Montclair State University has met the criteria set forth by the U.S. Department of Education to be recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), highlighting the University’s successful commitment to providing diverse populations access to high quality affordable higher education.

The Hispanic-Serving Institution status is reserved for colleges and universities that have an enrollment of full-time equivalent undergraduate students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic. The University’s more than 16,000 undergraduate students met this criteria as of the fall 2015 semester.

Ranked for more than 15 consecutive years in Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine’s “Top 100 Colleges for Hispanics,” Montclair State reached No. 51 in the 2015 national rankings, which identify the colleges and universities that enroll, train and graduate the most Hispanic scholars.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population represents nearly 20 percent of New Jersey's population and more than 17 percent of the population nationwide. The Pew Research Center also reports that Hispanics are currently the largest minority group on U.S. college campuses.

"Providing excellent educational opportunities for a diverse student body is both a moral and economic imperative, helping to develop a qualified work force and to enhance each graduate's potential to succeed professionally," said Montclair State University President Susan A. Cole. "The University takes this challenge seriously, and it is not just by chance that more than 600 of our Hispanic students are majoring  in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, making Montclair State one of the leaders in the effort to reverse the national decline of minority STEM professionals."

Montclair State University is now eligible to compete for funding under the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program. The initiative provides multi-year federal grants to assist Hispanic-Serving Institutions such as Montclair State in expanding educational opportunities for, and improving the attainment and retention of Hispanic students. The funding also enables qualifying colleges and universities to expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality and institutional stability.

Achieving Hispanic-Serving Institution status is the latest accomplishment for the growing public university. Named a Research Doctoral University by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in February, Montclair State also completed two state-of-the-art facilities – a $66 million building for its Feliciano School of Business and a $55 million Center for Environmental Life Sciences – in the fall of 2015. The University also recently announced a strategic alliance with Sony Electronics to create an extensive 4K studio within its new facility for the School of Communication and Media, set to be complete in January 2017