Mission Statement

Montclair State University is committed to serving the educational needs of New Jersey with programs characterized by academic rigor and currency in the development of knowledge and its applications. The University will offer a comprehensive range of baccalaureate, master’s, and certificate programs and a focused portfolio of doctoral programs that are closely aligned with the University’s academic strengths and the needs of the state.

The University will recruit faculty with exceptional academic or professional credentials and a deep commitment to the pursuit of their development as teachers and scholars. The University will admit to study with this faculty students who have demonstrated the potential for high achievement, diligence in the pursuit of their education, and high aspirations for using their education. The University will be inexorably committed to the maintenance of a learning community that is deeply and broadly reflective of the diverse population of New Jersey.

All University programs will develop in students the ability to discover, create, evaluate, apply, and share knowledge in a climate characterized by tolerance and openness in the exploration of ideas. Curricular and co-curricular programs will cultivate the ability to think critically, to act ethically, and to become informed citizen-participants prepared to assume leadership roles in a democracy. Recognizing the increasing connectedness of the world, the University will ensure that all students develop an understanding of global issues and of their responsibilities as citizens of the world.

The University will serve as a center for the creation of new knowledge and for the development of innovative applications of existing knowledge and as a center for pedagogical and artistic excellence and creativity. The University seeks to focus the professional activities of its faculty and the educational endeavors of its students on the enduring disciplines that will continue to constitute the knowledge base of an educated citizenry in the 21st century, as well as on the more specific and changing areas of study that have particular relevance to the region served by the University.

The University will play a role beyond the campus community, partnering and collaborating at the local, state, national and international levels to make positive contributions to addressing issues of importance to society, to enable students to experience their ability to use knowledge in constructive ways in the world, and to share the rich array of intellectual and cultural resources of the University with the people of New Jersey.

Approved in Public Session by Montclair State University Board of Trustees on 10/31/02 (Replaces Mission Statement approved on 5/13/81 and revised on 4/27/94)