The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy was established in 1992 to provide a focus for all of Rutgers' programs of instruction, research, and service in planning and public policy. Since its inception, the Bloustein School has emerged as one of the nation's key centers for the theory and practice of planning and public policy scholarship and analysis. Edward J. Bloustein-Rutgers' former president, constitutional scholar, active citizen, philosopher, and teacher-lived a life of civic engagement that the school seeks to perpetuate through the contributions of its faculty, staff, and students.

The Bloustein School educates a highly select pool of students, preparing them for both public and private sector careers, teaching and research professions, and service at all levels of government. Students are trained and ultimately employed in the areas of land use, political processes, public health, employment and social policy, human services, transportation policy and planning, housing and real estate, urban redevelopment, regional development, and planning. The Bloustein School is one of the few strong policy schools with the capacity to address local, state, regional, national, and international policy and planning issues with expertise and credibility. The school is a leader in such areas as smart growth, transportation planning, workforce development, and environmental health, and builds on its association with research centers in related areas. The school is also distinctive in its simultaneous focus on graduate and undergraduate education.