College of New Jersey

College of New Jersey, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Ewing township, near Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. It comprises schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Nursing, and Engineering. More than 20 graduate programs leading to master’s degrees are offered through the schools of Arts and Sciences, Education, and Nursing. Total enrollment is approximately 6,000.

The college was chartered in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School and is the oldest of the state-supported colleges in New Jersey. It was initially located in Trenton, and during the 19th century it offered two-year teacher-training programs. Baccalaureate degrees were being offered by 1925, and the current suburban campus, amid lakes and woods and characterized by Georgian-style architecture, was constructed in the 1930s. The school was renamed State Teachers College and Normal School at Trenton in 1929 and New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton in 1937; it became Trenton State College in 1958 and acquired its current name in 1996. Its first academic program leading to a master’s degree, in elementary education, was offered in 1947.