised $82 million (exceeding its goal of $75 million). The campaign, the largest in the University’s history, was fueled by gifts from 20,000 donors. It contributed to the growth of the endowment that now is in excess of $100 million.