Work at Fairfield

Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 39 states, 34 international countries, 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.

Fairfield University, founded by the Society of Jesus, is a coeducational institution of higher learning whose primary objectives are to develop the creative intellectual potential of its students and to foster in them ethical and religious values and a sense of social responsibility. Jesuit Education, which began in 1547, is committed today to the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.

Mission Statement

Fairfield University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.

Members of the Fairfield University community are committed to respecting and valuing one another, finding the common good rooted in us all, and working collaboratively to achieve our potential as a modern Jesuit Catholic institution. We aspire to be an inclusive, welcoming community that is representative of an ever-changing and diverse global populace. The Jesuit tradition of cura personalis – care for the whole person – animates our mission. We educate men and women who serve for and with others within the rich tapestry of cultures that comprise our contemporary world.

By encouraging dialogue, communication, community partnerships, and a culture of understanding, we foster in our students, faculty, and staff the capacity and desire to build a better world through productive citizenship and societal stewardship.

Community-Engaged Learning is an experiential approach to teaching and learning that links academic study and community-engaged work so that each is strengthened—and both are transformed.

Community-Engaged Learning at Fairfield University is committed to solidarity and collaboration with people who are marginalized. We work to develop community partnerships that are based in mutuality and reciprocity. Through these partnerships, students engage in community service that includes substantial direct contact with low-income residents, social service agency clients, the elderly, public school students, or hospital/clinic patients. They serve as interns and consultants, and support personnel.

In addition to being mindful of "best practices" that have been developed nationally in the academic service-learning movement, our work flows from the Jesuit Catholic educational mission of Fairfield University that calls for the dynamic integration of academic excellence, social responsibility, and faith that promotes justice.

Community-Engaged Learning

Innovation is a spark of imagination igniting the pursuit of answers to questions that drive our intellectual curiosity. Fairfield students collaborate with faculty mentors to develop creative research projects that extend from the classroom to the world.Fairfield's faculty and students delve, engage, and report on issues that impact fields ranging from ecopsychology to ancient Greek caryatids to microfinance. Their work inspires and enriches the lives of others - locally and around the world. Learn more about student research by visiting our annual Student Research Symposium.

Student Research Symposium

The Common Data Set (CDS) is a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson's, U.S.News & World Report, and the Wintergreen/Orchard House. The combined goal of this effort is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student's transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.

The CDS is a set of standards and definitions of data items. Each of the higher education surveys conducted by the above publishers incorporates the items from the CDS as well as unique items proprietary to the publisher. Fairfield University completes the CDS in the fall of each year with October 1 being the census date.

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Our fact book includes links to everything and anything you'd want to know about the University.

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