New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a publicresearch university in Newark, New Jersey, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City.[12][13] Founded in 1881 with the support of local industrialists and inventors especially Edward Weston,[14] NJIT opened as 'Newark Technical School' ('NTS') in 1885 with 88 students.[a][b] As of fall 2022 the university enrolls 12,332 students from 92 countries, about 2,500 of whom live on its main campus in Newark's University Heights district.[5][16]
The New Jersey Institute of Technology has a history dating back to the 19th century. Originally introduced from Essex County, New Jersey, on March 24, 1880, and revised with input from the Newark Board of Trade in 1881, an act of the New Jersey State Legislature drew up a contest to determine which municipality would become home to the state's urgently needed technical school. The challenge was straightforward: the state would stake "at least $3,000 and not more than $5,000" and the municipality that matched the state's investment would earn the right to establish the new school.[citation needed]
19th century
The Newark Board of Trade, working jointly with the Newark City Council, launched a campaign to win the new school. Many of the city's industrialists, along with other private citizens, supported the fund-raiser. By 1884 the necessary funds were raised. Newark Technical School opened its doors in February 1885.
The first 88 students, mostly evening students, attended classes in a rented building at 21 West Park Street. That facility soon became inadequate for the growing number of students. A second fundraiser, the institution's first capital campaign, was launched to support the construction of a home for Newark Technical School. In 1886, under the leadership of the school's first director, Charles A. Colton, the cornerstone was laid at the intersection of High Street and Summit Place for a three-story building later to be named Weston Hall in honor of the institution's early benefactor.
A laboratory building called Colton Hall was added to the campus in 1911.
Allan Cullimore led the institution from 1920 to 1949 transforming Newark Technical School into Newark College of Engineering (NCE), a name change that was adopted in 1930. Campbell Hall was erected in 1925. Due to the Depression and World War II, only the former Newark Orphan Asylum, now Eberhardt Hall, was purchased and modestly renovated in the succeeding decades. Cullimore left an unpublished history of the institution dated 1955.[25]
In 1946, about 75% of the freshman class had served in the U. S. Armed Forces. Cullimore Hall was built in 1958 and two years later the old Weston Hall was razed and replaced with the current seven-story structure. Doctoral level programs were introduced in 1960. Six years later, in 1966, an 18-acre (7.3 ha), four-building expansion was completed.
With the addition of the New Jersey School of Architecture in 1973, the institution had evolved into a technological university, offering a widening range of graduate and undergraduate degrees and an increasing focus on research and public service. William Hazell, president at the time, decided the school's name should be changed to more clearly reflect its ongoing evolution. Alumni were solicited for suggestions. The winning suggestion was submitted by Joseph M. Anderson '25. Anderson's suggestion, New Jersey Institute of Technology, emphasized the increasing scope of educational and research initiatives at the institution. The Board of Trustees approved the name change in September 1974. Newark College of Engineering officially became New Jersey Institute of Technology on January 1, 1975. The Newark College of Engineering name was retained for NJIT's engineering school.
The establishment of a residential campus and the opening of NJIT's first dormitory (Redwood Hall) in 1979 began a period of steady growth that continues today under an evolving Master Plan. Two new schools were established at the university during the 1980s, the College of Science and Liberal Arts in 1982 and the School of Industrial Management in 1988. The Albert Dorman Honors College was established in 1994, and the newest school, the College of Computing Sciences, was created in 2001. Also, three residential halls, Cypress, Oak, and Laurel which house about 1500 students in total, were placed in service in the 1990s.
21st century
On May 2, 2003, Robert Altenkirch was inaugurated as president. He succeeded Saul Fenster who was named the university's sixth president in 1978.[26] In September 2011 Altenkirch elected to return to the South having been offered the presidency of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. On January 9, 2012, NJIT Trustees named Joel Bloom president.[27]
In 2003, the opening of the new Campus Center on the site of the former Hazell Hall centralized campus social events. Construction of a new Atrium, Bookstore, Dining Hall, computer lab, Information Desk facility, and new student organization offices continued into 2004. In 2005 a row of automobile chop shops adjacent to campus were demolished. In 2006 construction of an near-campus residence hall by American Campus Communities began in the chop shops' location. The new hall, which opened in 2007, is dubbed the University Centre. In addition to NJIT students, it houses students from Rutgers-Newark, Seton Hall University and Rutgers Law School.
Also in 2005, Eberhardt Hall was fully renovated and re-inaugurated as the Alumni Center and the symbolic front door to the university.[28] Its restored tower was the logo of the former Newark College of Engineering. A rebranding campaign with the current slogan, "NJIT – New Jersey's Science and Technology University – The Edge in Knowledge", was launched to emphasize NJIT's position as New Jersey's science-and-technology-focused public research university.
NJIT's business school, the Martin Tuchman School of Management, focuses on utilizing technology to serve business needs.[29] The school, which is an AACSB-accredited business school, benefits from its proximity to New York City and lower Jersey City aka, "Wall Street West". Wall Street itself (lower Manhattan) is twenty-five minutes away via Newark Light Rail and the PATH system's Newark-World Trade Center line. NJIT has a multi-faceted collaboration with its neighbor, Rutgers-Newark. The collaboration involves: the Rutgers and NJIT business schools; their federated departments of Biology and History; and the joint Theater Arts Program.[30][31] In 2008 NJIT began a program with the Heritage Institute of Technology in West Bengal, India under which 20 students come to NJIT for summer internships.
In 2009, the New Jersey School of Architecture was enlarged and reorganized as the College of Architecture and Design (COAD). Within the college, the New Jersey School of Architecture continues, along with the newly established School of Art + Design.[32]
In June 2010, NJIT purchased the old Central High School building which is located between the NJIT and Rutgers–Newark campuses.[33] With the completion of the purchase, Summit Street, from Warren Street to New Street, was converted into a pedestrian walkway. Since then the high school building was extensively renovated, preserved, and updated per the Campus Master Plan.[34]
Between 2016 and 2018, several facilities opened, including a 209,000-square-foot (19,400 m2) multi-purpose Wellness and Events Center, "The WEC", which features a retractable-seating arena that can accommodate 3,500 spectators or 4,000 event participants; a 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) Life Sciences and Engineering Center; a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) Makerspace, and a parking garage with spaces for 933 cars.[35][36]
Academics
Admissions
The admission criteria consists of:
High school academic record
Standardized test scores (SAT or ACT scores)
Class rank
Portfolio: Applicants to the Architecture, Digital Design, Industrial Design, and Interior Design majors are required to submit a portfolio of their creative work.
The average SAT score (math + verbal only) for enrolling freshmen in fall 2021 is 1307.[37]
The average SAT score (math + verbal only) for enrolling freshmen in the Honors College in fall 2021 is 1496.[38]
The minimum SAT score (math + verbal only) for enrolling freshmen in the accelerated BS/MD program – run in combination with New Jersey Medical School (Rutgers) – is 1450.
The male-to-female student ratio (2021) is about 2.57 to 1. The student-to-faculty (FTE) ratio (2021) is 17.1 to 1.[5][39]
In U.S. News 2024 edition, NJIT is ranked 86th in national universities.[47]
In the 2024 edition of the Princeton Review NJIT was ranked 23rd in the list of the fifty best value public colleges in the US.[48]
In June 2024, Money rated NJIT a 5-star (the highest) institution.[49]
In September 2023, the Wall Street Journal, using a more outcome-oriented methodology than in the past, ranked NJIT #2 among public universities and #19 among all national universities in its List of the Best Colleges in the U.S. for 2024.[50]
In June 2022, a Money article titled "The Best 10 Colleges for Engineering Majors" cited NJIT for its economic mobility performance and ranked it 10th best in the country.[51]
In the 2021 edition of the QS World University Ranking USA, NJIT was ranked 90th (2-way tie) out of the 352 US Institutions listed (more than 750 considered).[52]
In April 2018, Forbes ranked NJIT #1 in the country in upward mobility defined in terms of moving students from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top fifth.[53]
In U.S. News' 2018 rankings, four of NJIT's suite of on-line graduate programs were ranked among the best 100 in the country, including its information technology programs, which were ranked 17th.[54]
In Payscale's 2017 College ROI Report, which covers 1833 institutions, NJIT ranked 27th and 42nd for return on investment, based on in-state and out-of-state tuition respectively.[55]
NJIT placed 133rd out of 662 universities in the US in R&D expenditures in 2016 by the National Science Foundation (NSF).[56]
In 2015, NJIT was ranked in the top 25 colleges for earning six figures before attaining a graduate degree in Time's Money's list.[57]
Colleges and schools
Comprising five colleges and one school, the university is organized into 21 departments, three of which, Biological Sciences, History, and Theater Arts are federated with Rutgers-Newark whose campus abuts NJIT's.[58]
With a student population that is 20.6% international, 20.2% Hispanic, 8.8% Black and 19.1% Asian (2022), NJIT is ranked among the most ethnically diverse national universities in the country.[59]
It has multiple study abroad options along with extensive co-op, internship, and service opportunities.[60][61][62]
Newark College of Engineering (NCE)
Newark College of Engineering, which was established in 1919, is among the oldest and largest professional engineering schools in the United States. It offers 13 undergraduate degree programs, 16 master's and 10 doctoral degree programs. Undergraduate enrollment is more than 2,500, and more than 1,100 are enrolled in graduate study. The faculty includes engineers and scholars who are widely recognized in their fields.[63] An estimated one in four professional engineers in the State of New Jersey are NCE/NJIT alumni.
Jordan Hu College of Science and Liberal Arts (JHCSLA)
The College of Science and Liberal Arts was formed in 1982.[64] It was originally known as the Third College having been preceded by Newark College of Engineering and the New Jersey School of Architecture. In 1986 its name was changed to the College of Science and Liberal Arts as a result of a more sharply defined mission and direction. The College of Science and Liberal Arts is located inside a building sharing the same name. The building was originally named Cullimore Hall, and is still referred to as that by students. Growing steadily ever since, JHCSLA has spawned two of NJIT's colleges: the Albert Dorman Honors College, which evolved out of the Honors Program that was founded in JHCSLA in 1985, and the College of Computing Sciences, which developed out of JHCSLA's Computer and Information Science Department.
Today the college consists of six academic departments:
Biological Sciences (federated with Rutgers-Newark)
J. Robert and Barbara A. Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD)
College of Architecture and Design
The College of Architecture and Design houses the School of Architecture (SOA) and the School of Art and Design.[72] The college offers undergraduate degrees in architecture, digital design, industrial design, and interior design as well as graduate degrees in architecture, infrastructure planning, and urban systems.[73] HCAD is the only college at NJIT to have its own designated library.[74] The library contains materials related to the majors offered in HCAD in the form of periodicals, reference materials, rare books, visual materials, including architectural drawings, prints, postcards, and maps, digital databases, and a materials library.[75]
The college offers a pre-college summer program for high school students.[76]
Albert Dorman Honors College (ADHC)
Ying Wu College of Computing Sciences (YWCC)
The Computer Science department, part of the Ying Wu College of Computing Sciences, is the largest at NJIT, comprising more than one fifth of the student population.[77] It is also the largest computer science department among all research universities in the New York metropolitan area.
The department offers a full range of degree programs in computer science (BA/BS, MS and PhD), in addition to emerging interdisciplinary programs: Telecommunication (MS), Bioinformatics (BS/MS), and Computing and Business (BS/MS). The Bioinformatics degree is also available in a pre-med option.
In December 2019, the school opened a satellite site in Jersey City that focuses on financial technology training for those working in the financial industry on Wall Street and in Jersey City.[78]
Degrees available include a Bachelor of Science program (four years, 124 credits), a Master of Science in management program (30 credits), and two Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs: One regular (48 credits; two years for full-time students, three or four years for part-time students) and the other an accelerated 18-month Executive MBA program for managers and professionals. MTSM also offers a PhD. degree in Business Data Science. Research areas include fintech, innovation management, and the advancement of technologies in the business domain including deep learning and distributed ledgers.[79]
MTSM hosts entrepreneurship programs for the regional community, including the NSF I-Corps, the New Venture Assistance Program, and the Greater Newark–Jersey City Regional Business Model Competition.
NJIT's R&D expenditures were $142 million in 2017 and $162 million in 2018.[80][81] Areas of focus include applied mathematics, materials science, biomedical engineering, cybersecurity, and solar-terrestrial physics – of which the Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research is a world leader.[82] A key agent in regional economic development,[83] NJIT hosts VentureLink, formally the Enterprise Development Center (EDC), an on-campus business incubator that houses over 90 start-ups, and the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) which offers R&D services to business.[84][85]
NJIT was home to the Computerized Conferencing and Communications Center (CCCC), a research center that specialized in computer-mediated communication. The systems which resulted from this research are the Electronic Information Exchange System, as well as the continuations: The Electronic Information Exchange System 2 (EIES2), and the Tailorable Electronic Information Exchange System (TEIES)[who?]. One of the foremost developments of EIES was that of the "Virtual Classroom", a term coined by Dr. Starr Roxanne Hiltz in the context of Connected Education. This was the first e-learning platform in the world and was unique in that it evolved onto an existing communications system, rather than having a system created specifically for it. Their missions completed, the CCCC and EIES were terminated in the mid-90s.
The university currently operates a Class-10 cleanroom and a Class-1000 cleanroom on campus for academic and research purposes[86] including counter-bioterrorism research.[87]
The university maintains an advanced 67-node supercomputer cluster in the Mathematics Department for research purposes.
NJIT conducts cybersecurity research in a number of areas including cross-domain information sharing, data security and privacy, data mining for malware detection, geospatial information security, secure social networks, and secure cloud computing. The university is designated a National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Defense Education through the 2020 academic year by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.[88]
NJIT's Main Library, The Robert W. Van Houten Library, is in the Central Avenue Building, a facility for quiet and group study, researching, and browsing print and online sources. Since 1997 the Van Houten Information Commons has housed 120 computer workstations.
The Barbara and Leonard Littman Library for Architecture and Design is located in Weston Hall. It houses a core collection that includes print and electronic books, journals, maps, drawings, models, e-images, materials samples, and over 70,000 slides.
Included among NJIT's information resources are the university's historical archive including items developed and manufactured by Edward Weston, a scientist, prolific inventor, and a founding member of the board of trustees of the university. Dr. Weston's collection of artifacts and rare books is housed in the Van Houten Library and is available to scholars interested in the history of science and technology.[89]
Maple Hall, opened in 2022, NJIT's newest residence hall
About 80% of NJIT students commute to campus.[91] The Residence Life (on-campus) community currently includes a little over 2,500 students.
There are six residence halls on the NJIT campus. Redwood Hall, constructed in 1978, was the first, followed by Cypress, Oak, and Laurel (constructed in 1997 and extended in 1999). Cypress and Redwood are primarily used for freshman students, while Laurel and Oak house upperclassmen. The fifth, Warren Street Village, which opened in the fall of 2013, provides housing for Dorman Honors College students and several Greek houses which together provide space for about 600 students. The Warren Street Village also houses the Albert Dorman Honors College itself. A sixth dorm hall, Maple Hall, which accommodates 500 students opened in the fall of 2022.
A new almost-on-campus resident hall known as University Centre (run by American Campus Communities) was completed in 2007. Located near NJIT's Guttenberg Information Technologies Center (GITC) building, it houses students from NJIT, Rutgers–Newark, Rutgers Medical School and Seton Hall University. Many students from local institutions find housing in nearby neighborhoods and towns including Harrison, Kearny, Fairmount and East Orange.
Student newspaper
The Vector is an independent weekly student newspaper published by the students of NJIT, originally established in 1924.[92] It has both on-line and print versions. The tabloid print edition has an estimated circulation of 3,000[93] from on-campus distribution and a readership of approximately 9,000.[94]The Vector won the Honor Rating of First Class from the Associated Collegiate Press in 1989–1990. The Vector is a current member of the Associated Collegiate Press.[95]The Vector won two awards in the New Jersey Press Foundation's 2019-2020 awards, scoring a second place win for Arts & Entertainment writing and third place for General Excellence.[96]
NJIT sponsors 19 NCAA-Division I varsity teams and 1 ACHA non-varsity Division 2 team.[97] It also sponsors 2 club-level sports.[98] Its teams are called the Highlanders. The school colors are red and white with blue accent. NJIT's teams compete at the NCAA Division I level primarily as members of the America East Conference (AEC). Several teams have affiliations outside of AEC as follows: women's and men's tennis compete in the Southland Conference (SLC), men's fencing team is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA). As of 2016, the women's fencing team is independent. Men's volleyball competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). Woman's volleyball competes in the AEC.
On 6 December 2014 NJIT's basketball team, unranked and independent at the time, made headlines in national sports reports when they defeated the nationally ranked (#17) Michigan Wolverines.[99]
NCAA Division I sports at NJIT are:
(M) Baseball
(M) (W) Basketball
(M) (W) Cross country
(M) (W) Fencing, men compete in MACFA, woman compete as an independent
In recent years NJIT has extensively added to and upgraded its sports and recreation facilities.[100] In 2017, it opened the Wellness and Events Center, referred to as "the WEC," pronounced "weck", a major facility that includes a 3500-seat basketball and volleyball arena that can be converted into an event space capable of accommodating 4,000 attendees. In 2019, a new soccer and lacrosse field opened. The WEC replaced the Estelle & Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
Ying Wu (MSEE 1988) Telecommunications engineer and entrepreneur, Chairman of the China Capital group. Founder and ex-CEO of UTStarcom (China) Ltd.[106][107]
Ehsan Bayat (born 1963, class of 1986), chairman and founder of Afghan Wireless Communication Company, Ariana Television and Radio, Bayat Foundation, Bayat Energy
Robert S. Dow (born 1945, class of 1969), senior partner, former managing partner of Lord Abbett, and Olympic fencer[108] (He is also listed under Sports.)
Frederick Eberhardt (deceased, class of 1884), president of Gould & Eberhardt, a Newark-based machine tool manufacturer, and one of 88 in NJIT's inaugural class
Phil L. Rinaldi (class of 1968), founder CVR Energy, PES Energy, and several other large energy companies
Victor J. Stenger (1935–2014) BSEE, class of 1956. Noted particle physicist, philosopher, and religious skeptic. Author of 13 books for the general reader, and numerous essays, many of which relate to the existence of God.
Hernan "Chico" Borja (deceased, class of 1980) (soccer, player and coach) First NJIT men's player to be named an ALL American. He played for several professional teams including the New York Cosmos. He was a member of the US national team from 1982 to 1988.
Craig Gotsman, former dean of the Ying Wu college of computing. He is Professor in Practice of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Miami.[119]
Guiling (Grace) Wang, distinguished professor of computer science. She is an IEEE Fellow
Edward Weston, (deceased) prominent member of the founding board of trustees; co-founder of the Weston Electric Light Company; holder of 334 US patients. Awards include: the Elliott Cresson Medal (1910), the Franklin Medal (1924), and the IEEE Lamme Medal.
Mengchu Zhou, professor of electrical and computer engineering. He is also a professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology. He is the chairman of IKAS Industries of Shenzhen in China and a board member of OneSmart Education Group headquartered in China. He is a fellow of the IEEE, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Chinese Association of Automation.
^ ab A precursor institution, the Newark Industrial Institute, opened in 1850 but closed during the Civil War (1861 – 1865) as most of its students were called to arms.[15]
^McMains, Andrew. "NJIT's New Provost on His Goals, Approach and Why He Pops into Classrooms", NJIT News, August 1, 2023. Accessed August 30, 2023. "As the new provost of New Jersey Institute of Technology, John Pelesko brings decades of experience as a professor, department chair, associate dean and most recently dean at the University of Delaware, where he had spent 21 years."
^Birritteri, Anthony. "NJIT’s Busy Day of Running with Scissors", New Jersey Business, December 5, 2019. Accessed December 9, 2019. "In Jersey City, the institution opened the Ying Wu College of Computing (YWCC) on the 36th floor of 101 Hudson Street, Jersey City, to meet the demand for fin-tech data scientists and professionals in Hudson County and New York City."
^Daniel Druhora (Spring 2018). "The Last Word: The Al Dorman Way". Viterbi Magazine, University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
^"Coffee Talk: Keurig Co-Founder Richard Sweeney '81 Shares Life Experiences at ADHC Colloquium", NJIT, October 27, 2016. Accessed March 19, 2018. "Richard (Dick) Sweeney '81, vice chairman of NJIT’s Albert Dorman Honors College Board, shared his life experiences yesterday as co-founder of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. and its iconic single-portion pack coffee brewing system at an Albert Dorman Honors College Colloquium."
^Banas, Erica. "Orange Cassidy Facts That Only Hardcore Fans Know", Wrestling Inc., December 21, 2022. Accessed August 27, 2023. "Orange Cassidy was in college during the early years of his wrestling career. During that time, he earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2007."
^Rubin, Roger. "Leiter family comes full circle with Mark Jr. on the Phillies", Newsday, July 2, 2017. Accessed February 27, 2018. "Out of Toms River North High, Leiter Jr. opted to go to NJIT because of the chance to start right away — 'he needed to pitch if he was going to be able to dial it to 90,' his father said — but his profile really turned up on May 3, 2013, when the senior struck out 20 hitters from Chicago State."
^Carino, Jerry. "Career over, but Damon Lynn's legacy will last at NJIT", Asbury Park Press, January 30, 2017. Accessed March 19, 2018. "NJIT senior Damon Lynn, who defied the odds and rose from unrecruited to virtually unstoppable as a mid-major guard, lifting the Highlanders from obscurity in the process, has undergone surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon."
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