Thomas Edison State College is a public institution of higher education located in Trenton, New Jersey. One of New Jersey's 12 public universities and colleges, Thomas Edison State College offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level. Thomas Edison State College was approved by the New Jersey Board of Education in December 1971, and established on July 1, 1972. The college was named in honor of Thomas Alva Edison, the New Jersey inventor who gained encyclopedic knowledge of many subject areas through self-directed learning.