Bloomfield College is the only 4-year college in New Jersey recognized as a Predominantly Black Institution, Hispanic Serving Institution, and Minority Serving Institution.[5]
Bloomfield College was founded by the Presbyterian Church in 1868 as German Theological Seminary of Newark, New Jersey, to train German-speaking ministers. It moved to Bloomfield in 1872 and became four-year college in 1923.[citation needed] In 1912 it absorbed the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, founded in 1912 in nearby Newark.[6]
The school's enrollment peaked in 2011. In October 2021, the school announced that it could close in 2022-2023 if it did not find financial help.[7]
In March 2022, Montclair State University announced that it would financially support the college until a merger was agreed upon. The merger was officially announced on October 28, 2022, under which the college would become Bloomfield College of Montclair State University.[8] The merger was completed in July 2023.
The college offers primarily undergraduate studies, but it has added master's programs in Accounting, Fine Arts, and Education. The college is accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Bloomfield College has a student to faculty ratio of 15:1.
Bloomfield College has approximately 1,598 students and about 65% of the students are commuters. Its gender composition is 63 percent female and 37 percent male.[9] Its racial and ethnic composition is 48 percent black, 33 percent Hispanic, 9 percent white, and 2 percent Asian. Seventy-eight percent of the students were eligible for low-income Pell Grants. The academic staff consists of 60 full-time instructors and 120 part-time.[10]
Bloomfield College has a graduation rate of 33 percent. Median salary after attending ranged from $18,548 (BA, Visual and Performing Arts) to $77,966 (BS, Nursing). Median student debt ranged from $26,000 to $33,912. Two years after student loan repayment began, 11 percent were making progress.[11]
In its 2022 college rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Bloomfield College tied for 27th place for social mobility.[12]
Bloomfield College teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II. The Bears are a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, and track and field; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball.
^Koruth, Mary Ann. "Bloomfield College just merged with Montclair State University. What it means for students", The Record, July 5, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2023. "A merger with Montclair State University has given a new lease on life to Bloomfield College, a small, financially-strapped private college serving mostly low-income Black and Hispanic students in Essex County, saving it from shutting its doors. Bloomfield College, among the state's oldest private minority-serving institutions enrolling about 1,200 students, officially merged with Montclair State, a public research university serving 21,800 students, on July 1."
^About SandraArchived 2018-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, Senator Sandra Cunningham. Accessed July 25, 2018. "Sandra Bolden Cunningham is a New Jersey native, who grew up in Newark and now lives in Jersey City. She is a graduate of Bloomfield College where she earned a B.A. Degree."
^Staff. "Greeks Show Basketball Skill", The New York Times, November 18, 1987. Accessed July 25, 2018. "In the mid-1970s, Stergakos played four years with Bloomfield College in New Jersey, and in 1978, became a fourth-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics."
