The state has approved a request by St. Peter’s College to become a university, allowing the Jersey City institution to continue expansion and raise its profile in the higher education market, college officials said today.

The state has approved a request by St. Peter’s College to become a university, allowing the Jersey City institution to continue expansion and raise its profile in the higher education market, college officials said today.

In a news release, the 140-year-old institution said university status will “bolster the college’s market position” by promoting its range of programs and academic degrees.”

College spokeswoman Angeline Boyer said 40 percent of its degrees already are awarded at the graduate level, which helped the school in its bid to gain university designation. The college, which has about 3,000 full-time and part-time students, has been working toward the status for the past four years.

“University designation is an integral part of the college’s strategic plan to generate market recognition as a comprehensive institution,” St. Peter’s President Eugene J. Cornacchia said in a prepared statement. He said the Jesuit college was “taking a monumental step into the future” with the designation, which also will help it “strengthen enrollment and expand international partnerships.”

St. Peter’s will operate as a college until the new academic year begins in September, when a “new brand and identity will be unveiled,” the news release said. And in February, the college expects to open a nearly 90,000-square-foot student center, Boyer said.