Mason Gross School of the Arts was established in 1976 to provide professional education in the arts to undergraduate and graduate students. It was founded in response to a call from the state to provide greater opportunities within New Jersey for talented students seeking careers as artists.

Studio and performance-based instruction, taught by renowned working artists and master teachers, is the essential component of the school's professional arts curriculum. This curriculum is, in turn, supported by liberal arts electives and core requirements. Mason Gross School of the Arts' location within a major research university offers students unparalleled academic opportunities that expand upon studio-based skills and create the kinds of humanistic cross-references and connections that enrich and deepen artistic practice.

The school offers professional undergraduate and graduate programs of instruction in dance, music, theater, and visual arts. In addition, the faculty of the school is responsible for offering undergraduate arts instruction to qualified liberal arts students enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick. The faculty also offers general elective courses to these same liberal arts students. All courses in the arts are taught on the campus at New Brunswick and at the Livingston Art Building in Piscataway and are the responsibility of Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Because of the intimate size of the school and the similarity of interests among students and faculty, the atmosphere is that of a community of artists. The school provides the advantages of a small, closely knit community, while at the same time its location within a major public university provides students with all of the advantages of a larger institution, including a highly diverse population with many perspectives and pursuits, extensive library and research holdings, and a vast array of cocurricular activities.

While attending Mason Gross School of the Arts, students live with other undergraduate students in the Residence Life system. All of the extracurricular activities are available to Mason Gross students, including concerts, athletics, and social events. In addition, Mason Gross students benefit immeasurably from the school's proximity to New York City, with its rich and varied cultural resources.