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Kean University

Research at Kean

Kean is proud to be New Jersey's urban research university. Our faculty and students conduct research that fuels innovative solutions to issues in urban communities. Learn more about how Kean’s interdisciplinary research is changing our world.

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Research News

Climbing Higher in Research

Institutes & Centers

Learn more about the work taking place across Kean’s centers and institutes, including at the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research.

Research Institutes and Centers

Researcher in plant lab
Institutes & Centers

Sponsored Programs

Find out how the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs assists Kean researchers with developing proposals, applying for grants and obtaining funding. 

Office of Research & Sponsored Programs

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Sponsored Programs

Research Events

Mark your calendar for Kean’s research events, including Research Days, which highlights faculty-student research and interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Kean Research Days

Michio Kaku in discussion during a Kean Research event
Research Events

I am getting experience in research as an undergraduate so I can become a better candidate for medical school. I want to continue doing research and help develop cures for many types of diseases.

Dhaara Shah
Kean Junior
Kean Junior Dhaara Shah

Faculty Spotlight on Jennifer Chen, Ed.D.

Kean University Professor and Chair of the Department of Early Childhood Education Jennifer Chen, Ed.D., conducts research on AI in early childhood education, especially its impact on children's learning and development. Chen, who was recently named among the most-cited researchers in the world in the 2023 Stanford/Elsevier ranking, spoke with Kean News about AI, its growing presence, and its impact on the education of children up to age 8.  

Jennifer Chen, Ph.D., is chairman of the Department of Early Childhood Education

We are graduating strong female scientists, many of them women of color, who will climb higher and make a difference.

Reenat Munshi
Acting Director, Center for Undergraduate Research
Researcher at work in a Kean laboratory

$4 Million in Federal Funding for Research

Kean received more than $4 million for a series of new initiatives tied to its designation as an urban research university under the federal spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden.

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First Urban Research University in New Jersey

Gov. Murphy signed legislation making Kean the first designated urban research institution in the Garden State.

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Path to R2 Carnegie Designation

Kean is on a path to receiving the R2 designation for high research activity from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Kean student codes a research project while professor looks on

Bringing Discoveries to the Marketplace

Kean’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) has expanded to boost researchers’ efforts to move their discoveries into the marketplace where they can benefit the public.

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Kean researchers are always climbing higher. Keep up as we reach the next peak of discovery.