, the State of New Jersey recognizes and licenses 96 institutions of higher education (post-secondary) through its Commission on Higher Education. These institutions include eight public research universities, six state colleges and universities, fifteen private four year colleges, nineteen community colleges, thirty one religious institutions (as "Talmudic Institutions/Theological Seminaries"), and fourteen for-profit proprietary schools (as "Proprietary Institutions With Degree-Granting Authority"), two graduate schools, and one two-year religious college.

As of February 2026, the United States Department of Education listed 156 New Jersey institutions in its database. This includes technical and vocational schools that offer only certificates or job training, as well as degree-granting colleges and universities.

New Jersey was the only British colony to permit the establishment of two colleges in the colonial period. Princeton University, chartered in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, chartered on November 10, 1766, as Queen's College, were two of nine colleges founded before the American Revolution. In the 1860s, these two colleges competed to become the state's land grant college under the terms of the Morrill Act of 1862 which provided land and funding to expand development of engineering, scientific, agricultural, and military education at one school in each state. Rutgers received the designation in 1864 began to expand instruction in these areas and taking on a hybrid private-public role that paved the way for its transformation into a state university in 1945. Today, Rutgers is a large public research university serving over 65,000 students. Princeton remained a private college and developed into a research university that is one of the nation's eight prestigious Ivy League schools.

On August 22, 2012, then New Jersey governor Chris Christie signed into law the New Jersey Medical and Health Science Education Restructuring Act which divided the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) between Rutgers and Rowan University, creating two public medical schools. According to The Star-Ledger, the law gave Rutgers "nearly all of UMDNJ—including its medical schools in Newark and Piscataway—in one of the greatest expansions in the state university's history" and southern New Jersey's Rowan University would "take over UMDNJ's osteopathic medical school in Stratford."

There are three law schools in the state accredited by the American Bar Association; two at Rutgers (at the university's Rutgers–Newark and Rutgers–Camden campuses respectively) and the other at Seton Hall Universitys campus in Newark.

Colleges and universities

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"

|+ Key

|-

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Abbreviation

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Accrediting or approving agency

|-

!scope="row"|AARTS || Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools

|-

!scope="row"|ATS || Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada

|-

!scope="row"|MSCHE || Middle States Commission on Higher Education

|-

!scope="row"|NJCHE || New Jersey Commission on Higher Education

|}

Public colleges and universities

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

! scope="col" width="160" |School

! scope="col" width="210" |Location

! scope="col" width="50" |Founded

! scope="col" width="40" |Control

! scope="col" width="120" |Type<br><small>(Fall 2024)</small>

! scope="col" width="160" class="unsortable" |<small>Accrediting or approving agency</small>

|-

| The College of New Jersey || Ewing Township || 1855 || Public || Master's || 8,141 || MSCHE

|-

| Kean University || Union and Hillside || 1855 || Public || <small>Doctoral/Professional Universities</small> || 13,905 || MSCHE

|-

| Montclair State University || Montclair, Little Falls, and Bloomfield|| 1908 || Public || Research university || 23,375 || MSCHE

|-

| New Jersey City University || Jersey City || 1927 || Public || Master's || 5,429 || MSCHE

|-

| New Jersey Institute of Technology || Newark || 1881 || Public || Research university || 13,247 || MSCHE

|-

| Ramapo College || Mahwah || 1969 || Public || Master's || 5,981 || MSCHE

|-

| Rowan University || Glassboro, Camden, and Stratford || 1923 || Public || Research university || 21,026 || MSCHE

|-

| Rutgers University<!--It's the official name, per the university style guide and state law, it hasn't been "Rutgers University" since 1945, leave it alone!--> || <small>New Brunswick, Piscataway, Camden, and Newark</small> || 1766 || Public || Research university || 69,259 || MSCHE

|-

| Stockton University || Galloway and Atlantic City|| 1969 || Public || Master's || 8,631 || MSCHE

|-

| Thomas Edison State University || Trenton || 1972 || Public || Master's || 7,544 || MSCHE

|-

| William Paterson University || Wayne || 1855 || Public || Master's || 9,942 || MSCHE

|}

Private 4-year colleges and universities

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

! scope="col" width="150" |School

! scope="col" width="260" |Location

! scope="col" width="70" |Founded

! scope="col" width="75" |Control

Not all of the county colleges were founded by the State of New Jersey; the oldest county college in New Jersey, Union College (New Jersey), was founded in 1933 by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration as Union County Junior College; it operated as a private college from 1936 to 1982, and merged with the publicly operated Union County Technical Institute in 1982 to become the current public institution.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"

|-

!School name

!County served

!Campus locations

!Founded

!Enrollment (fall 2024)

!class="unsortable" | References

!class="unsortable" | Main Campus view

|-

|Atlantic Cape Community College

|Atlantic<br />Cape May

|Mays Landing and Cape May Court House

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Atlantic Cape Community College|130px

|-

|Bergen Community College

|Bergen

|Paramus, Hackensack and Lyndhurst

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Bergen Community College|130px

|-

|Brookdale Community College

|Monmouth

|Lincroft, Freehold Township, Wall Township, Neptune Township and Long Branch

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Brookdale Community College|130px

|-

|Camden County College

|Camden

|Blackwood, Camden, and Cherry Hill

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Camden County College|130px

|-

|County College of Morris

|Morris

|Randolph

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Morris' campus|130px

|-

|Essex County College

|Essex

|Newark and West Caldwell

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Essex County College|130px

|-

|Hudson County Community College

|Hudson

|Jersey City and Union City

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Hudson County Community College|130px

|-

|Mercer County Community College

|Mercer

|West Windsor and Trenton

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Mercer County Community College|130px

|-

|Middlesex College

|Middlesex

|Edison, New Brunswick, and Perth Amboy

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Middlesex County College|130px

|-

|Ocean County College

|Ocean

|Toms River and Stafford Township

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Ocean County College|130px

|-

|Passaic County Community College

|Passaic

|Passaic, Paterson, Wanaque, and Wayne

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Passaic County Community College|130px

|-

|Raritan Valley Community College

|Hunterdon<br />Somerset

|Branchburg

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Raritan Valley Community College|130px

|-

|Rowan College at Burlington County

|Burlington

|Mount Laurel

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Burlington County College Pemberton campus|130px

|-

|Rowan College of South Jersey

|Gloucester<br />Cumberland

|Sewell and Vineland

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Gloucester County College|130px

|-

|Salem Community College

|Salem

|Carneys Point Township

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Salem Community College|130px

|-

|Sussex County Community College

|Sussex

|Newton

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Sussex County Community College|130px

|-

|UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ

|Union

|Cranford, Elizabeth, Scotch Plains and Plainfield

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Union County College|130px

|-

|Warren County Community College

|Warren

|Washington

|

|

|

|Aerial view of Warren County Community College|130px

|-

|}

Graduate-only Institutions

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

! scope="col" width="250" |School

! scope="col" width="100" |Location

! scope="col" width="70" |Founded

! scope="col" width="75" |Control || MSCHE

|-

| Best Care College ||South Harrison || 1997 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Special focus || 44 || ACCSC

|-

| Chamberlain University ||North Brunswick || 1889 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Special focus || 1,226 || HLC

|-

| CTOR Academy ||Hoboken || 2007 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Special focus || - || CODA

|-

| DeVry University || Iselin || 1931 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Baccalaureate || 67 || HLC

|-

| Eastern International College || Jersey City and Belleville || 1990 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Special focus || 495 || MSCHE

|-

| Eastern School of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine || Bloomfield|| 1997 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Special Focus || 42 || ACAHM,

|-

| Eastwick College || Ramsey, Hackensack, Paterson, and Nutley || 1985 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Not classified || 2,992 || ACCSC

|-

| Jersey College || Teterboro, Ewing, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Fort Lauderdale || 2003 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Special focus || 4,478 || COE

|-

| Lincoln Technical Institute|| Edison, Mahwah, Moorestown, Paramus, South Plainfield, Union || 1947 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Baccalaureate<br />Associate's || 5,115 || ACICS

|-

| Strayer University || Piscataway || 1892 || Proprietary<br />(for-profit) || Master's || 796 || MSCHE

|}

Independent religious schools

Religious colleges

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

! scope="col" width="250" |School

! scope="col" width="100" |Location

! scope="col" width="70" |Founded

! scope="col" width="75" |Control || MSCHE, NJCHE

|-

| Pillar College || Zarephath (Franklin Twp.) and Newark || 1908 || Private || Special focus institution || 556 || MSCHE

|}

Christian theological seminaries

Theological schools are typically classified as "Special Topic Institutions" by the Carnegie Foundation.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

! scope="col" width=200 | School

! scope="col" width=80 | Location

! scope="col" width=50 | Founded

! scope="col" width=200 | Affiliation

! scope="col" width=100 | Accrediting or approving agency

! scope="col" width=300 | Notes

|-

| New Brunswick Theological Seminary || New Brunswick || align="center"|1784 || Reformed Church in America || ATS, MSCHE ||

Oldest seminary in the United States; founded as Dutch Reformed seminary in New York City, moved to New Brunswick in 1810, run jointly and shared facilities with Queen's College, later Rutgers College, until 1856

|-

| Princeton Theological Seminary || Princeton || align="center"|1812 || Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) || ATS, MSCHE ||

Second-oldest seminary in the United States and second largest theological library collection in the world behind only the Vatican Apostolic Library in Vatican City

|-

| Saint Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Theological Seminary || South Bound Brook || align="center"|1975 || Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA || ATS || -

|}

Talmudic schools

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

! scope="col" width=200 | School

! scope="col" width=80 | Location

! scope="col" width=50 | Founded

! scope="col" width=200 | Affiliation

! scope="col" width=100 | Accrediting or approving agency

! scope="col" width=300 | Notes

|-

| Bais Medrash Mayan Hatorah || Lakewood || 2005 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Bais Medrash Toras Chesed || Lakewood || 2000 || - || AARTS || -

|-

| Bais Medrash Zichron Meir || Lakewood || 2009 || Yeshivish || AARTS || The official legal name, and former normal-use name is "Bais Medrash of Asbury Park." However, when the institution relocated in 2011, it changed its name.

|-

| Bet Midrash Ohel Torah || Lakewood || 2016 || Yeshivish || AIJS || -

|-

| Beth Medrash Govoha || Lakewood || align="center"|1943 || Haredi Orthodox Judaism || AARTS || -

|-

| Keser Torah- Mayan Hatalmud|| Belmar || 1993 || - || AIJS || It is operated in the same location as the high-school-level "Mesivta Keser Torah."

|-

| Mosdos Yaakov V'Yisroel|| Lakewood || 2016 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Rabbi Jacob Joseph School || Edison and New York City || 1982 || - || AARTS || -

|-

| Rabbinical College of America || Morristown || align="center"|1973 || Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic || AARTS ||

Rabbinical college, also offers orthodox day school for boys and girls and summer programs

|-

| Rabbinical Seminary M'kor Chaim || Lakewood || 1965 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Seminary Bnos Chaim|| Lakewood || 2013 || - || AIJS || The seminary is the only Talmudical institution for women in New Jersey

|-

| Talmudical Academy-New Jersey || Adelphia || 1971 || Yeshivish || AARTS|| -

|-

| Yeshiva Bais Aharon || Lakewood || 1996 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Chemdas Hatorah || Lakewood || 2010 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedolah Keren Hatorah|| Lakewood || 2009 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedolah Keren Hatorah|| Lakewood || 2008 || Yeshivish || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedolah of Cliffwood|| Keyport || 2004 || - || AARTS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedolah Shaarei Shmuel|| Lakewood || 2008 || - || AARTS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedolah Tiferes Boruch|| North Plainfield || 1989 || Yeshivish || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedola Tiferes Yaakov Yitzchok|| Lakewood || 2017 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedola Tiferes Yerachmiel|| Lakewood || - || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Gedola Zichron Leyma || Linden || 1998|| - || AARTS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Ohr Zechariah|| Lakewood || 2005 || - || AIJS || The formal legal name for the purposes of tax-filing and reporting to IPEDS is Yeshiva Gedolah of Woodlake Village

|-

| Yeshiva Toras Chaim || Lakewood || 1996 || - || AARTS || -

|-

| Yeshiva Yesodei HaTorah || Lakewood || 1995 || - || AARTS || -

|-

| Yeshivas Be'er Yitzchok || Elizabeth || 1999 || - || AIJS || -

|-

| Yeshivas Emek Hatorah || Howell || 2010 || - || AIJS || -

|}

Defunct institutions

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"width=100%

|-

|+ List of defunct institutions in New Jersey

|-

! scope="col" width=250 | School

! scope="col" width=100 | Location

! scope="col" width=150 | Control

! scope="col" width=50 | Founded

! scope="col" width=50 | Closed

! scope="col" width=300 | Notes

|-

| Alma White College || Zarephath (Franklin Twp.) || - || align="center"|1921|| align="center"|1978 || -

|-

| Alphonsus College || - || - || - || align="center"|1974 || -

|-

| Bayonne Junior College || Bayonne || - || - || align="center"|1951 || -

|-

| Junior College of Bergen County || Teaneck || - || align="center"|1933| || align="center"|1954 Teaneck || Merged with Fairleigh Dickinson University

|-

| College of South Jersey || Camden || - || align="center"|1926 || align="center"|1950 || Merged with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey to become Rutgers University-Camden

|-

| Don Bosco College || Newton || - || align="center"|1928|| align="center"|1990 || Campus sold to County of Sussex to house Sussex County Community College

|-

| Englewood Cliffs College || Englewood Cliffs || - || align="center"|1962|| align="center"|1974 || -

|-

| Essex Junior College || - || - || - || align="center"|1937 || -

|-

| Evelyn College for Women || Princeton || - || align="center"|1887|| align="center"|1897|| -

|-

| Gibbs College || Livingston, Boston, Norwalk, Tysons Corner, and Cranston || - || align="center"|1911|| align="center"|1997|| -

|-

| Immaculate Conception Seminary || South Orange - || - || align="center"|1861|| align="center"|1986 || Now Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, affiliated with Seton Hall University

|-

| ITT Technical Institute || - || - || - || 2016 || -

|-

| Jersey City Junior College || Jersey City - || - || align="center"|1929 || align="center"|1959 || Students transferred to Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University

|-

| John Marshall College || - || - || - || align="center"|1950 || Merged into Seton Hall University as their law school

|-

| Law School of South Jersey || Camden || - || align="center"|1920|| align="center"|1949 || Became part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

|-

| Luther College of Bible || Teaneck || Private, Lutheran-affiliated || align="center"|1948|| align="center"|1978 || -

|-

| Maryknoll Junior College || - || - || - || align="center"|1954 || -

|-

| Mother Savior Seminary || - || - || - || align="center"|1961 || -

|-

| Mount Saint Mary College || - || - || - || align="center"|1970 || -

|-

| Northeastern Bible College || Essex Fells - || - ||align="center"|1950|| align="center"|1990 || -

|-

| Panzer College of Physical Education || Montclair - || - || - || align="center"|1958 || Merged with Montclair State College, now Montclair State University

|-

| Saint Gabriel's College || - || - || - || align="center"|1968 || -

|-

| Saint Joseph's College || - || - || - || align="center"|1970 || -

|-

| Saint Michael's Monastery || Union City - || - || align="center"|1869|| align="center"|1984 || -

|-

| Salesian College || - || - || - || align="center"|1973 || -

|-

| Shelton College || Cape May - || - || align="center"|1907 || align="center"|1971 || -

|-

| Tombrock College || - || - ||align="center"|1956|| align="center"|1976 || -

|-

| Touro University College of Medicine || Hackensack || || align="center"|2007 || align="center"|2009|| -

|-

| Trenton Junior College & School of Industrial Arts || - || - || align="center"|1898 || align="center"|1967 || Merged with Mercer County Community College

|-

| Union College || - || - ||align="center"|1933 || align="center"|1983 || Merged with Union County Technical Institute to become Union County College

|-

| University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) || New Brunswick, Newark, Camden, Stratford, Piscataway, and Scotch Plains || Public || align="center"|1954 || align="center"|2013 || Most of UMDNJ merged with Rutgers University in 2012–13; the School of Osteopathic Medicine 2013 merged with Rowan.

|-

| University of Newark || - || - || - || align="center"|1947 || Merged with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

|-

| Upsala College || East Orange and Wantage || Private, Lutheran-affiliated || align="center"|1893 || align="center"|1995 || Financial issues

|-

| Westminster Choir College || Princeton - || - || align="center"|1926|| align="center"|1992 || After financial problems, merged with Rider University, maintains name

|}

See also

  • New Jersey County Colleges
  • Higher education in New Jersey
  • Higher education in the United States
  • List of American institutions of higher education
  • List of college athletic programs in New Jersey
  • List of recognized higher education accreditation organizations
  • List of colleges and universities
  • List of colleges and universities by country
  • New Jersey student loan program

Notes

References

  • College & University Directory by Sector from New Jersey Commission on Higher Education