Methodist-affiliated liberal arts university in New Jersey with strong humanities and research programs.
Drew offers 50 undergraduate majors and 20 minors through its College of Liberal Arts, emphasizing depth, independent research, and experiential learning. Most popular majors include Business Administration, Psychology, Biology, and Computer Science. The university operates three degree-granting schools: the College of Liberal Arts (undergraduate), Drew Theological School (ministerial training), and Caspersen School of Graduate Studies (academic graduate programs). Graduate education has been available since 1912. Drew's theatre program has been consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally by The Princeton Review since 2011.
The 186-acre wooded campus in Madison, New Jersey, sits on the former estate of William Gibbons and features Greek Revival, Collegiate Gothic, and neoclassical architecture. The campus includes the Drew Forest Preserve (80 acres with 1,100 native trees and shrubs) and the Florence and Robert Zuck Arboretum, both serving as natural laboratories for biology and life sciences instruction. The university hosts the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Students have access to specialized programs including Semester on Wall Street, Semester on the United Nations, and London Semester, as well as research opportunities through RISE and the Drew Summer Science Institute.
Drew is test-optional and accepted 72.7% of applicants in 2024, with admitted students averaging a 3.1 GPA. Of those submitting standardized tests, the average SAT score was 1230 (32% of applicants) and average ACT score was 27 (4% of applicants). The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and transfer admission pathways. Undergraduate tuition was reduced by 20% in 2018 (from $48,300 to $36,600 annually) to improve affordability.
In 2015, William Campbell, a research fellow at Drew University, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing a drug to treat parasitic diseases. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (since 1932) and the Association of Theological Schools (since 1938). Drew ranks 62nd among liberal arts colleges by Washington Monthly (2025) based on contribution to public good, social mobility, and public service.