Media Contact: Nicole Funaro, nicole.funaro@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 x3498

Fairfield University has once again been recognized in the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2021 Ranking, placing high on their Best Regional Universities in the North list at No. 3. Fairfield was also distinguished in the regional ranking for its No. 1 spot on the Alumni Giving Rank list, indication of graduates’ commitment and dedication to the University, even in the midst of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Additional regional distinctions secured by the University again this year include Most Innovative School and Best Undergraduate Teaching rankings, topping both lists at No. 2. 
 
Fairfield’s high placement on the regional lists follows an upward trend in retention rate (90%), graduation rate performance, and a rise in SAT scores for incoming students. Schools included in the Regional Universities ranking offer a full range of undergraduate programs and provide graduate education at the master’s level and are placed in four geographical groups: North, South, Midwest and West.
 
Among notable distinctions, Fairfield ranked No. 21 out of 73 schools considered Best Value Schools in the North, regionally. Fairfield’s Finance program was also included on the list of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Undergraduate Business Programs for Finance, receiving a No. 20 spot on the list. Earning a place on the Report’s list of Best Engineering Programs, Fairfield placed in the top half of the ranking.
 
The University also earned additional accolades and was named to The Princeton Review’s annual college rankings of the best 386 colleges for 2021. Fairfield earned several national and regional distinctions, including places on the review’s lists of Best Northeastern Colleges, Best Value Colleges, and Green Colleges. The Review also gave Fairfield high scores for quality of life, professor quality, and professor accessibility outside the classroom.
 
Adding to the distinctions was Fairfield’s placement on Money Magazine’s Best Colleges 2020 ranking, placing in the top half of 739 schools across the country. Fairfield is among the top 10 Connecticut colleges to be included in the ranking, which considered 27 factors in three categories: quality of education (30% of weighting), affordability (40% of weighting), and outcomes (30% of weighting).
 
For more information on Fairfield rankings, visit fairfield.edu/rankings.

Posted On: September 14, 2020

Volume: 52 Number: 10

Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools.  In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.