SHU Facts
Mission & History
- Founded in 1963 as a 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
Facts & Statistics
National Recognition
- The Princeton Review: The Best 390 Colleges 2025, Best Business Schools 2024
- U.S. News & World Report: Among the Best National Universities, Best Undergraduate Business School, Best Undergraduate Nursing Program, Best Undergraduate Psychology Program, Best Undergraduate Computer Science Program, Best Online Bachelor’s Programs, Best Online Master’s in Nursing Program, Best Part-Time MBA, Best Graduate Nursing Program, Best Graduate Social Work Program, Best College for Veterans, Best Value School, Top Performer on Social Mobility
- Colleges of Distinction 2024-25: Recognized in the following categories: Catholic, Connecticut, business, education, nursing and military support
- Poets&Quants: Named one of the best undergraduate business schools in 2025
Facts & Statistics
Students & Alumni
- 11,022 total students: 6,781 full-time undergraduates, 423 part-time undergraduates, 3,818 full-time and part-time graduate students
- For the 2024-2025 school year, undergraduate and graduate students hail from 49 states, District of Columbia, plus two U.S. territories and more than 45 countries
- Fall 2024 freshman class selected from 16,496 applications
- There are 58,840 living Sacred Heart University alumni
- There are 1,174 married alumni couples
- There are 1,691 alumni that have had siblings graduate from SHU
- SHU alumni hail from 71 countries
Facts & Statistics
Academic Excellence
- More than 200 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs, including online degree programs, in five distinct colleges and three schools
- Over 60 global education opportunities in over 30 countries around the world, including a SHU campus in Dingle, Ireland; Students complete coursework, clinical service hours, internships or service learning hours globally in locations such as Guatemala and Greece
- 39 direct admit dual degree undergraduate to graduate programs
Class of 2028 Profile
Facts & Statistics
Athletics
- SHU Pioneers field 33 NCAA Division I athletic teams and 36 intercollegiate club sports
- Sacred Heart has won 83 Division I conference championships
- Varsity student-athletes earned an overall GPA of 3.4 for academic year 2023-2024
Student Life
- Residence halls on campus include the recently built Pioneer Village
- SHU offers a robust performing arts program in band & orchestra, theatre arts, choral and dance, as well as a major in theatre arts and music and a minor in dance
- Over 100 involvement opportunities
- Fraternity and sorority life includes 14 organizations with more than 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
Facts & Statistics
Commitment to Service
- Over 118,000 hours of community engagement completed 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
- Global service-learning opportunities in locations such as Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece, Kenya and Ireland
- Award-winning campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity
Growing, Global Campus
- Park Avenue 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/locations in Stamford, Connecticut (physician assistant program) and Griswold, Connecticut (graduate education programs)
- International campus in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland
