Mercy College (Mercy or Mercy NY) is a four year, private, non-sectarian, non-profit liberal arts college with its main campus in Dobbs Ferry, New York, alongside the Hudson River, with additional locations in Manhattan, Bronx and Yorktown Heights.
Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1950, Mercy College became a four-year college offering programs leading to the baccalaureate degree in 1961. The College was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 1968.
In the next half-decade, Mercy College set a course for its future with a series of actions including declaring itself independent and co-educational. In addition, it doubled the size of the existing physical plant and initiated the first of many community outreach efforts. Mercy College in the 1970s broadened its outreach through the establishment of extension centers and branch campuses throughout communities in Westchester County and New York City.
The College has five schools: Business, Education, Health & Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Social & Behavioral Sciences—and offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs, including more than two dozen that can be completed online.
The faculty comprises 188 full-time members, including 26 professors, 61 associate professors, 86 assistant professors, and 15 instructors.
Mercy College runs the Personalized Achievement Contract (PACT) Program, a mentoring program that aims to maximize students’ success through comprehensive collaboration between students and professional mentors, and to address the national agenda to raise the number of college graduates in America. PACT students are provided professional mentors who facilitate integrated support for academic, career, and personal growth. Together, student and mentor create a customized plan.
The undergraduate population includes 5,505 full-time and 2,524 part-time students with 26 percent of freshmen and 8 percent of all full-time undergraduates residing in campus-affiliated housing. While the majority of students are New York residents, students represent 18 states and 43 countries. The retention rate for freshmen is 68 percent and the six-year graduation rate is 34 percent. Mercy College offers small class sizes with an average student/faculty ratio of 20:1. 92% of students are commuters; 8% live in campus housing. Mercy College has 67.9% female students and 32.1% male students.
