About Rider
History
School Colors: Cranberry and White
Mascot: The Bronc
Motto: In Omnia Paratus (Latin)
In all things prepared (English)
1865
founded as Trenton Business College; Merged with Westminster Choir College in 1992
1992
Merged with Westminster Choir College
1994
Granted University status
Academic Programs
60+ undergraduate majors and 40+ graduate degrees and certificate programs in business administration, education, liberal arts, sciences, music, fine and performing arts, counseling, human services and leadership.
Faculty
Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio means, in addition to small classes and individual feedback, you might find yourself researching with your professors in the field, presenting side-by-side with them at national conferences or co-creating a documentary that gets you into the Cannes International Film Festival (true story!).
200+
Full-time faculty
12:1
Student to faculty ratio
94%
of full-time faculty hold a doctorate or the highest degree in their field
Academic Distinction
Rider University ranks on U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges list and the Wall Street Journal's Top U.S. College list. Rider is also recognized as a Best College by Colleges of Distinction.
#11
Best Value - Regional Universities North (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
#35
Regional Universities North (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
#12
Best Colleges for Veterans - Regional Universities North (U.S. News & World Report, 2025)
390
Princeton Review ranks Rider as "A Best 390 College" nationally
Student Body Diversity
Fall 2023 undergraduates self-identified as:
- American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0%
- Asian: 6%
- Black/African American: 14%
- Caucasian: 53%
- Hispanic: 25%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- Multi-ethnic: 3%
57%
female
43%
male
Student Life
From Cranberry Fest to History Club, dodgeball games to literary magazines, our campus is an epicenter of year-round activities, deep-seated traditions, and diverse clubs and organizations that make Rider a wonderful place to call home.
3,196
Undergraduate students
832
Graduate Students
65
Countries represented
36+1
U.S. states and territories represented
35%
of the Class of 2027 are first-generation college students
45%
students of color
Athletics
Member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
21
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams
20+
Active club and intramural sports programs
Accreditations
Rider University is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), www.msche.org. Rider University's accreditation status is Accreditation Reaffirmed. The Commission's most recent action on the institution's accreditation status on June 21, 2018 was to reaffirm accreditation.
MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to conduct accreditation and pre-accreditation (candidate status) activities for institutions of higher education including distance, correspondence education, and direct assessment programs offered at those institutions. The Commission’s geographic area of accrediting activities is throughout the United States.
Rider University also holds specialized accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP), and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The University is also approved by the International Registry of Counsellor Education Programs (IRCEP), the National Accreditation of School Psychologists (NASP) and the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Location and Campus Facilities
- Our campus in Lawrenceville, N.J. is within easy driving distance of both Philadelphia and New York City.
- Forty-three buildings, athletic fields, tennis courts, indoor swimming pool and lake on Rider’s 280-acre campus.
- Over 20 residence halls equipped with voice, video and data service.
- Moore Library is home to more than 451,000 print volumes, 661,000 microforms, access to more than 51,000 periodical titles in a mix of print and electronic formats, and a wide variety of electronic research tools. The library also supports the music curriculum of Westminster Choir College with holdings of scores, choral music titles, sound and visual recordings, special collections and other materials.