Providing an Opportunity for
‘Unparalleled Diversity’
A decade ago, only a small contingent of students at St. Joseph’s University, New York’s Brooklyn Campus lived more than 10 miles from campus. Today though, one-in-seven learners at the campus in Clinton Hill call another state — or another country — home.
“Over the past five years, we’ve enjoyed steady and consistent growth in both out-of-state and international student enrollment,” said Christine Murphy, St. Joseph’s University’s vice president for enrollment management. “New York City and Brooklyn in particular are global destinations for higher education, and the University has successfully met these learners and their dreams where they are.”
St. Joseph’s since 2017 has seen the number of students opting to reside at University-planned, off-campus housing in the St. George Residence quadruple.
There’s more than a few reasons why. Consider that the residence hall — located in the former St. George Hotel in bustling Brooklyn Heights — is a short walk to the trendy DUMBO, a neighborhood filled with shops and eateries. It’s also a quick stroll to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, where students often go to soak in views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline over the East River.
The University’s dorm facility serves as home to students from 28 different states, as well as from places across the globe. Last year alone, the University welcomed nearly five dozen students from 24 different countries, bringing their unique experiences and world views to the Brooklyn Campus community.
“As an international student, having access to my professors was the best way to adapt and acclimate to my new educational environment,” said Abhishek Pohkarel ’23, a computer science major from Nepal. “As I had hoped, I got very close to my professors, and with their guidance, I have been able to achieve many things in my studies of the worlds of computer science and mathematics.”
These students are part of an ever-increasing campus population that decided St. Joseph’s was the best fit for them to fulfill their aspirations. Yet, it’s not only these students who stand to benefit from coming to Brooklyn.
“The best higher education is more than sitting in a classroom and preparing for employment; it’s an immersive experience that exposes students to people from all walks of life and things that they would not have otherwise seen,” St. Joseph’s President Donald R. Boomgaarden, Ph.D., said.
“Our evolving enrollment fosters these experiences across a backdrop of unparalleled diversity.”