Founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. 

• SHU is the second-largest Catholic university in New England and was the first in America to be led and staffed by lay people.

• The Princeton Review includes SHU in its “Best 376 Colleges: 2012” and “Best 294 Business Schools: 2012” and U.S. News & World Report ranks SHU among the best regional universities in the North in its annual “America’s Best Colleges” publication.

• SHU has been selected for membership in the Colleges of Distinction, among approximately 200 colleges and universities in the country recognized for outstanding student engagement, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful student outcomes.

• More than 6,400 students attend the University; the fall 2011 enrollment included 3,488 full-time undergraduates, 685 part-time undergraduates and 2,234 graduate students Luxembourg campus included.

• The top four states in which first-year undergraduate students, or first-time-in-college freshmen, and their families permanently reside are New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

• One-third of the Class of 2014 earned a high school GPA of 3.5 or higher, with more than half of students graduating in the top quarter of their high school class.

• Selected for membership in the Center for Student Opportunity’s “College Bound Coalition”—SHU is featured in the CSO’s College Access & Opportunity Guide, the first comprehensive college guidebook dedicated to highlighting institutions which provide access and opportunity for traditionally underserved student populations.

• SHU is the recipient of the 2010 Innovation Award for its web-based Compliance All-Hazard and Business Continuity Plan from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO.)

• More than 34,000 degrees have been awarded to over 30,000 alumni.

• SHU alumni can be found in every state in the U.S.

• SHU’s 210 full-time faculty members educate and advise students and are engaged in scholarly research.

• The student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1, with an average class size of under 22 students.

• The University is comprised of five distinct colleges: College of Arts & Sciences; College of Health Professions; Isabelle Farrington College of Education; University College; and the AACSB-accredited John F. Welch College of Business, committed to educating students in the leadership tradition and legacy of Jack Welch.

• The University offers 45 degree programs on the associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. 

• Upon introducing the new undergraduate Core Curriculum launched in Fall 2007, the University was invited to become a member of the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) Core Commitments Leadership Consortium, comprised of just 23 institutions nationally. AAC&U has recognized SHU's Core Curriculum as a national model of values education.

• In Connecticut, the Isabelle Farrington College of Education is the leading private educator of certified teachers and school administrators.

• SHU's Doctor of Physical Therapy program, launched in September 2004, is the first doctorate in the University's history and the first such curriculum in the state of Connecticut. A Doctor of Nursing program was launched in September 2010.

• SHU's Physical Therapy program as the best in Connecticut and among the top five in New England by U.S. News and World Report.

• Sacred Heart University's College of Arts & Science's advising program, Freshman Academic Advising Program, has been recognized as among the best in the nation according to the National Academic Advising Association. 

• The Princeton Review and GamePro Magazine named Sacred Heart University's game design and development program as one of the "Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs" in the United States and Canada.

• Nearly 800 students participate in the University's 31 Division I athletic teams.

• In the 2010-11 season, Sacred Heart University won the Northeast Conference Commissioner’s Cup for the fourth year in a row, awarded to the top-performing athletic program in the conference.

• SHU offers a wide variety of competitive club sports for the undergraduate student body.  There are currently 30 active club sports teams that provide students with the opportunity to compete against other schools and universities, improve athletic ability, and make new friends.

• More than 90% of all full-time undergraduates receive financial aid, representing a University commitment of nearly $34 million annually.

• For the third consecutive year, Sacred Heart University was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

• SHU's Habitat for Humanity campus chapter has earned a place in the top five collegiate chapters among more than 500 in the nation.

• More than 1,200 students and members of the faculty and staff volunteer in excess of 45,000 hours each year largely within the City of Bridgeport, but also regionally, nationally and internationally.

• In Spring 2011, Sacred Heart was recently awarded the inaugural NEC Building Communities Award. The award, which was conceived by the NEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), is designed to recognize the institution which demonstrates the highest dedication to making an impact in the community through the efforts of its student-athletes, coaches and administrators. 

• Approximately 92% of first-year students and approximately 60% of all undergraduates reside in on-campus housing facilities. 

• The University has 10 residence halls on-campus and 5 additional leased facilities bordering the main campus.

• Sacred Heart University is set on 71 acres in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Its main campus is in Fairfield, which ranks among the top places to live in the Northeast and #9 in the country in a Money magazine list of “Best Places to Live.”  Fairfield is 90 minutes from Manhattan and 150 minutes from Boston. 

• The University maintains branch operations for working adults in Stamford, and Griswold, Connecticut.

• National Public Radio member station -- NPR News & Talk and Classical Music

• WSHU is the principal public radio source for Fairfield and New Haven Counties, CT and Suffolk County, NY and is the 34^th most listened-to public radio station in the country.

• The local news team at WSHU boasts a number of awards and honors including regional and national Edward R. Murrow Awards; Sigma Delta Chi Award—a prestigious national award from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ); Connecticut Associated Press (AP) Broadcast Awards; Focus on Long Island (FOLIO) Awards; and Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Awards.

• Creator and producer of Sunday Baroque, nationally syndicated, popular program of early classical music heard on 91 stations nationwide and the broadcast home of Frank Deford, celebrated sports writer and NPR commentator.

• SHU has the only American-accredited MBA program in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and a residential study-abroad program in the Irish-speaking community of Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland.

• International experiences are available to SHU students worldwide and through our varied study-abroad programs located at the John Cabot University in Rome, Italy; the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Australia; the University of Granada, Spain; and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.