Joint PhD Program in Urban Systems

The Universities

Newark's Public Research Universities

Located in the University Heights section of New Jersey's largest city are the Newark campus of Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). Combined, these universities attract about $100 million annually in external funding, feature a student population of more than 20,000, and conduct research spanning such diverse areas as language based learning disorders, robotics and intelligent manufacturing, and the molecular and immunopathologic mechanisms of cancer.

Together, these three universities bring complementary strengths to joint programs in the biological sciences and bioengineering, computer and information sciences, private and public management, the health-related professions, application-oriented sciences such as chemistry, physics, mathematics and the environmental sciences, and the social sciences. Collectively, the three universities produce more than 100 research doctorates annually.

Additionally, Newark is fifteen minutes of all major transportation systems, including Newark International Airport, New Jersey Transit, PATH and Amtrak railroad lines, the New Jersey Turnpike, and the Garden State Parkway.

The City of Newark also is accessible to a number of major metropolitan areas. New York City can be reached within twenty minutes by train, Philadelphia within an hour by train, and Washington, D.C., within an hour by plane.

The University Heights Campuses

Rutgers University-Newark Campus- A doctorate-granting research institution, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, consisting of the nation's most distinguished research universities. The Rutgers-Newark campus is one of New Jersey's leading centers for professional and graduate education, graduate School-Newark, the Faculty of Management, the School of Law-Newark, the School of Criminal Justice, the College of Nursing, the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, and the Center for Global Change and Governance.

New Jersey Institute of Technology- As New Jersey's public scientific/technological research university, NJIT offers graduate study in thirty-five engineering and science specialties, architecture, management, and related disciplines. It awards 740 master's and fifty PhD degrees annually, and has one of the nation's most computing-intensive campuses. NJIT is home to twenty-five major interdisciplinary research centers, many featuring partnerships with other leading research universities and knowledge-dependent business enterprises. Graduate students participate in cutting-edge research in area such as environmental science and engineering, architecture and building science, manufacturing, electronics and communications, information technology, materials science and engineering, and transportation and infrastructure.

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey- UMDNJ, New Jersey's state university of the health sciences, is the nation's largest freestanding public university of the health sciences. Through its three medical schools and schools of Nursing, Dentistry, Public Health, Health-Related Professions and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, UMDNJ awards over 1,000 degrees annually. A recognized leader in basic biomedical, clinical and health related research, UMDNJ ranks among the top 100 research institutions nationally in term of extramural funding. With more than 170 specialized centers and institutes, affiliations with over 200 educational and health care institutions, and strong relationships with private industry, UMDNJ provides a rich array of research settings to its graduate students. In Newark, where the largest of the University's five regional campuses is located, these include the International Center for Public Health, the Violence Institute of New Jersey, the National Pediatric and Family HIV Resource Center, the National Tuberculosis Center, a newly-formed Informatics Institute, the Center for Urban Health Systems, Institute for Elimination of Health Disparities, and the Stanley Bergen Center for Multicultural Education, Research, and Practice..