A culture that builds character. A curriculum that launches careers. Strategic growth that powers the region. Alumni who inspire the world.
These are the essential components of SHU’s forward leading spirit. You’ll see that spirit every day in the engagement of your fellow students, the passion and commitment of your professors, and the confidence and competence you’ll find within yourself.
Our career-focused, liberal arts-based academic programs provide students with the intellectual and professional fuel they need to build lives of achievement and value.
Our strategic, entrepreneurial growth—and the capacity for partnerships that come with it— provides fuel for the economic and cultural development of the region.
Our intentionally cultivated community—informed by our Catholic values and defined by its level of inclusion and support—is fuel for civic engagement and spiritual growth.
Mission & History
- Founded in 1963 as an independent, Catholic University by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport
- The first Catholic University in America to be led and staffed by lay people
- Contemporary in spirit and thinking and rooted in the liberal arts and Catholic intellectual traditions, with a mission to educate the whole person while preparing students to lead and serve in the world today
National Recognition
- The Princeton Review: The Best 387 Colleges 2022, Best Business Schools 2022
- U.S. News & World Report: Among the Best National Universities, Best Undergraduate Business School, Best Undergraduate Nursing Program, Best Online Bachelor’s Programs, Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs, Best Part-Time MBA, Best Graduate Nursing Program, Best Graduate Social Work Program
- Colleges of Distinction 2021-22: Recognized for being a Catholic College of Distinction and a College of Distinction in Connecticut
- Poets&Quants: Named one of the best undergraduate business schools in 2022
Students & Alumni
- 9,785 total students: 6,071 full-time undergraduates, 690 part-time undergraduates, 3,024 full-time and part-time graduate students
- For the 2021-2022 school year, undergraduate and graduate students hail from 46 states, District of Columbia, plus two U.S. territories and over 40 countries
- Fall 2021 freshman class selected from 12,663 applications
- There are 50,922 living Sacred Heart University alumni
- There are 1,110 married alumni couples
- There are 1,154 alumni that have had siblings graduate from SHU
- SHU alumni hail from 66 countries
Academic Excellence
Student Life
- Residence halls on campus include the recently built Pioneer Village
- SHU offers a robust performing arts program in instrumental music, theatre arts, choir and dance, as well as a major in theatre arts and music
- Over 100 social, academic, leadership, service, media, multicultural and performing arts clubs and organizations
- Fraternity and sorority life includes fifteen fraternities and sororities and over 2,000 student members
- Programs and resources to support the spiritual growth of students regardless of religion affiliation; campus ministry program for students to experience the Catholic tradition and celebrate their faith
Commitment to Service
- Over 110,000 hours of community engagement performed globally
- 100+ partnerships with non-profit organizations, social service agencies, and schools in the Greater Bridgeport area
- More than 20 tutoring and mentoring programs connect SHU volunteers to the Bridgeport public school system and other area schools
- International service learning opportunities in locations such as Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland and Nicaragua
- Award-winning campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity
Growing, Global Campus
- Main campus located in Fairfield, Connecticut, less than 60 miles from Manhattan and approximately 150 miles from Boston
- Sacred Heart University’s Connecticut campus and facilities sit on 311 acres along the state’s southwestern coast, including a University-owned golf course, and West Campus – the former General Electric world headquarters and home to many SHU STEM programs
- Over 2.5 million square feet of building space
- Satellite campus in Stamford, Connecticut (physician assistant program) and Griswold, Connecticut (graduate education programs)
- International campuses in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland and the European business center of Luxembourg
5151 Park Ave, Fairfield, CT 06825
(203) 371-7999
