About the University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with more than 50,000
students on campuses in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick/Piscataway, is one of
the nation's major state university systems. The university comprises
29 degree-granting divisions: 12 undergraduate colleges, 11 graduate
schools, and 6 schools offering both undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Five are located in Camden, 8 in Newark, and 16 in New
Brunswick/Piscataway.
Rutgers has a unique history as a colonial college, a land-grant
institution, and a state university. Chartered in 1766 as Queen's
College, it was the eighth institution of higher learning to be founded
in the colonies. The school opened its doors in New Brunswick in 1771
with one instructor, one sophomore, and a handful of first-year
students. During this early period, the college developed as a
classical liberal arts institution. In 1825, the name of the college
was changed to Rutgers to honor a former trustee and Revolutionary War
veteran, Colonel Henry Rutgers.
Rutgers College became the land-grant college of New Jersey in 1864,
resulting in the establishment of the Rutgers Scientific School with
departments of agriculture, engineering, and chemistry. Further
expansion in the sciences came with the founding of the New Jersey
Agricultural Experiment Station in 1880, the College of Engineering in
1914 (now the School of Engineering), and the College of Agriculture
(now Cook College) in 1921. The precursors to several other Rutgers
divisions also date from this period: the College of Pharmacy in 1892
(now the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), the New Jersey College for
Women (now Douglass College) in 1918, and the School of Education (now
a graduate school) in 1924.
Rutgers College became a university in 1924. The legislature passed
laws in 1945 and 1956 designating all divisions of Rutgers as the state
university of New Jersey. During these years, the university expanded
dramatically. An evening division, University College, opened in 1934.
The University of Newark joined the system in 1946, and the College of
South Jersey at Camden was added in 1950.
Since the 1950s, Rutgers has continued to expand, especially in
graduate education. The Graduate School-New Brunswick, the Graduate
School-Newark, and the Graduate School-Camden serve their respective
campuses. In addition, the university has established professional
schools in applied and professional psychology; communication,
information, and library studies; criminal justice; the fine arts;
management; and social work. Several of these schools offer
undergraduate programs as well. In 1969, the university founded
Livingston College to provide undergraduate degrees to a diverse
community of students.
Today, Rutgers continues to grow, both in its facilities and in the
variety and depth of its educational and research programs. The
university's goals for the future include the continued provision of
the highest quality undergraduate and graduate education along with
increased support for outstanding research to meet the needs of society
and to fulfill Rutgers' role as the state university of New Jersey.
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