New Jersey Institute of Technology

Public · Moderately Selective · NJ

Photo: ajay_suresh (CC BY 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationNJ · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads9,019

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate48.8%

6-yr grad rate72.8%

Drop-out rate10.5%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$20k

Out-of-state tuition$38k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity70.8%

Gender diversity28.3%

International6.2%

Identity—

Overview

NJIT is a public polytechnic university in Newark focused specifically on engineering, computing, architecture, and applied sciences rather than a broad liberal-arts curriculum. It is known for strong return on investment and career-focused outcomes, situated at the edge of the New York metro area's dense tech and engineering job market, and it sits within Newark's University Heights district alongside Rutgers-Newark and Essex County College.

Academics

Engineering and computing, through the Ying Wu College of Computing and Newark College of Engineering, are the clear centerpiece, supported by an extensive, long-running co-op program that places students directly with regional employers during the school year rather than only in summers. The Hillier College of Architecture and Design is a notable, less-expected strength for a technical university, and the Albert Dorman Honors College offers smaller cohorts and priority research access for high-achieving students. The applied, project-based teaching style suits students who want hands-on technical training over lecture-heavy theory.

Campus & student life

The student body is largely commuter and notably diverse, though the residential core of campus has been growing steadily. Social life is less traditionally collegiate than at fully residential universities, shaped instead by program cohorts, co-op schedules, and the practical, career-oriented culture of the student body more broadly. Athletics, the Highlanders, compete in America East, a comparatively recent conference affiliation, and draw modest attention next to the university's strong technical-competition and hackathon culture.

Getting in

Admission emphasizes academic preparation in math and science given the university's technical focus, with less weight on essays and extracurricular narrative than at holistic liberal-arts institutions, though the architecture program and honors college carry their own additional expectations. Strong quantitative preparation in high school matters more here than a broad activities resume.

After graduation

NJIT has a strong reputation for direct pipelines into New York metro area tech and engineering employers, with co-op experience regularly translating into job offers before graduation, a return-on-investment case the university markets deliberately and, by most accounts, earns. The university's applied-research arm also connects students to sponsored corporate and government projects beyond the classroom, adding another route into employer relationships before graduation.

Worth knowing

The co-op and internship culture is worth understanding upfront, since it meaningfully shapes the undergraduate schedule, often extending time to degree, and is a central part of why the university has built its reputation for practical, career-ready outcomes. Students who want a traditional four-year residential college experience with a packed athletics and Greek-life calendar should weigh that trade-off honestly before enrolling.

njit.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate65.1%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1210–1460 · ACT 27–34

Test policyoptional

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 15

AdmissionRolling

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying