Undergraduate Colleges and Schools

Originally founded in 1865 as a business college to prepare professionals for the booming post-Civil War economy, in 1959 Rider moved from Trenton to its current 280-acre campus in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Thirty-three years later, a merger took place between Rider University and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Considered one of the leading schools of music of its kind in the world, the merger also led to the successful integration of the theatre and dance programs at Rider University, and the college in its entirety became the Westminster College of the Arts in 2007. Housing both the School of the Fine and Performing Arts and Westminster Choir College, WCA was formed to offer select music and theatre programs on both the Princeton and Lawrenceville campuses, providing a complement to our liberal arts, sciences, education and business programs.  In 2020, Westminster Choir College moved to Rider University’s main campus in Lawrenceville, N.J.  In 2022, Westminster College of the Arts and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences were combined to create the College of Arts and Sciences.

The colleges and schools within Rider University include: