Kean University
Union, New Jersey
Kean University is a public institution located in Union, New Jersey, that puts students first by offering a number of innovative programs to take part in.
Global learning, collaborations between faculty and staff, and a welcoming academic environment make Kean a fantastic place for students to expand their worldviews and develop into leaders. As a national leader in diversity and the only public American university with a campus in China, Kean is uniquely suited to help students of all backgrounds succeed while exploring the world.
Kean is a campus on the rise. Administrators and faculty are constantly making connections across disciplines to improve the student experience. Career planning, academic advising, and even coursework are done with input from experts from across campus, ensuring that Kean students take part in the most up-to-date and effective programs possible.
Get to know Kean University
College Highlights
STUDY ABROAD
Kean University is committed to offering international experiences to its entire student body regardless of their financial background. Kean’s innovative international programs are tailored to maximize opportunity for everyone. There are three ways to study abroad at Kean: traditional study abroad in over 30 countries through international partners, faculty-led Travelearn trips, or at the only Chinese campus from a public university in the United States, Wenzhou-Kean University.
Traditional study abroad invites students to take on an independent trip to several countries and programs across the globe. This trip allows students to get a completely immersive, international experience. Students live and study in foreign cities at foreign universities, learning from world-class professors for anywhere from a semester or summer to a full academic year.
Students looking for a shorter trip can opt for Travelearn, which allows faculty to take students abroad for a learning experience that integrates traditional lectures and visits to sites relevant to their curriculum. Travelearn is about more than simply learning about a culture; it combines travel and class learning to create a truly unique short-term learning experience.
The cornerstone of international study at Kean is Wenzhou-Kean University, the only China campus of any public American university. Wenzhou-Kean offers students the opportunity to study in this full-fledged university environment at the same price of the Kean home campus in New Jersey. Wenzhou-Kean thus expands the availability of international study to students who might not be able to afford it otherwise.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Research is central to the undergraduate experience at Kean. As early as their first-year classes, students are taught to conduct research in a way that supports all four years of their coursework and research projects.
If a student is interested in research, they may opt to be a Research Recruit to work in teams with a peer mentor and faculty member. At the end of the experience, these Recruits present their findings at Kean Research Days in April, showing off their work to the entire Kean community.
ENROLLMENT BY ETHNICITY
Non-U.S. Citizen: 2%
Hispanic/Latinx: 33%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic: 20%
White, non-Hispanic: 30%
Native/Indigenous American or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 0%
Asian, non-Hispanic: 6%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: 0%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic: 2%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown: 6%
TRANSITION 2 KEAN
The transition from high school to college is a critical time that, if supported well, can set a student up for success both academically and professionally. The university’s Transition 2 Kean program introduces students to many of the resources they’ll need in their four years on campus. In a small, seminar-style course, students learn from their academic advisors in their chosen discipline about Kean’s services and academic success strategies.
Transition 2 Kean also helps students plan for their academic futures. Their first-year academic advisors help them understand and plan their education requirements and prepare for their second semester and beyond. With Transition 2 Kean, all students are prepared with a roadmap to navigate their transition from high school to college and from freshman year to graduation.
THE CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE
As leaders inside the classroom, Kean students take charge outside of the classroom to be active in the surrounding community. The Center for Leadership and Service houses several avenues for leadership training and community service on campus.
The Leadership Institute extends the opportunities to serve and the benefits for leading. A four-year experience, students develop their leadership skills through a stream of service that culminates in a special certification. At each level—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum—students grow close to their cohort, learn what it means to be service oriented, and focus on all aspects of modern leadership.
Community service is important to Kean students, and Community and Volunteer Services coordinates service opportunities across and around campus. Students can even track their service involvement on a co-curricular transcript, which reflects everything they’ve done outside the classroom for employers and graduate programs to see.
A DIVERSE CAMPUS
Kean University’s student body is exceptionally diverse—a privilege the entire campus celebrates across its services and curricula. Every program at Kean is designed with inclusion in mind.
Students promote inclusion through multicultural events that are open to all students so that everyone may learn more about cultures unlike their own. Additionally, the university is cognizant of the varying backgrounds and therefore hosts tailored student support groups to keep the community strong. Even classroom content incorporates diverse perspectives. Kean is a place where diversity is promoted, celebrated, and central to the campus environment.
LIVING AND LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Residence life jumpstarts the process to build new students’ social and academic support systems early on. Students are automatically housed in two of Kean’s seven residence halls, helping them get to know the faces they’ll be seeing around campus throughout the next four years.
Kean’s Living and Learning Communities go a step further, putting students with similar interests and backgrounds together for a year-long adventure of bonding, networking, and learning. Kean offers four LLCs: STEM, Women Empowered by Living and Learning, Leadership, and Global Community. Each community has its own series of activities and events designed to bring residents closer together with their peers and mentors, learn more about themselves, and network with local professionals with similar career paths and interests.
Transfer students find comfort in Kean just as quickly with access to themed floors. Here, these transfers can get to know others like them who have similar interests. Transferring from one college to another is a difficult, often isolating transition, but these communities help everyone feel like they belong.
SCHOOL LOCATION
Kean University’s main campus is located in Union Township, New Jersey, just 30 minutes from New York City. The campus itself is undergoing constant improvement—residence halls, classrooms, labs, and other facilities are routinely built and renovated to keep up with the latest trends and demands.
Outside the classroom, students can stay in New Jersey and take advantage of outdoor opportunities to the south and west, or they canhead to the Big Apple to take in the sights, catch a Broadway show, or watch professional sports. Kean is located in a perfect place for students of all interests to find something to do when the studying stops.
COUGAR ATHLETICS
The Kean University Cougars field 14 Division III teams.
Men’s teams: Baseball, basketball, football, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball
Women’s teams: Basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball
CAPSTONES
Every student participates in a capstone experience that combines into one project both their major-specific skills and their general education exposure. These projects serve various functions, but in all cases, they are designed to synthesize everything a student has learned into one course. As an opportunity for seniors to reflect on their college career, these capstones also prepare them for the multifaceted nature of the professional world beyond college.
CAREER SERVICES
While Kean’s academic services prepare students for professional success, the Career Services office is wholly dedicated to helping students find the perfect jobs and internships that match their interests. Kean’s Career Services is a campus-wide, coordinated effort to ensure students are planning for the future from the moment they set foot on campus. Each college has its own assistant director of Career Services, which ensures that every student has a career counselor who truly understands the ins and outs of their academic and career path.
Career planning is integrated into the curriculum, with orientation and first-year seminar content designed to keep students looking to the future. Career activities are spread out throughout the four years on campus, with events, coursework, and personalized advising available to every student.
Admission
TEST SCORES
Optional
FRESHMAN PROFILE
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
25th Percentile: 460 | 75th Percentile: 550
SAT Math
25th Percentile: 460 | 75th Percentile: 550
ACT Composite
25th Percentile: 16 | 75th Percentile: 22
Tuition & Cost
Tuition (in-state): $10,445
Tuition (out-of-state): $17,621
Fees: $2,000
Room: $11,004
Board: $3,468
What Others are Saying
Contact Kean University
Contact Admissions
kean.edu/offices/admissions
(908) 737-7100
admitme@kean.edu
Campus Location
1000 Morris Ave
Union, NJ 07083
(908) 737-5326