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 satellites in Stamford, Luxembourg and Ireland.