Southern Connecticut State University
Founded in 1893, Southern Connecticut State University is a public, fully accredited,
regional comprehensive institution located in New Haven, Connecticut. It occupies a
168-acre main campus in the Westville section of New Haven as well as a downtown
location, Southern on the Green, focused on academics, admissions, and community
partnerships.
Part of the 17-member Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (ConnCSU) system,
the University serves approximately 10,800 students, including 8,250 undergraduate
students and 2,550 graduate students, who come from 32 states and 32 countries. The
student-faculty ratio is 14:1. Of the 421 full-time faculty on campus, 85% possess
terminal degrees.
Southern is comprised of five schools: Arts and Sciences, Education, Business, Health
and Human Services, and Graduate Studies. Within these schools, the University offers
116 degree programs, providing exemplary undergraduate and graduate education in the
full range of liberal arts and professional disciplines. As an intentionally diverse and
comprehensive university, Southern is committed to academic excellence, access, social
justice, and service for the public good.
A Southern education is built around three interrelated areas:
1) A liberal arts core. The 48-credit Liberal Education Program (LEP) is the base for a
Southern undergraduate education. The LEP develops students who possess vital
intellectual competencies in critical thinking, written communication, quantitative
reasoning, technological fluency and multilingual communication. Students who
complete Southern’s LEP are global citizens with a knowledge of the physical, cultural,
and political world they inhabit, and the ability to engage deeply in discussions of values.
2) Graduate study, research, and professional education programs. Southern’s
School of Graduate Studies is one of the largest graduate schools in New England. It
offers advanced training and certification programs for teachers, public servants, and
other professionals in Connecticut’s workforce, as well as students preparing for Ph.D.
programs. An expanded, state-of-the-art library and an innovative, sustainably-designed
science center are both scheduled to open in 2015. These facilities will further enhance
graduate student education at Southern, which includes 55 areas of study in the fields of
education, business, health and human services, and arts and sciences.
3) Public service. Southern is an urban university, with a tradition of offering
educational access to disadvantaged and underserved populations from across the
Southern New England region, including New Haven. Despite its urban location,
Southern been named one of the greenest campuses in the country. The curriculum
maintains a clear liberal arts orientation, but also exemplifies a focus on service to
Connecticut and its citizens through programs in education, nursing, social work, and
public health, among others. Over 80% of Southern graduates live and work in the state.
Updated 2015