Distinctive graduate programs are extending Fairfield’s tradition of academic excellence to working professionals, researchers, and leaders across a wide range of disciplines.
Graduate education at Fairfield has entered a new era. Once known primarily for its undergraduate experience, the University has expanded its portfolio of master’s and doctoral programs and has emerged as a premier destination for graduate research, leadership development, and professional growth. The work of alumni such as Nicole Dana ’22, MPH’25 and Dario Shore EdD’25—whose graduate research has been downloaded thousands of times around the world—illustrates the strength and growing reach of advanced scholarship at Fairfield.
Class of 2022 communication major Nicole Dana was mere months into a marketing specialist role when she decided to pivot toward a career in public health. That decision led her to the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies’ online Master of Public Health (MPH) program, where she developed expertise through interdisciplinary research and hands-on practice. Today, the double Fairfield alumna works as a healthcare marketing project coordinator at NYU Langone Health in Manhattan. Dana’s master’s thesis, which explores the topic of food additive safety, has been downloaded more than 2,000 times across 63 countries.
A former middle school teacher, Dario Shore now works as a district representative for Local 2 of the American Federation of Teachers, the New York City teacher’s union, serving and supporting 56 Bronx High Schools.
In 2022, he enrolled in Fairfield’s low-residency Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership program. Three years later, Dr. Shore successfully defended his dissertation, which examines barriers to effective collaboration in special education programming. His dissertation has been downloaded more than 2,000 times across 91 countries. In the past decade, graduate enrollment at Fairfield has increased dramatically. The number of master’s students has grown by 21 percent, while the number of doctoral students has grown by 84 percent. That growth stems from an intentional strategy by University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, and Provost Christine Siegel, PhD, to innovatively serve diverse audiences.
“We started with our mission,” said Walter Rankin, PhD, vice provost of graduate, continuing, and professional studies, “and then we thoughtfully scaled our graduate programs to meet the needs of people and communities while also preserving our commitment to excellence.”
Since 2017, Dr. Rankin has worked with faculty and leaders across the University to expand its graduate catalog and enrollment. During his tenure, Fairfield has added ten master’s and four doctoral degree programs, upping the total number of graduate programs to 50.
One significant achievement within this period of growth was the introduction of research doctorates. The University’s first two doctoral programs were practice doctorates—Fairfield Egan’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program and Doctor of Clinical Nutrition (DCN) program—which are grounded in licensed clinical practice and require capstone projects focused on direct-patient and population-level care. By contrast, a research doctorate investigates a specific problem of practice and requires an academic dissertation. Both include rigorous coursework.
Fairfield’s newest research doctorates include the Charles F. Dolan School of Business’s Doctor of Business Administration, Fairfield Egan’s Doctor of Public Health, and the EdD in Educational Leadership. These additions, alongside growth across all graduate programs, have increased the number of advanced degrees conferred each year by 69 percent.
