Montclair State University (Montclair) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, United States. Parts of the campus extend into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of June 2024, there were 22,570 total enrolled students: 18,062 undergraduate students and 4,508 graduate students. The campus covers approximately . The university offers more than 300 majors, minors, and concentrations.
History
Plans for the State Normal school were initiated in 1903, and required a year for the State of New Jersey to grant permission to build the school. which links the university to New York City. In 2017, Montclair State was designated a public research university by the New Jersey Legislature. and in 2019, was changed to R2: Doctoral University – High Research Activity.
Presidents
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Number !! President!! Years in Office !! Notes
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| – || Charles S. Chapin || 1908–1924 || Principal of New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair. Chapin Hall is named for him.
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| 1 || Harry A. Sprague || 1924–1951 || Principal, then first president of the College. Harry A. Sprague Library and Sprague field named for him.
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| 2 || E. DeAlton Partridge || 1951–1964 || Partridge Hall is dedicated to him.
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| 3 || Thomas H. Richardson || 1964–1973 || Acting President from 1964 to 1966. Namesake of Richardson Hall.
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| 4 || David W.D. Dickson || 1973–1984 || First African American president of the College. Dickson Hall is dedicated to him.
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| 5 || Donald E. Walters || 1984–1987 || Initiated an honors program, an international studies program and seminars on ethics and values.
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| 6 || Richard A. Lynde || 1987–1989 || Acting President
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| 7 || Irvin D. Reid || 1989–1998 || "...Spearheaded a successful effort to upgrade Montclair State from a college to a university... " Irvin D. Reid Hall is dedicated to him.
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| 8 || Gregory L. Waters || 1997–1998 || Acting President
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| 9 || Susan A. Cole || 1998–2021 || First female and Jewish president of the university. Susan A. Cole Hall is dedicated to her.
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|10 || Jonathan G.S. Koppell || 2021–present || Current president of the university
|}
Colleges and schools
Montclair State University comprises seven colleges and six schools, each led by a dean or director. The colleges and schools organize and conduct academic programs within their units (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral, and Certificate Programs) and work cooperatively to offer interdisciplinary programs.
College of the Arts
John J. Cali School of Music
The John J. Cali School of Music is part of the College of the Arts. The Cali School of Music provides a wide range of study and performance opportunities for its undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a professional certification program in Music Education and the Artist's Diploma and Performer's Certificate degrees in classical and jazz performance. The noted string quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, was in residence at MSU from 2002 to 2020. As part of their new residency programs, the Cali School welcomed the Harlem Quartet as its new quartet-in-residence and introduced Jessie Montgomery as its composer-in-residence. In 2021, the Cali School implemented the Cali Pathways Project, a scholarship program designed to create dynamic and comprehensive pathways to higher education and careers in music for talented student musicians from underrepresented backgrounds.
College of Communication and Media
Initially the School of Communications and Media within the College of the Arts, CCOM launched as Montclair's newest college in July 2025.
The then-school opened a new facility in fall 2017. It features a 187-seat Sony Digital Cinema Presentation Hall, four broadcast-ready HD + 4K studio and control rooms, motion picture stage for digital filmmaking, and an audio production center featuring a Foley stage, a performance stage, and audio sound labs.
College of Education and Human Services
The College of Education and Human Services houses the Center of Pedagogy, with oversees the Teacher Education program. Majors across the university earning teacher credentials are administered jointly by the Center of Pedagogy and the department that houses the student's major.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State offers 20 undergraduate majors and more than 40 minors. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is the largest college by enrollment within Montclair State.
Montclair State supports and encourages interdisciplinary programs. In 2019, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Mathematics have teamed up to offer the only Master of Science in Computational Linguistics program in New Jersey.
College of Science and Mathematics
The College of Science and Mathematics (CSAM) offers programs in the natural, physical, life, and computational sciences. Located in Richardson Hall are the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and the Student Success Center. Reid Hall houses the Department of Biology and the Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences Program. The School of Computing and the Department of Mathematics are housed in the Center for Computing and Information Science.
The Center for Environmental and Life Sciences (CELS) houses the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, which includes Earth and Environmental Science; Geographic, Environmental and Urban Studies; and Sustainability Science. CELS also houses the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies, New Jersey Center for Water Science and Technology, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center, Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Lab, Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, and the interdisciplinary PhD Program in Environmental Science and Management.
Feliciano School of Business
The Feliciano School of Business offers undergraduate as well as MBA programs. Students may opt to choose the Bachelor of Arts approach or the Bachelor of Science. The school offers a BA degree program culminating in a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. In 2016, the MBA program became available in a fully online format. The School of Business also offers post-MBA certificate programs. In 2015 a brand new building for the Feliciano School of Business opened, dedicated to Mimi and Edwin Feliciano.
School of Nursing
In 2016, Montclair State University launched a School of Nursing. It offers RN-to-BSN and four-year BSN programs. The school is housed in a state-of-the-art facility that includes mediated classrooms, computer study areas, a nursing skills laboratory, anatomy laboratory, and high-fidelity and home care simulation rooms.
The Graduate School
Montclair State began offering master's degree programs in 1932, beginning with the Master of Fine Arts degree; the university began to grant doctoral degrees in 1998, after receiving state approval to establish a Doctor of Education degree in pedagogy and Doctor of Environmental Management degree in 2003. In the fall of 2019, the university had about 300 doctoral students in eight programs.
University College
University College is an initial academic home for students to pursue interests that will lead them to their eventual academic major. University College admits about one-third of incoming freshman, as well as approximately 1,400 returning and transfer students who have yet to declare a major. Once University College students have been admitted to their chosen majors, they transition into the college or school of that academic program.
Rankings
U.S. News & World Report listed Montclair State as No. 152 among all national universities in its 2025 rankings, tied for No. 12 in Top Performers on Social Mobility and tied for No. 81 in Top Public Schools. U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Graduate Schools ranked several of the university's programs among the best in the nation, including its education program at 107th, its Master's in Public Health program tied for 140th, and its part-time Master's in Business Administration program 207th. Montclair State University's online Master of Arts in Educational Leadership program was ranked 25th in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report 2020 Best Online Programs rankings. The Feliciano School of Business was included in the 2020 edition of "The Best Business Schools" published by The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2019 Edition included Montclair State in its rankings of America's greenest campuses. Money magazine ranked Montclair State among the nation's "Best Colleges for Your Money" in 2020. Money also ranked the university at No. 16 on its 2020 "Most Transformative Colleges" list. Campus Pride named Montclair State a "Premier Campus" in its 2020 Campus Pride Index, the national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. Montclair State earned the maximum five stars out of five, one of only two institutions in New Jersey to do so.
In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked Montclair State 57th among 438 national universities in the U.S. based on Montclair State's contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.
Campus
The original Montclair State University campus consisted of College Hall, Russ Hall, Chapin Hall and Morehead Hall, all built between 1908 and 1928. It was 2 miles south of the intersection of U.S. Route 46 and Route 3. Housing for students returning from World War II was added near the end of the war. Between 1950 and 1980, Montclair State gradually acquired land from a former traprock quarry and expanded its facilities with an additional 23 buildings. Montclair State University began its next phase of growth in the late 1990s to accommodate New Jersey's growing student population. Dickson Hall was dedicated in 1995. The building is named for David W.D. Dickson, the first African American president of Montclair State University. The Floyd Hall Arena, an ice skating rink, was built in 1998. Science Hall, the home of the Department of Biology, opened in 1999. The Red Hawk Diner was built in 2001, making it the first diner on a university campus in the United States.
Other additions (2002–2011)
- The Red Hawk Deck, MSU's first parking garage, opened in spring 2003
- The Village Apartments at Little Falls, an apartment complex accommodating 850 students, opened in fall 2003.
- The Women's Softball Stadium opened in 2004.
- The 500-seat Alexander Kasser Theater opened in fall 2004.
- The NJ Transit Montclair State University station and Parking Deck was opened October 20, 2004. It provides direct access to and from New York Penn Station, the city's main public transportation hub. This is also a major parking and transfer point on the Montclair-Boonton Line.
- The Children's Center, Montclair State University's daycare facility for children of students and faculty, opened in fall 2005.
- University Hall, the largest building on campus at the time and home of the College of Education and Human Services, opened in spring 2006.
- The George Segal Gallery, located on the fourth floor of the Red Hawk Deck, opened in spring 2006.
- Cafe Diem, a cafe attached to Sprague Library, opened in January 2007.
- Chapin Hall, nearly 100 years old, was completely renovated and expanded to house the new John J. Cali School of Music.
- A Student Recreation Center opened in spring 2008.
- Sinatra Hall, a new suite style residence hall near the Village, housing 300 undergraduate and graduate students, opened in August 2010.
- CarParc Diem, the largest parking structure at MSU with approximately 1,600 spaces, opened in August 2010.
- The Heights, two new housing complexes and a dining facility accommodating 2,000 students, opened August 2011.
Capital master plan (2013–2018)
Montclair's most recent master plan contained $650 million in capital construction and improvements. The major projects under this new program were:
- Two student housing and dining complexes, The Heights, are adjacent to the Student Recreation Center and CarParc Diem Garage. Opened in August 2011, they house approximately 2,000 students, increasing the on-campus housing capacity to 5,500, the second largest college residential population in New Jersey after Rutgers University in New Brunswick. They have also increased dining capacity at MSU by 25,000 gross square feet.
- A building to house the Feliciano School of Business, adjacent to University Hall. It opened in Fall 2015.
- The Center for Environmental and Life Sciences building, located adjacent to Richardson Hall, opened in 2015. CELS houses the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies and all of its research facilities, the Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Laboratory, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, the New Jersey Center for Water Science and Technology, the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies, and the interdisciplinary PhD program in Environmental Science and Management. The majority of the funding for this facility came from a bond issue passed by statewide referendum on November 6, 2012.
- A expansion of Morehead Hall, which connects the building with Life Hall and the DuMont TV center to form the Communication and Media Studies Center.
- Various expansions, improvements and renovations of residential buildings, athletic facilities, and academic facilities including College Hall, Partridge Hall, Mallory Hall (now the Center for Computing and Information Science), Life Hall, the Bond House, and Richardson Hall.
<gallery mode=packed heights=90 >
File:Susan_Cole_Hall.jpg|The new "Susan Cole Hall", main college hall for the university)
File:School of Communications.jpg|School of Communications and Media
File:Morehead Hall.jpg| Morehead Hall, built in 1928
File:MSU Kasser Theater.jpg| Alexander Kasser Theater
File:MSU Childrens Center jeh.jpg|Ben Samuel's Children Center
File:MSU Chapin Hall.jpg|Chapin Hall
File:MSU Dickson & University Hall.jpg|Dickson & University Hall
file:MSU Richardson & Mallory Halls.jpg| Richardson & Mallory Halls
File:MSU Sprague Library.jpg|Sprague Library
File:MSU Village.jpg| MSU Village
</gallery>
Census-designated place
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023
|-
! Race and ethnicity
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| Hispanic
|align=right|
|-
| White
|align=right|
|-
| Black
|align=right|
|-
| Asian
|align=right|
|-
| Unknown
|align=right|
|-
| Two or more races
|align=right|
|-
| International student
|align=right|
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |Economic diversity
|-
| Low-income
|align=right|
|-
| Affluent
|align=right|
|}
Montclair State University is a census-designated place (CDP) covering the Montclair State University campus in Passaic and Essex counties.
It first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 Census with a population of 2,180.