Montclair State University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large suburb.

Overview

Montclair State University, or MSU, is a public university located in Upper Montclair, Little Falls, New Jersey, 14 miles west of New York City. The campus covers 246 acres.

The school was founded in 1908 as a normal school. After a few name changes, it was designated Montclair State University on April 27, 1994.

Montclair State University is the state's second largest university.

The university has been raked the top public institution in New Jersey and the state's third best college of university overall in Forbes' annual list of America's Best Colleges. The school also came in at number 54 in the nation for America's Best Public Colleges.

MSU offers more than 300 majors, minors, concentrations and certificate programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels through the following academic divisions:

• Graduate School
• The College of Education and Human Services
• The College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• The College of Science and Mathematics
• The College of the Arts
• The John J. Cali School of Music
• The School of Business

MSU is home to several clubs and organizations. It has an active Greek life, with numerous fraternity and sorority organizations.

MSU students also actively participate in various sports including baseball, basketball, volleyball, and softball. Their sports teams are nicknamed the Red Hawks.

Prominent Montclair State University alumni include Allen Ginsberg, poet (best known for "Howl!") and member of the Beat Generation, and poet Diane Wald; Barbara Buono, New Jersey State Senator and author of the state's anti-bullying law; Erin Court Abrahamson, Beauty Queen; actors Jason Biggs and Bruce Willis; Christine Nagy, radio broadcaster and actor; Eugene Thomas Maleska, crossword puzzle constructor and editor; Lou Campanelli, basketball coach; and Wendy Coakley-Thompson, fiction writer.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in family and social work, therapy and counseling, mathematics, art studies, drama and performing arts, science, music, and education and teaching.
• Large number of students.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High faculty salary.
• High female/male ratio.
• Selective admissions.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Masters Colleges and Universities I.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Distance learning is available.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Montclair State:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 17,475 in 2009-2010 (15,207 full-time equivalent).

About 39% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 61% of the class.

Undergrads are 76% of enrolled students and graduate students are 24%.

Students under 25 years old represent 70% of the student body. About 7% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 99% are full-time and 1% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Montclair State provides on-campus housing for 3,582 of its 15,207 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010).

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for major sports.

Graduate School Focus

Montclair State offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship).

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Single Doctoral (Education).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ART STUDIES (118 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (582 awarded)

• Business Administration and Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (43 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Technology

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (14 awarded)

• Environmental Studies
• Natural Resources Management and Policy

DESIGN (50 awarded)

• Design and Applied Arts
• Fashion/Apparel Design
• Graphic Design

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (66 awarded)

• Dance
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (580 awarded)

• Business Teacher Education
• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Drama and Dance Teacher Education
• Education
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Early Childhood Spec Ed Pgms
• Education/Teaching Individuals - Specific Learning Disabilities
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Educational/Instructional Media Design
• Health Teacher Education
• Mathematics Teacher Education
• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Reading Teacher Education
• Special Education and Teaching
• Student Counseling and Personnel Services
• Teacher Education/Profess Development, Subject Areas
• Teaching English as Second/Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
• Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (485 awarded)

• Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
• Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services
• Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies
• Social Work

FINE ARTS (10 awarded)

• Fine/Studio Arts

HOSPITALITY (4 awarded)

• Hospitality Administration/Management

LAW (41 awarded)

• Legal Assistant/Paralegal
• Legal Professions and Studies

LIBERAL ARTS (729 awarded)

• Anthropology
• Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• Geography
• History
• Humanities/Humanistic Studies
• Italian Language and Literature
• Latin Language and Literature
• Linguistics
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (81 awarded)

• Mathematics
• Statistics

MEDIA (130 awarded)

• Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric
• Radio and Television

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (7 awarded)

• Audiology/Audiologist and Hearing Sciences
• Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences

MUSIC (41 awarded)

• Music Performance
• Music

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (25 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (12 awarded)

• Cinematography and Film/Video Production

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (11 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (244 awarded)

• Biochemistry
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Geology/Earth Science
• Molecular Biology
• Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (301 awarded)

• Communication Disorders
• Educational Psychology
• Music Therapy/Therapist
• Psychology