Established in 1976, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, comprises a vibrant community of nearly 1,200 creators--dancers, filmmakers, musicians, theater artists, visual artists, and designers unafraid to take risks as they collaborate with our renowned faculty of professional working artists. Mason Gross graduates emerge, not merely with a degree, but with a commitment to making innovative and purposeful contributions to the wider community--onstage, backstage, in the gallery, the classroom, the studio, and beyond. Mason Gross School of the Arts nurtures curiosity, skill, critical thought, and innovation in creating art and scholarship that touches hearts, challenges minds, imparts joy, and awakens a sense of shared humanity. We uphold the highest standards of inclusive excellence in artistry, pedagogy, and scholarship while affirming the role of the arts in shaping the world around us.
Mason Gross offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in art & design, dance, filmmaking, music, and theater, as well as courses and programs in the arts for the wider university and public programming for the community at large. Our faculty are leading the way in creating challenging, rewarding curricula that celebrate the diversity of the arts and prepare students for a wide range of career paths.
Situated just 45 minutes from New York City and a little over an hour from Philadelphia, Mason Gross serves as the flagship public arts conservatory at Rutgers, a Big Ten research university serving more than 66,000 students. Rutgers is the nation's eighth-oldest institution of higher learning and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. Students at Mason Gross benefit from our distinctive identity as an arts conservatory within a leading public research university in a richly diverse region with a robust arts scene. Our students have access to major research collections in the Rutgers University Libraries and a vast array of extra- and co-curricular activities.
Courses in the arts are taught on the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses and online.