by our College Data Analytics TeamSacred Heart University is a private not-for-profit institution in Fairfield, Connecticut enrolling 7,087 undergraduates. It accepts 65% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 73%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #220 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 4%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Sacred Heart University ranks #220 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 4%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Sacred Heart University was awarded 219 badges in the 2027 rankings.
SHU is ranked #220 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
SHU is also ranked #7 on the Best Colleges in Connecticut list.
See all of the rankings for Sacred Heart University.
The acceptance rate at Sacred Heart University is a competitive 65%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.
Learn more about Sacred Heart University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Sacred Heart University is about average at 15 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Sacred Heart University is 33%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
Sacred Heart University has a freshmen retention rate of 83%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At SHU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 73%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Sacred Heart University.
The current enrollment includes 7,087 undergraduates at SHU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Sacred Heart University.
The average net price of SHU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $38,691 | $40,517 | $41,647 | $46,348 | $48,217 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of SHU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At SHU, approximately 57% of students took out student loans averaging $6,464 a year. That adds up to $25,856 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Sacred Heart University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Sacred Heart University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $75,059 in their early years. This is good news for future Sacred Heart University graduates since it is 53% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Sacred Heart University make the most money.
Sacred Heart University is an private not-for-profit institution located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Fairfield is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of Sacred Heart University.
Get in touch with Sacred Heart University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 5151 Park Ave, Fairfield, CT 06825-1000 |
| Phone: | 2033717999 |
| Website: | www.sacredheart.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/SacredHeartUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/SacredHeartUniv |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 22 majors graduated from Sacred Heart University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 4,011 | NA |
| Computer Information Systems | 514 | $54,521 |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 450 | NA |
| Nursing | 434 | $82,668 |
| Business Administration & Management | 197 | $46,044 |
| Allied Health Professions | 165 | $26,707 |
| Medical Illustration & Informatics | 158 | NA |
| Child Development & Psychology | 157 | NA |
| Finance & Financial Management | 153 | $46,502 |
| Social Work | 131 | NA |
3,224 students took at least one online class at Sacred Heart University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Sacred Heart University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to SHU? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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