Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University) is a public land-grant research university in the US. It was founded in 1766 and is the eighth-oldest university in the country. Initially known as the Queen’s College, the institution was established after Governor William Franklin, the last royal governor of New Jersey, signed the charter for its inception. Based in New Jersey, an area with rich colonial history, the university is one of the nine colonial colleges in the US that were chartered before the American Revolution. 

Queen’s College was renamed Rutgers College in 1825 in honour of Colonel Henry Rutgers, a US Revolutionary War veteran and philanthropist. Col. Rutgers’ donations played an integral role in helping the college stabilise financially after facing several hardships and closures in its initial years. The college eventually grew into a coeducational public research university after it was the state university of New Jersey following acts passed by the state legislature in 1945 and 1956. 

Currently, Rutgers University has four main campuses (all located in New Jersey): Newark, New Brunswick, Camden, and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. In addition to these campuses, Rutgers has other facilities across the state such as its oceanographic research facilities located on the shores of New Jersey.  Thus, it has a presence in all 21 of the state’s counties. 

Rutgers University has been consistently ranked among the best universities in the US and globally by several renowned publications. The US News & World Report 2022 ranked the university 55th and 130th on its list of  ‘Best National Universities’ and ‘Best Global Universities’, respectively. On the QS World University Rankings 2023, Rutgers stood 267th.  Let us learn more about the university in this article. 

Academics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Rutgers University offers over 150 undergraduate majors and more than 400 graduate programmes across various disciplines. The fields of study include arts, biological and life sciences, business, engineering, medicine,  pure sciences, public affairs, and humanities and social Sciences, among several others. These courses are imparted through the university’s 29 constituent colleges and schools. Additionally, 300 specialised research centres and institutes complement the overall learning process. In 2021-2022, the university granted over 19,000 degrees. 

The faculty at Rutgers consists of recipients of several prestigious awards and accolades such as the Pulitzer Prize, National Medal of Science, Guggenheim and MacArthur “Genius Award” fellowships, and National Medal of Technology, among others. Currently, the faculty is over 8,000 (both full- and part-time) strong. The institution is also home to more than 1,200 international scholars from over 80 countries.  All three campuses of Rutgers University are classified among the top research universities in the US by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.  

While the New Brunswick division is categorised within ‘R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity’, Camden and Newark are classified among ‘R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity’. These gradings are granted only to academic institutions that carry out extensive research across diverse disciplines and allocate significant resources towards it. In 2022, Rutgers University received US$872.8 million in research grants and sponsored programmes, and its students and faculty received 4,167 research awards. 

Admission at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Over 69,000 students (composed of students in different levels of study) from all 50 states in the US and over 130 countries are currently enrolled at Rutgers University. The incoming batch (class of 2026) had 13,500 students; the acceptance rate stood at 55.5 percent, which is higher than most of the university’s esteemed peers. Below are some of the admission requirements for international students. 

Undergraduate Requirements

Some of the academic requirements for admissions are: 

• Academic documentation ( this does not include craft certificates, sports certificates, and Letters of recommendation)
• English proficiency test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo, among others.)  
• Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR)
• Secondary/high school transcript (with courses taken and final grades) or an official copy of the finishing certificate 
• Financial documentation (necessary for I-20 certificate of eligibility).

Graduate School Requirements

The basic requirements for graduate school admissions are  –

• $70 non-refundable application fee
• Official transcripts (high school/s attended)
• Scores secured on standardised tests (GRE or GMAT)
• Scores from English proficiency tests (TOEFL or IELTS) 
• Letter of recommendation 
• Personal statement of purpose
• Supporting documents 

Note: The requirements sought may differ on the programme chosen and on the department/school an aspirant is applying to. Hence, candidates can visit the university’s official website for detailed information. 

How to Apply for Admissions

Aspirants wishing to apply to Rutgers must do so through the Rutgers Application portal found on the university’s official website. For this, you must create an account and a NetID or CommunityID. You have to fill in all the basic information sought in order to register. Next, you must submit the required documents online and submit your application. You can use your CommunityID to return to the application portal or view your admissions status. 

Tuition and Aid 

The cost of attendance for both undergraduate and graduate programmes is dependent on the course chosen, the school offering it, the campus, and an aspirant’s overall profile.  For example, 

the undergraduate tuition (on-campus) fee for non-New Jersey residents at Rutgers University is between US$ 45,000-US$ 47,000 depending on the campus chosen. 

Similarly,  the fees for graduate programmes also are reliant on the above-mentioned criteria. For example, the overall cost of attendance for a course offered by the School of Graduate Studies is approximately US$74,000 while it is around US$ 22,000 (per semester) for the School of Law. 

International students are eligible for numerous scholarships and financial aid offered by each of the campuses. They are offered based on the needs of the aspirant, their academic and extracurricular achievements, and scores secured on standardised tests, among other criteria. Additionally, based on the level of study, other funding options such as Graduate Research Assistantships, Traineeships, and Graduate Teaching Assistantships, are also available to students.  Hence, aspirants can visit Rutgers’ official website to gain an in-depth understanding of the fee structure for different programmes and the financial aid offered. 

So, if you aspire to study at a historic university in the US, then Rutgers University is an ideal option for you. We hope that this article has provided you with adequate information to make an informed decision about joining this premier institution. Good Luck!