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Sacred Heart University

Fairfield, CT Β· Private nonprofit Β· 7,087 undergrads (medium, suburb) Β· website β†—

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year β€” tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid β€” for in-state students by household income.

Household incomeAvg net price / year
Under $30,000$38,691
$30,000 – $48,000$40,517
$48,000 – $75,000$41,647
$75,000 – $110,000$46,348
Over $110,000$48,217
All incomes (average)$46,174

Sticker tuition and fees: $50,404 in-state β€” before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Sacred Heart University's own net price calculator β€” every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator β†—

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus$19,900
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)$15,300
Books and supplies$1,200
Other expenses, on campus$2,650
Other expenses, off campus$3,150

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,774 of them) in 2022–23; 100% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aidStudents awardedAverage amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own99%$20,597
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government15%$5,172
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college98%$19,362
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans61%$5,366

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate
65%
Average SAT
β€”
Median ACT
β€”
Students with Pell grants
16%
Graduation rate (6yr)
74%
Freshman retention
83%
Median earnings @ 10yr
$75,059
Median debt at graduation
$25,000
International undergrads
75 (1.1%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy
Not considered

Not considered, even if submitted (fall 2024)

Application fee
$50

undergraduate, 2023–24

Students per faculty member
15 to 1

undergraduates, fall 2024

Faculty who are full-time
33%

fall 2024

Open admission
No

fall 2024

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPARequired
High school class rankConsidered if submitted
High school recordRequired
Completion of a college-preparatory programConsidered if submitted
RecommendationsRequired
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)Not considered
Work experienceConsidered if submitted
Personal statement or essayRequired
Legacy statusNot considered
First-time applicants
14,284

fall 2023

Admitted
9,667

fall 2023

Enrolled
1,905

fall 2023, full and part time

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing28%
Business28%
Biology & Life Sciences11%
Psychology9%
Communications & Media6%
Criminal Justice3%
Social Sciences3%
Visual & Performing Arts2%
Computer Science1%
English & Literature1%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. β€œNational” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (24)

Field of studyDegrees awarded 2023–24Earnings, 1 yr afterEarnings, 4 yrs afterMedian federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing212$95,600$103,244national $88,910$26,295
Business Administration, Management and Operations155$53,276$74,883national $68,257$24,250
Finance and Financial Management Services141$68,436$94,733national $83,343$23,250
Research and Experimental Psychology136β€”β€”national $55,695$25,000
Marketing122$52,002$73,514national $69,303$25,000
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences105β€”β€”national $62,172$20,500
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions86$41,551$76,507national $70,786$23,250
Communication and Media Studies70$40,414$59,068national $56,359$26,000
Accounting and Related Services68$62,075$91,777national $76,194$24,500
Criminal Justice and Corrections57$40,639$55,710national $55,378$23,000
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services55β€”β€”national $58,928$23,000
Biology, General51$36,109$72,404national $57,214$26,000
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General46β€”β€”national $50,532$27,000
Economics43β€”$80,970national $82,686$24,249
Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations34$51,925β€”national $59,631$25,000
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities30β€”$68,092national $53,072$27,000
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication26β€”β€”national $63,560$27,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General20$58,018$93,209national $92,374$23,500
Political Science and Government19β€”$65,879national $63,293$22,500
Social Work17β€”$58,384national $51,790$24,375
English Language and Literature, General16β€”$55,399national $48,590$23,500
Fine and Studio Arts8β€”$61,998national $41,367β€”
Sociology6β€”$54,183national $52,657β€”
Psychology, General1$31,837$61,373national $50,706β€”
Associate degrees (2)
Field of studyDegrees awarded 2023–24Earnings, 1 yr afterEarnings, 4 yrs afterMedian federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing26$87,115$93,380national $80,813$21,500
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions15$74,743$79,048national $65,389$21,000
Master's degrees (22)
Field of studyDegrees awarded 2023–24Earnings, 1 yr afterEarnings, 4 yrs afterMedian federal debt
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods339β€”β€”national $124,807$25,921
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing138$117,876$125,904national $120,193$36,567
Education, General112$52,144$59,601national $65,824β€”
Social Work95$59,514$59,036national $65,123$52,592
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions62$74,631$80,626national $71,416$41,000
Security Science and Technology52$86,373$113,199national $82,399β€”
Accounting and Related Services52$88,374$117,457national $95,833$20,500
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication39$65,070$71,686national $80,125$31,500
Computer Software and Media Applications37$71,977β€”national $120,083β€”
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions37$138,700$145,964national $127,347$158,876
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services33$69,222$71,882national $67,030$47,833
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions30β€”β€”national $59,571$49,777
Communication and Media Studies18$56,616$66,974national $71,953$20,500
Curriculum and Instruction17$56,118β€”national $63,399β€”
Applied Mathematics16$82,750β€”national $116,060β€”
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences15β€”$61,642national $67,681β€”
Human Resources Management and Services12$77,974$109,545national $83,558β€”
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication3$51,694β€”national $75,972β€”
Psychology, Other0$65,112$78,644national $61,796β€”
Criminal Justice and Corrections0$61,886$80,320national $66,714β€”
Public Healthβ€”$69,252β€”national $82,751β€”
Business Administration, Management and Operations0$77,520$100,796national $103,485β€”
First professional degrees (2)
Field of studyDegrees awarded 2023–24Earnings, 1 yr afterEarnings, 4 yrs afterMedian federal debt
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions73$79,981$85,946national $81,641$76,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing45$131,842β€”national $133,099$68,125
Graduate certificates (1)
Field of studyDegrees awarded 2023–24Earnings, 1 yr afterEarnings, 4 yrs afterMedian federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision46$90,063$103,998national $86,288$33,052

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured β€” not zero. 57 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address
5151 Park Ave, Fairfield, CT 06825-1000
Phone
(203) 371-7999
Institutional accreditor
New England Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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