The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local industrialists and inventors, especially Edward Weston, NJIT opened as Newark Technical School in 1885 with 88 students. As of fall 2025, the university enrolled 12,309 students, about 2,500 of whom lived on its main campus in Newark's University Heights district. About 27% of its undergraduates and 34% of all students are foreign born. The university, which began and continues with an applied “hands on” orientation, has also become increasingly research oriented with an effort that began in the 60’s and is reflected today (2024) in a 171+ million dollar budget
NJIT offers 51 undergraduate (Bachelor of Science/Arts) majors and 71 graduate (Masters and PhD) programs. Via its Honors College, it also offers professional programs in Healthcare and Law in collaboration with nearby institutions including Rutgers Medical School and Seton Hall Law School. Cross-registration with Rutgers University-Newark which borders its campus is also available. NJIT is classified among the "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".. It operates several off-campus facilities including the Big Bear Solar Observatory, home of the Goode Telescope; the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (both in California); and a suite of automated observatories across Antarctica, South America and the U.S.
NJIT is a member of the Sea grant and Space grant research consortia. It has participated in the McNair Scholars Program since 1999. NJIT is a designated Asian American Native American Pacific Islander serving institution and a designated Hispanic-serving institution.
History Founding 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.
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.
20th century
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, 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.
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 , 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 (1925). 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. 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.
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 a 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. 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. 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. 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.
In June 2010, NJIT purchased the old Central High School building which is located between the NJIT and Rutgers–Newark campuses. 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.
Between 2016 and 2018, several facilities opened, including a 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 Life Sciences and Engineering Center; a Makerspace, and a parking garage with spaces for 933 cars.
University presidents The following persons have served as the president of the New Jersey Institute of Technology:
PresidentTerm startTerm endDirectors of Newark Technical School (NTS) (1881–1930)1Charles A. Colton188419182Daniel Hodgdon191819203Allan Cullimore19201947Presidents of Newark College of Engineering (NCE) (1930–1975)acting Robert Van Houten1947September 23, 19494September 23, 1949June 30, 19705William HazellJuly 1, 1970June 30, 1975Presidents of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) (1975–present)interimPaul H. Newell JrJuly 1, 19751977interimCharles R. BergmanAugust 197719786Saul Fenster19782002 7Robert A. Altenkirch2002October 30, 2011 interimJoel BloomNovember 1, 2011January 9, 20128January 9, 2012June 30, 20229Teik C. LimJuly 1, 2022August 3, 2026interimJohn PeleskoAugust 4, 2026
Table notes:
Academics Rankings
In a TIME ranking published in August 2026, NJIT was ranked 38th among public colleges in the US and 95th among all US colleges. In U.S. News 2025 edition of its college rankings, NJIT was ranked tied for 80th among "national universities". In the 2024 edition of the Princeton Review, NJIT was ranked twenty-third in the list of the fifty best value public colleges in the US. In 2024, Washington Monthly ranked NJIT 101st among 438 national universities in the U.S. based on NJIT's contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. In November 2023 Stacker ranked NJIT 10th among public universities for return on investment. 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). 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. In the 2024-25 Forbes list of America's top colleges, NJIT was ranked 193rd out of the top 500 rated private and public colleges and universities in America for the 2024-25 report. NJIT was also ranked 88th among public colleges and 77th in the northeast. Its career development services are ranked among the best in the country
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. With a student population that is 20.6% international, 20.2% Hispanic, 8.8% Black and 19.1% Asian (2022), the school is ranked among the most ethnically diverse national universities in the country. NJIT has multiple study abroad options along with extensive co-op, internship, and service opportunities. Its career development services are ranked among the best in the country.
Newark College of Engineering (NCE)