The university has six schools and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, on campus and online.[12]Forbes ranked Mercy University the 2nd best among all online universities in New York State in 2024.[13] The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated Mercy University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education.[14] Enrollment at Mercy University includes more than 8,500 undergraduate and graduate students representing 40 states and 51 countries throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America.[3]
History
The college was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy.[15] In 2011, Mercy College absorbed the buildings and facilities of Our Lady of Victory Academy. In 2016, Mercy College opened a new $32 million, 100,000-square-foot residence hall, a 5,000-square-foot fitness center and a Starbucks Cafe and convenience store on its Dobbs Ferry campus.[16] Mercy College expanded and renovated its Manhattan campus in 2019.[17] Also in 2019, Mercy College absorbed the College of New Rochelle.[18] In 2023, Mercy College changed its name to Mercy University to reflect its evolution to a research university.[19] In 2024, Mercy University completed $4.25 million worth of campus improvements in Dobbs Ferry, New York, including the construction of a 4,100 square-foot permanent open-aired pavilion in The Grove area of the Dobbs Ferry main campus.[20] Also in 2024, Mercy University started enhancing its athletic fields on the Dobbs Ferry campus.[21]
Campuses
Dobbs Ferry main campus
Mercy University's Dobbs Ferry, New York, campus is seated on 66 acres (27 ha). It encompasses numerous administrative, academic and dormitory buildings, as well as indoor and outdoor athletic and fitness facilities.
In 2024, Mercy University completed $4.25 million worth of campus improvements in Dobbs Ferry, New York, including the construction of a 4,100 square-foot permanent open-aired pavilion in The Grove area of the Dobbs Ferry main campus.[20]
In 2024, Mercy University started enhancing its athletic fields on the Dobbs Ferry campus.[21]
Manhattan
The Manhattan campus is situated in the heart of Manhattan at Herald Square and occupies three floors at 47 West 34th Street totalling 95,370 square feet.[22] The Manhattan campus was expanded and renovated in 2019.[17]
Bronx
The Bronx campus occupies 125,522 square feet (11,661.4 m2) at the Hutchinson Metro Center, a rapidly developing complex of corporate and health care organizations and businesses. The Bronx Campus’s facilities include health and science labs and anatomage tables and student spaces such as the Veterans Lounge.[23]
Former locations
Yorktown Heights
In 1979, the Yorktown campus of Mercy College moved to a permanent facility at the intersection of Route 202 and Strang Boulevard. This landscaped building was renovated for college use. The branch library at the Yorktown campus was designated a federal depository for government publications.[24] The campus was close to Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park and ceased operations in 2021.[25]
College of New Rochelle campus lease
In fall 2019, Mercy leased the College of New Rochelle’s main campus in New Rochelle for up to two years, at $1.8 million a year, and nearly 1,700 students from CNR became Mercy students.[26] In addition to CNR's main campus, Mercy also negotiated leases for two of CNR's satellite campuses, Rosa Parks in Harlem and the Brooklyn Campus in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.[27] However this arrangement proved short-lived as the New Rochelle campus was sold in December 2019 to the Grand Lodge of New York Freemasons in order to pay off the College of New Rochelle's debts. It has since been turned into a senior-living facility for aged and infirm Freemasons.[28]
The university offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, including more than two dozen that can be completed online. The faculty comprises 227 full-time professors.[3]
20th in Top Performers on Social Mobility in Regional Universities North by U.S. News & World Report in 2024.[30]
Forbes ranked Mercy University #2 among the best online universities in New York State in 2024.[13]
Admissions
Undergraduate acceptance rate was 85% in Fall 2023.[31] The middle 50 percent SAT Composite scores of enrolled students were 1020–1230.[29] The middle 50 percent ACT Composite score of enrolled students was between 21 and 25.[29] The average high-school GPA of enrolled students was 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.[29]
Demographics
As of 2022, Mercy University had 8,615 students enrolled. The undergraduate population includes 4,815 full-time and 1,564 part-time students with 30 percent of freshmen and 11 percent of all full-time undergraduates residing in campus-affiliated housing. While the majority of students are come from the tri-state area, students represent 40 states and 51 countries. Mercy University offers small class sizes with an average student/faculty ratio of 15:1. Around 89 percent of students are commuters; 11 percent live in campus housing. Mercy University has 72 percent female students and 28 percent male students.[32]
Accreditation
All campuses of Mercy University are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Among others, Mercy University colleges and programs holds professional accreditations with:[33]
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
Accreditation Review Commission for Physician Assistant
American Association for Paralegal Education
American Association of Colleges of Nursing Mercy College
American Physical Therapy Association
American Speech, Language and Hearing Association
American Veterinary Medical Association
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Council on Social Work Education
Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation[34]
Research
Mercy University participates in the McNair Scholars Program and is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research. The Office of Sponsored Programs works with faculty members and students to apply for funding to support research programs in a variety of fields.[35][36] Mercy University conducts cybersecurity research in a number of areas including cross-domain information sharing, data security and privacy, data mining for malware detection, geospatial information security, secure social networks, and secure cloud computing. The university is designated a National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.[14]
Libraries
Mercy University's flagship library is on the main Dobbs Ferry Campus.[37] Both the Bronx and Manhattan campuses also have branch libraries.[38]
Mercy athletic teams are the Mavericks. The college is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the East Coast Conference (ECC; formerly known as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC) until after the 2005–06 academic year) since the 1989–90 academic year.
Mercy University sponsors an intramural sports program, as well as intercollegiate competition in 10 varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball.
The baseball, lacrosse, soccer, and field hockey teams, in addition to numerous local community high school and youth groups, play on a new, eco-friendly turf field on the Dobbs Ferry campus.
Nickname
In 2007, the university changed its athletic nickname from "Flyers" to "Mavericks" after the administration reviewed suggestions from students and faculty members.[5][39]
Student life
Student government
The Mercy College Student Government Association (SGA) is responsible for protecting students’ rights, advocating for students’ interests, and promoting student life.
Thomas J. Abinanti, American politician, lawyer, and member of the New York State Assembly from Greenburgh, New York.
Fernando Cabrera, American politician in the Bronx, New York. A Democrat, he currently represents the 14th District in the New York City Council. Formerly program director for the Mental Health and Counseling program at Mercy College
Rick Wolff, book editor, author, college coach, broadcaster, and former professional baseball player.
Daniel Callahan, professor of psychology at Mercy University. Played a leading role in developing the field of biomedical ethics as co-founder of The Hastings Center, the world's first bioethics research institute.[51]
Mercy University had more than 70,000 alumni as of 2023.[4] The now-defunct College of New Rochelle's alumni have been merged into the Mercy University alumni community.[52]
Prominent alumni in business and finance include Mark Zuckerberg, self-made billionaire, chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Facebook;[A]George Gallego, a world ranked para-triathlete and entrepreneur; Michele Quirolo, President and chief executive officer of The Visiting Nurse Association of Hudson Valley; Carolyn Kepcher, businesswoman who was one of the judges on the NBC television program The Apprentice; Walter Anderson, former publisher and CEO of Parade Magazine; Noreen Culhane, an American businesswoman and current executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange, directing their Global Corporate Client Group; and Anne Sweeney, American businesswoman. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors at Netflix, LEGO A/S, and the board of trustees at the Mayo Clinic and the J.P. Getty Trust. She was formerly the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and President of the Disney–ABC Television Group, and the President of Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014.