About us

SHU has a history of putting students first. We were founded in 1963 to serve the needs of aspiring college students in Fairfield. Since then, our relentless focus on our mission has led us to become the fastest growing and most forward-looking Catholic university in the country.

The History of Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, second bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, to provide an institution of higher education that would serve the people of the diocese and region, regardless of sex, race, creed or religion. In October 1962, Bishop Curtis announced both the plan to open a college the following September, and its name, “Sacred Heart.” The choice of the name had a dual origin: it was the name of the bishop’s first pastorate in Bloomfield, N.J., and was a pledge from the bishop attesting to the value of such an institution.

Signs of the University’s growth and vibrancy are evident. Enrollment has risen from the original class of fewer than 200 undergraduate students to over 9,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. Over the years, Sacred Heart has grown to become the second-largest Catholic university in New England and, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, one of the fastest-growing Catholic Universities in the country.

The University has enhanced the undergraduate student experience in many notable ways. In 1990, it accepted, for the first time, students who wanted the residential experience. It now has 12 residential areas, with approximately 92 percent of first-year students and 57 percent of all undergraduates residing in University housing.

‌New degree programs and majors in relevant disciplines are regularly added to our curriculum, and the University now offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its main campus in Fairfield, Conn., and satellite campus in Dingle, Ireland. The University consists of six colleges and three schools: College of Arts & Sciences, School of Communication, Media & the Arts, School of Social Work, School of Computer Science and Engineering, the AACSB-accredited Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, College of Health Professions, Davis & Henley College of Nursing, Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development and St. Vincent's College. 

The Princeton Review's 2022 guidebook, The Best 387 Colleges, places SHU among the best universities while U.S. News & World Report’s guidebook, Best Colleges 2022, reports Sacred Heart as one of the best universities in the nation.

The University offers Division I athletics with 33 varsity teams. The William Pitt Athletic & Convocation Center is the exclusive domain of the D-1 athletes. The Valentine Health & Recreation Center is the state-of-the-art recreation center open to all students and includes a suspended track, bowling lanes and a climbing wall.

The campus currently comprises more than 300 acres of land, including The Great River 18-Hole Golf Course and the former global headquarters of General Electric, which is now SHU’s West Campus. West Campus currently houses the College of Education & Human Development and College of Business & Technology, which includes the School of Computer Science & Engineering. West Campus is an innovative campus with an IDEA Lab for engineering students and incubator space where business students can work with local business people on projects.

‌The Frank and Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts is the current home of the School of Communication, Media & the Arts. Our newest academic building, The Center for Healthcare Education, opened in the fall of 2017 with 117,000 square feet of exceptional laboratory and learning facilities. In addition, the campus boasts two new residence halls. ‌Located in the heart of campus, Jorge Bergoglio Hall houses over 200 students in two-bedroom pods with a shared bathroom. And located in our newly constructed Pioneer Village, Pierre Toussaint Hall, formerly known as the Jewish Home property, is a new residential village that includes student housing, an old fashioned-themed dining hall, JP’s Diner, and other dining options.

An ever-widening outreach to the community balances the University’s commitment to academic excellence. More than 1,800 students, faculty and staff members volunteer in excess of 115,000 hours to community service each year.