Fairfield University Overview

Fairfield University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Fairfield, Connecticut. The suburban atmosphere of Fairfield makes it a great place for students who want the amenities of city life without actually living in the middle of a constant hustle and bustle.

What Is Fairfield University Known For?

• The student loan default rate at Fairfield U is 1%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
• Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Fairfield U.
• In 2017-2018, 100% of the faculty were full-time.
• Students who graduate from Fairfield U with a bachelor's degree make about $72,100 a year. That's 77% more than those who graduate from other schools.
• It takes the average Fairfield U student 4.1 years to graduate. This is pretty good when compared to the national rate of 4.4 years.

Fairfield University Rankings

Fairfield U landed the #73 spot in our 2022 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,587 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking. This lands it a coveted spot in the top 5% of all colleges and universities in the country. Out of the 32 colleges in Connecticut, it is ranked at #3.

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

Fairfield U has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#44	Best Doctor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#64	Best Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#70	Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#77	Best Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Fairfield U.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#4	Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#5	Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#7	Best Accounting Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#8	Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#11	Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#15	Best Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#19	Best Psychology Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#26	Best Business, Management & Marketing Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#45	Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#58	Best Health Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Fairfield U has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#15	Best Mental & Social Health Services Schools	College Factual
#18	Best Nursing Schools	Nursing Degree Search
#27	Best Accounting Schools	College Factual
#31	Best Communication & Journalism Schools	College Factual
#56	Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools	College Factual
#132	Best Health Professions Schools	College Factual

Where Is Fairfield University?

Contact details for Fairfield U are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	1073 N Benson Rd, Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Phone:	203-254-4000
Facebook:	https://www.facebook.com/FairfieldUniversity?utm_source=fairfieldsite&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=int_footer_social%3B

How Do I Get Into Fairfield U?

You can apply to Fairfield U online at: commonapp.org/

Admission Requirements for Fairfield U

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	considered but not required
High School Transcript	required
College Prep Program	required
Recommendations	required
SAT or ACT Scores	considered but not required
TOEFL	required

How Hard Is It To Get Into Fairfield U?

Fairfield U has an acceptance rate of 56%, which means it is fairly selective. Take that into account when you are working on your application and gathering requested materials. Do what you can to stand out among other applicants.

Approximately 41% of accepted students are men and 59% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 57%, and the acceptance rate for women is 55%.

Average Test Scores

About 50% of students accepted to Fairfield U submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 600 and 670. Math scores were between 590 and 670.

Fairfield U received ACT scores from 15% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 27 and 30.

Can I Afford Fairfield University?

The overall average net price of Fairfield U is $49,578. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Fairfield U, approximately 58% of students took out student loans averaging $9,475 a year. That adds up to $37,900 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Fairfield U is 1.3%. 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.

Fairfield University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 4,354 undergraduate students at Fairfield U, with 4,231 being full-time and 123 being part-time.

There are also 1,159 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 4,231 full-time undergraduates at Fairfield U, 41% are male and 59% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Fairfield University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	114
Black or African American	69
Hispanic or Latino	299
White	3,300
International Students	130
Other Races/Ethnicities	319

Geographic Diversity

Connecticut students aren't the only ones who study at Fairfield University. At this time, 23 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 56 countries are represented at Fairfield U. The most popular countries sending students to the school are India, China, and Vietnam.

Online Learning at Fairfield University

In 2019-2020, 1,971 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Fairfield U has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 18th most popular in Connecticut for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Growth Rankings of Fairfield U

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Fairfield University was 666.9%. This is the #132 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Fairfield U regardless of major.

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Fairfield University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	Doctor’s	TOTAL
Nursing	183	0	20	47	250
Finance & Financial Management	168	0	0	0	168
Accounting	104	0	48	0	152
Marketing	117	0	0	0	117
Communication & Media Studies	85	0	15	0	100
Business Administration & Management	43	0	27	0	70
General Psychology	63	0	0	0	63
Mental & Social Health Services	0	0	49	0	49
Mechanical Engineering	30	0	13	0	43
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	0	42	0	42
Computer Engineering	8	0	28	0	36
General English Literature	34	0	0	0	34
Political Science & Government	33	0	0	0	33
General Biology	32	0	0	0	32
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology	0	10	17	0	27
Economics	27	0	0	0	27
Teacher Education Subject Specific	0	14	9	0	23
Writing Studies	0	0	22	0	22
Mathematics	17	0	5	0	22
International Relations & National Security	22	0	0	0	22
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	0	0	21	0	21
International Business	19	0	0	0	19
Management Information Systems	18	0	0	0	18
Instructional Media Design	0	4	14	0	18
Special Education	0	1	14	0	15
Public Relations & Advertising	13	0	0	0	13
Teaching English or French	0	3	10	0	13
Romance Languages	13	0	0	0	13
Electrical Engineering	8	0	4	0	12
Student Counseling	0	0	11	0	11
Liberal Arts General Studies	11	0	0	0	11
Applied Mathematics	0	0	11	0	11
Journalism	9	0	0	0	9
History	9	0	0	0	9
Sociology	9	0	0	0	9
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	8	0	0	0	8
General Education	0	1	7	0	8
Biomedical Engineering	8	0	0	0	8
Computer Information Systems	7	0	0	0	7
Public Administration	0	0	7	0	7
Sociology & Anthropology	6	0	0	0	6
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	6	0	0	0	6
Fine & Studio Arts	6	0	0	0	6
Industrial Engineering	0	0	5	0	5
Area Studies	2	0	3	0	5
Drama & Theater Arts	4	0	0	0	4
Music	4	0	0	0	4
Public Health	3	0	0	0	3
Natural Resources Conservation	3	0	0	0	3
Chemistry	3	0	0	0	3
Physics	3	0	0	0	3
Multilingual Education	0	0	2	0	2
Germanic Languages	2	0	0	0	2
Philosophy	1	0	0	0	1
Religious Studies	1	0	0	0	1
Neurobiology & Neurosciences	0	0	0	0	0
Human Resource Management	0	0	0	0	0
Taxation	0	0	0	0	0
Educational Administration	0	0	0	0	0
Other Education	0	0	0	0	0
Manufacturing Engineering	0	0	0	0	0
Human Development & Family Studies	0	0	0	0	0
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	0	0	0	0	0
Other Psychology	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	1,142	33	404	47	1,626

References

*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.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By Stagophile under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.