27 N.J. colleges appear on Newsweek’s first list of best colleges for women

Newsweek has published its first list of the best colleges for women and 27 New Jersey colleges earned a ranking on the list.

The ranking evaluates U.S. colleges across four categories: leadership, pay and policies, safety and opportunity. The methodology draws on federally reported data, providing a new dimension of insight that complements existing college rankings. The list also included information on state-level reproductive health policies, sourced from the Center for Reproductive Rights, so students can consider how local laws may impact their health care access.

America’s Best Colleges for Women is a ranking developed by Newsweek in partnership with Gender Fair, designed to highlight institutions that actively support gender equality and empower women. The methodology is rooted in the Women’s Empowerment Principles and evaluates colleges across four key areas: leadership, pay and policies, safety, and opportunity. 

The highest ranked colleges have tried to create environments where female students can flourish without barriers. Many coeducational institutions are also making strides in fostering gender equity, ensuring that women have access to the resources, support and opportunities they need to excel.

A school’s score is augmented by its state’s status on reproductive health services, including abortion, services that are allowed and protected under state statutes or constitutions. Additional laws and policies expand access to related care.

Many of the highest-ranked schools are Catholic institutions, many of which started out as women-only colleges such as Georgian Court and Caldwell universities. Felician University, a Catholic school based in Rutherford, was the top New Jersey school on the list at No. 30 out of 751 institutions on the list.

Nineteen of the schools scored 90 or above out of 100 on the safety score. Two, St. Elizabeth and Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Florham Park-Madison campus and neighboring schools, had perfect 100 scores. Felician, Georgian Court and St. Elizabeth were the only New Jersey schools that graded 81 or above on the leadership score. New Jersey City University, which just completed its merger with Kean University, topped all New Jersey colleges in the pay and policy category with a grade of 90. Rutgers University’s Newark campus had the highest opportunity score among New Jersey schools with a grade of 74.

Scoring categories:
Leadership | Pay & Policy | Safety | Opportunity
(Overall score shown first)

Top-Ranked New Jersey Schools (Overall Score)

Schools With Overall Scores in the 62.9–66.5 Range

Schools With Overall Scores Below 60