Academic Master Plan
The Academic Master Plan is our roadmap for the future, clarifying strategies to accomplish our academic mission as a national leader among institutions of higher education.
Strategic Priorities
Purpose Into Action
Through the ongoing implementation of the Academic Master Plan (AMP), we are laying the groundwork for our future. Building on our legacy as a land-grant public research university, we are focused on translating access into achievement, innovation into impact, and community into a shared purpose for all.
This is our commitment, and these are our priorities.
Our Guiding Framework
These strategic priorities of the Academic Master Plan reflect and reinforce its four pillars: Scholarly Leadership, Innovative Research, Student Success, and Community Engagement.
Each priority is articulated below to illustrate how it advances one or more of those pillars, drives institutional momentum, and supports our mission to serve the public good.
Student Success and Social Mobility
Enabling Student Success and Scholarly Leadership
We’re opening doors, and ensuring our students pass through prepared to lead and serve. Our commitment to student achievement extends beyond access. We are building equitable pathways and high-impact experiences so that every learner thrives.
Action Underway:
- Making on-time graduation a reality while lowering debt, setting up every student for lifelong success.
- Strengthening advising and support systems to help students find their path and stay on it, reaching even greater heights.
- Expanding high-impact learning through internships, research, and global experiences, thereby unlocking increased opportunities.
At Rutgers–New Brunswick, student success is about both access and transformation.
Faculty and Academic Excellence
Enabling Scholarly Leadership and Innovative Research
Our faculty is the heart of our academic distinction. We invest in their success as scholars, educators, and innovators, creating an ecosystem where teaching, discovery, and leadership intersect, to the benefit of all.
Action Underway:
- Strengthening recruitment and recognition of faculty, resulting in greater retention.
- Cultivating academic units and structures that support the AMP’s call for elevated scholarly leadership.
- Encouraging interdisciplinarity and cross-unit collaboration in line with the AMP’s vision, putting Rutgers–NB at the forefront of solving complex challenges.
Excellence in scholarship and teaching advances our reputation—and our purpose.
Research and Innovation Leadership
Enabling Innovative Research and Community Engagement
We're turning discovery into solutions, and innovation into service. Our research enterprise is focused on solving grand challenges—locally, nationally, globally—in service of the public good.
Action Underway:
- Prioritizing interdisciplinary research initiatives that respond to societal needs with greater precision.
- Fostering technology translation, societal partnerships, and research that makes a real difference.
- Ensuring our research ecosystem reflects the AMP’s commitment to innovation that is both meaningful and relevant in a changing world.
We’re working to build the public research university of the future: anchored in ethics, fueled by discovery, and driven by service.
Reputation and Public Impact
Enabling Community Engagement and Scholarly Leadership
Our story is one of consequence, where research changes lives and engagement strengthens communities. We amplify our impact by telling our story, building partnerships, and sustaining our legacy of service.
Action Underway:
- Growing our recognition among peer public research universities, enhancing our reputation nationwide.
- Cultivating alumni-mentor networks, community partnerships, and civic engagement, to grow and strengthen our place in society.
- Deepening our involvement in New Jersey and beyond, consistent with the AMP’s pillar of Community Engagement.
Our reputation grows through authenticity, action, and shared purpose.
These priorities reflect not just where Rutgers–New Brunswick is going, but who we are: a university dedicated to academic excellence, social mobility, inclusive innovation, and service to the public. Together, we are building a stronger future for our students, our communities, and the world.
Looking Ahead:
Momentum and Meaning
Rutgers–New Brunswick is moving forward with clarity and ambition.
Through the work outlined above, we are continuing to build on the foundation of the Academic Master Plan—its pillars, its strategies, its values—while earning national distinction.
Access. Excellence. Impact. Shared Purpose.
Our promise. Our future. Together.
Cornerstone Initiatives
Chancellor Challenge
The Chancellor Challenge is an annual initiative that invites proposals from members of Rutgers–New Brunswick’s scholarly community to propose transformational, campus-wide initiatives focused on specific goals of the Academic Master Plan.
Chancellor Signature Initiatives
Chancellor’s Signature Initiatives build on Rutgers’ existing research and academic strengths while expanding into emerging and high-impact areas to spark innovation, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthen partnerships—both within the university and with external communities.
Discovery Advantage
Discovery Advantage is a collaborative initiative focused on reimagining the student experience—from enrollment to retention and ultimately graduation—to ensure students are empowered, supported, and prepared to succeed.
ScarletWell
ScarletWell is public health and prevention-focused approach to mental health and wellness for Rutgers–New Brunswick's students, faculty, and staff.
Strategic Leadership in Action
We’re turning a clear strategic vision into tangible outcomes that spark meaningful change across our institution and around the globe.
