History of Bloomfield College

For more than 150 years, Bloomfield College has been helping students write their own stories. With its beginnings as the German Theological School founded by the Presbytery of Newark in 1868, the College has evolved to become one of New Jersey’s best private colleges, serving a diverse population and preparing students for success in a multicultural and global society.

Originally located on the grounds of First German Presbyterian Church in Newark, N.J., the school moved to the former Bloomfield Academy on Franklin Street in Bloomfield in 1872, which was renamed Seibert Hall in honor of the school’s first president, Rev. George Seibert. The hall served as a dormitory, classrooms, faculty housing, and library.

In 1909, the New Jersey Legislature authorized the school to grant the Bachelor of Arts degree in addition to a Bachelor of Divinity. In 1913, the German Theological Seminary changed its name to Bloomfield Theological Seminary.

Over the years, as the local population began to reflect greater diversity, students came to the college not only to study theology, but to gain a solid liberal arts foundation. In post-World War I years, the college received approval for a four-year program and the school’s name was again changed to Bloomfield College and Seminary. In 1961, the school simply became known as Bloomfield College.

Today, Bloomfield College is on the cutting edge of innovation in higher education, offering over 60 majors and concentrations in seven academic divisions. Ranked as one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Bloomfield is an institution where bold and courageous students from all corners of the globe can come to find themselves.

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