Rutgers University–New Brunswick, a top 20 public university (U.S. News and World Report), is proud to show the world what excellence looks like.
What fuels our innovation? Membership in the Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Association of American Universities. More than 20 programs and schools in the nation’s top 10. Research, economic, and service engagement that touches every corner of New Jersey and beyond. Scholarship that cross-pollinates across the life, physical, and social sciences, humanities, and arts, and addresses society’s grand challenges. The rich diversity of our more than 40,000 students and 10,000 faculty and staff. A commitment to student support.
Our recently launched Academic Master Plan will help us reach our full potential as a national leader of higher education through the four Pillars of Excellence outlined here.
Pillar I: Scholarly Leadership
Eco-Glider Offshore Wind Initiative
The emerging offshore renewable energy industry will require a workforce with diverse skills across many sectors. The Eco-Glider Offshore Wind Initiative, funded through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the state Board of Public Utilities and led by the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, will deploy 22 robotic, underwater gliders off the New Jersey coast to study ocean and marine ecology conditions.
Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies
A collaboration between our School of Communication and Information, Institute of Women’s Leadership, and Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the School of Arts and Sciences, the chair—currently held by internationally recognized writer, editor, cultural critic, and educator Roxane Gay—exists to honor, retain, and recruit eminent scholars and practitioners who will help immerse the university community in debate and scholarship about new media, social change, and power structures.
Socially Cognizant Robotics for a Technology Enhanced Society
Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, Socially Cognizant Robotics for a Technology Enhanced Society (SOCRATES) convenes faculty and students from technology and social science backgrounds. This partnership between the School of Engineering, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and School of Arts and Sciences focuses on the societal impact of robots as they become integrated into everyday life and work as well as the development of socially aware technologists and technologically aware social scientists.
Pillar II: Innovative Research
The First Saliva-Based Test for COVID-19
Our researchers led the creation of the first COVID-19 saliva-based test, which received emergency-use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration and allowed for broader population screening than throat and nose swabs.
Reefence: A Mosaic Oyster Habitat for Coastal Defense
Rutgers was awarded a $12.6 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant to develop an oyster-based shoreline ecosystem to help protect coastlines from storm damage, flooding, and erosion. It will focus on oyster reefs in the Gulf Coast and combine novel cements and concretes with state-of-the-art shellfish breeding and the latest ecological engineering of shoreline habitats.
The Rutgers-Eagleton Poll
Conducted by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, the Rutgers Eagleton Poll is the nation’s oldest university-based statewide polling operation. It measures New Jerseyans’ attitudes about politics and policy and serves as a resource for news media, scholars, and the public. Its rigorous statistical methods support research in social and behavioral studies and scientific, systematic data collection, and it collaborates with scholars across Rutgers.
Pillar III: Student Success
Coastal Climate Risk and Resilience Traineeship
This National Science Foundation-funded initiative is preparing graduate students to meet the challenge of coastal climate change. Coastal Climate Risk and Resilience (C2R2) integrates expertise from diverse fields: urban planning, climate science, oceanography, engineering, sociology, and economics. It provides graduate students with the opportunity to conduct research that integrates natural, socioeconomic, and engineered elements of coastal systems.
Road to Wall Street
Road to Wall Street bolsters the industry knowledge and interview skills of select students who demonstrate a strong interest in and knowledge of the financial markets. Students benefit from the Rutgers Business School’s proximity and ties to Wall Street and from counseling, training, a financial modeling and valuation course, peer and alumni mentors, and year round access to industry executives through guest lectures, site visits, networking events, and workshops.
Rutgers Summer Service Internship Initiative
The Rutgers Summer Service Internship (RSSI) Initiative is a university wide program through which undergraduate students participate in meaningful internships with nonprofits and government organizations while expanding their knowledge and skills as engaged citizens. RSSI provides students with a $5,000 stipend and three funded academic credits. It has placed students in more than 100 high-impact public service internships.
Pillar IV: Community Engagement
Brandt Behavioral Health Treatment Center and Residence
The Brandt Behavioral Health Treatment Center and Residence, scheduled to open in fall 2023 as the centerpiece for the Rutgers Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, will be New Jersey’s first treatment facility exclusively for adolescents and young adults that is backed by an academic health leader like Rutgers. Created through a partnership that includes the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and University Behavioral Health Care, the Brandt Center will be the gold standard for evidence-based youth behavioral health care, positively impact the field of mental health delivery, and train the next generation of clinicians.
Project Resilience
Our Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology partnered with Jersey City Public Schools, the state’s second-largest school district, for a federally funded initiative to provide students with social-emotional learning and trauma-focused, evidence-based interventions; support teachers and school leaders with training and coaching in trauma informed classroom practices; and strengthen collaborations between mental health agencies and community partners for screenings, referrals, and direct services.
