“The second-largest Catholic university in New England, founded in 1963.”
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut, founded in 1963 by the Diocese of Bridgeport as the first U.S. Catholic institution led and staffed by laypeople rather than a religious order. What began as a small commuter college has grown into Connecticut's second-largest Catholic university, enrolling roughly 11,000 students across five colleges and offering more than 80 undergraduate programs plus a deep bench of graduate and doctoral degrees. The flagship Jack Welch College of Business & Technology - named for the legendary GE CEO and SHU trustee - is AACSB-accredited and home to specialized tracks in finance, business analytics, fashion marketing, cybersecurity, computer engineering, and game design. The 347-acre main campus sits between Fairfield and Bridgeport, minutes from Long Island Sound beaches and about an hour by train to New York City, giving internships a Wall Street and midtown reach. Sacred Heart is known for its strong health professions footprint (a large College of Nursing, the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N. & Richard J. Henley Center for Nursing Education and Research, and doctoral programs in physical therapy and occupational therapy), a popular communications and media program housed in the Martire Business & Communications Center, and Division I athletics competing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The university also runs campuses in Dingle, Ireland and Luxembourg that feed a well-organized study-abroad pipeline. Student life revolves around a Catholic but ecumenical ethos - community service is embedded via the Center for Catholic Studies and Volunteer Programs - alongside 130+ clubs, 31 NCAA Division I teams, and big-school traditions like HawktoberFest and the annual Spring Weekend concert. The university has invested more than $450 million in new facilities over the past decade, including a state-of-the-art West Campus (former GE headquarters) that houses health sciences, communications, and esports programs. For international students, Sacred Heart pairs a suburban New England setting with proximity to Stamford, New Haven, and NYC internship markets, and a dedicated Office of International & Immigration Services providing CPT/OPT advising, ESL bridge options, and weekly immigration workshops.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
National Universities
US News 2026
International Student Enrollment (F-1)
DHS SEVIS by the Numbers (2024)
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceEarly Decision I
Binding; decision by December 1
Early Action I
Non-binding; decision by January 15
Early Decision II
Binding; decision by February 1
Early Action II
Non-binding; decision by February 15
Enrolled Deposit / Housing Priority
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$50,404
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
4 years
AACSB-accredited program with a trading room replica and strong placement into Bridgeport/Stamford hedge-fund and banking internships; a feeder into NYC finance.
4 years
Four-year direct-entry BSN in the Henley Center's simulation hospital; NCLEX pass rates routinely above national averages.
3 years
Three-year entry-level DPT with cadaver lab and clinical rotations across New England; consistently high first-time licensure pass rates.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $50,404
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
