Master's in Artificial Intelligence Programs in New Jersey

Though it sits in the shadow of NYC, the Garden State has plenty to offer AI graduate students. Our directory of New Jersey Master’s in AI programs now contains 15+ degrees and certificates in artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and computational linguistics. You can shoot for a qualification from a top-tier research university like Princeton or aim for a practical AI degree from a tech such as NJIT or SIT. Explore our NJ guide to learn more about research & career pathways.

Artificial Intelligence Schools in New Jersey

Within our directory of New Jersey master’s degrees and graduate certificates in artificial intelligence, you’ll discover all of the state’s major academic players. Princeton is the obvious #1 choice, but there are plenty of respectable alternatives, especially in applied AI. If you’re still unsure about which NJ school would be best for your AI education goals, here are some ways to refine your search.

• Princeton University: Princeton is our top pick for deep theory and cutting-edge research. It doesn’t offer a dedicated MS in AI, but it does have an extremely competitive MSE or MEng in Computer Science. To learn more about its strengths, visit AI at Princeton and read up about the Princeton Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence (AI Lab), the Lab’s seed grant program, Princeton’s investment in a cluster of 300 Nvidia H100 GPUs, the NJ AI Hub, and all of the university’s AI-affiliated units & centers. Groundbreaking research is ongoing within AI for Accelerating Invention, which is using AI & ML tools to transform engineering design & fabrication; the Princeton Language and Intelligence (PLI), which is seeking to develop a fundamental understanding of large AI models; and Natural and Artificial Minds (NAM), which is rethinking theory-driven cognitive science research. Princeton is also backing efforts such as Google DeepMind Princeton, which is exploring the foundations of ML, and Princeton Precision Health (PPH).
• Rutgers University: If you’re thinking Princeton may be unachievable, Rutgers’s Master of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in AI/Machine Learning is a worthy alternative. It’s administered by a Department of Computer Science with plenty of AI-associated labs & centers and it will give you access to The Rutgers Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (RAD) Collaboratory. RAD is designed to serve as the university’s hub for data science, AI, and student engagement, and its busy supporting efforts like Artificial Intelligence for Society. Pay particular attention to Rutgers if you’re interested in work in pharma or healthcare. The university has a huge stake in biomedical & health AI and funds multiple centers in these areas, including the Rutgers Health Center for Biomedical Informatics & Health Artificial Intelligence (BMIHAI) and the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine (IQB) with its Protein Data Bank. Rutgers is also part of the Health & Life Science Exchange (HELIX NJ), which is supporting new ventures in biotech.
• NJIT: Anyone with interests in applied AI should be investigating the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). As an RI university, it has a strong reputation among New Jersey & NYC employers and a great track record in practical research (e.g. robotics & intelligent transportation systems). In 2025, the university launched the Grace Hopper AI Research Institute (GHRI), an organization that brings together existing initiatives such as the Center for AI Research and the Institute for Data Science (IDS). GHRI is collaborating with NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) to help students & faculty spin ideas into AI solutions for healthcare, defense, finance, and manufacturing industries. It’s also worth noting that—alongside CoreWeave and Revlon—NJIT researchers are investigating a wide range of engineering & life sciences AI applications within the NJIT @ NEST Center for Translational Research (CTR) located at the Northeast Science & Technology Center (NEST).
• SIT: The Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) is less about theory and more about engineering applications. The key driver for AI developments in this R2 university is the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI), which lives within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). SIAI supports a number of AI projects & partnerships and runs the AI Research Summer Fellowship Program. You’ll also find a lot of AI engineering & applied AI work being done within the Center for Innovative Computing and Networked Systems (iCNS), which helped to organize the university’s first AI symposium. Thinking about SIT’s Master of Engineering in Robotics? Take a look at iCNS’s Sensing, Machine Learning and Robotics Technologies Lab (SMARTLab) and the ECE faculty-led Robotics & Automation Laboratory.

We would consider these to be the top 4 schools for AI in New Jersey. However, that’s not to discount what’s happening at other public research universities in the state. Montclair has developed an active Montclair AI Hub and a slew of relevant AI centers & labs, as well as the only graduate program in computational linguistics in New Jersey. And Rowan funds a unique Machine & Artificial Intelligence Virtual Reality Center (MAVRC) that’s dedicated to advancing immersive/AI environments, as well as a Dreamscape Learn Center for VR-enhanced learning.

Online Master’s in Artificial Intelligence Programs in New Jersey

Online master’s degrees & graduate certificates in our New Jersey directory are dominated by one name—SIT. This R2 school in Hoboken has developed scores of distance learning programs in AI, ML, business AI, and robotics. You can opt for a full-spread master’s or choose to test the waters with an online graduate certificate.

• SIT Online Master’s Programs: As we mentioned in our Schools section, SIT has a reputation for applied AI. In fact, the Online Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence (MS in AAI) was explicitly developed to focus on AI applications for engineering. The Online Master of Science in Machine Learning has a bit more of a theoretical feel, with courses in areas such as NLP, deep learning, and statistical ML.
• SIT Online Graduate Certificates: Online graduate certificates at SIT tend to focus on niche areas of AI such as autonomous robotics, AI in engineering, and ML applications. In particular, have a look at the Online Graduate Certificate in the Application of Machine Learning to Pharmaceutical Development—it shows that SIT knows that pharma is a big deal in the state’s economy.

The Artificial Intelligence Landscape in New Jersey

New Jersey has always been the little brother to New York, so it’s intriguing to watch it strive to make a name for itself in artificial intelligence. Instead of trying to fight in the same weight class, it’s making some strategic moves into areas such as biotech. Once you’ve read through this state summary, have a look at our analysis of the AI landscape in New York and alternative master’s options at schools like NYU, Columbia, and Cornell. You will need to make a decision about whether you want a New Jersey job or a commute to NYC.

• AI-Heavy Sectors: AI employment opportunities in New Jersey can be roughly divided into three areas—Jersey City & Hoboken for fintech and maritime tech; Princeton & Trenton for R&D and deep tech; and a pharma & healthcare corridor across central & northern New Jersey. The Trenton-Princeton metro area was even identified as a Star Hub in a 2025 Brookings Metro report on Mapping the AI Economy. These strengths have helped to turn New Jersey into one of the top 15 states in AI Job Postings. Examine current NJ listings for AI professionals and you’re likely to see openings from big companies in finance (e.g. Citi, Prudential/PGIM, Bank of America, etc.), fintech (e.g. Fiserv), pharma & biotech (e.g. Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, etc.), telecom (e.g. Verizon, Nokia Bell Labs, etc.), and big tech (e.g. Audible/Amazon).
• State Support & Govtech: Like New York, New Jersey also benefits from having a state government that’s actively pushing an AI agenda. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is the leader here. It’s developed the Next New Jersey Program – AI, a program that authorizes up to $500M in transferable tax credits for AI companies & AI data centers (with awards up to $250M per project), and it’s a partner in the NJ AI Hub (see below under Startups & Innovation). Even county-level governments are getting in on the game. Thanks to Middlesex County’s efforts, New Brunswick is now the home of a dedicated Middlesex County Network Operations Center and DataCity, a smart-mobility living lab in an urban environment.
• Startups & Innovation: New Jersey can’t compete with NYC for startup energy, but the state and R1 universities are doing their best to foster innovation. Located in Princeton and supported by Princeton + Microsoft + CoreWeave + NJEDA, the NJ AI Hub is committed to investing in talent development programs like TechSpark, providing capital support for early-stage AI startups through the NJ AI Venture Fund, and commercializing research. The NJEDA has also put its back behind the NJAI Innovation Challenge, a statewide initiative that turbo-charges the use of AI for social and public good. If you are thinking of getting involved in the New Jersey startup ecosystem, concentrate your efforts around Rutgers/New Brunswick and—especially—Princeton. The NJ AI Hub could generate some fascinating results.
• R&D & Infrastructure: Two AI hubs on our watch list are the 102-acre Northeast Science & Technology Center (NEST) in Kenilworth and the Health & Life Science Exchange (HELIX NJ) in New Brunswick. In 2025, CoreWeave announced that it was planning to invest $1.2B into a new data center at 11 NEST (its first data center in New Jersey). Other prominent NEST tenants include Revlon and the NJIT @ NEST Center for Translational Research. Drive 1/2 hour down the Garden State Parkway and you’ll find the Health & Life Science Exchange (HELIX NJ) for researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs. HELIX NJ is home to the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, a translational research facility, and the New Jersey Innovation Hub (NJIH). This is where we’re predicting movement in healthcare startups and scaling biotech companies.

New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Resources

Anyone can get a head-start on job networking with this curated list of New Jersey AI resources! We’ve included links to sector-specific AI conferences in fields like biotech, NJ AI meetups, and major university AI research centers. You might wish to compare these options with NYC AI events & meetups.

AI Events & Conferences in NJ

• AI at Princeton Events
• BioNJ Events
• Envision (Student-Led Conference in Princeton)
• NJ AI Summit & NJ AI Hub Events
• New Jersey Big Data Alliance (NJBDA) Symposium
• New Jersey Digital Government Summit
• OverdriveAI Summit (Hosted at Nokia Bell Labs)

AI Meetups & Networking in NJ

• Digital Jersey
• Jersey City AI Meetups
• New Brunswick AI Meetups
• Princeton AI Meetups
• TechUnited New Jersey

AI University Research Centers in NJ

• AI at Princeton
• Google DeepMind Princeton
• Montclair AI Hub
• NJ AI Hub
• NJIT Center for AI Research
• NJIT Institute for Data Science
• Princeton Center for Statistics & Machine Learning (CSML)
• Princeton Language and Intelligence (PLI)
• Rowan Digital Engineering Hub (DEHub)
• Rowan Machine & Artificial Intelligence Virtual Reality Center (MAVRC)
• Rutgers Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (RAD) Collaboratory
• Rutgers Health Center for Biomedical Informatics & Health Artificial Intelligence (BMIHAI)
• Rutgers Institute for Data Science, Learning & Applications (IDSLA)
• SIT Center for Innovative Computing and Networked Systems (iCNS)
• SIT Sensing, Machine Learning and Robotics Technologies Lab (SMARTLab)
• Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI)