Quad

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Finance, General (18% of graduates). 12 students for every faculty member, fewer than at 59% of colleges. 100% of faculty are full-time. Spends $15,558 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

1,207 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 62% of graduates; 41 programs in 19 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Finance, General 52.080118% 221
    Graduates in this field earn $106,663 4 years out
  2. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.380118% 214
    Graduates in this field earn $101,831 4 years out
  3. Marketing/Marketing Management, General 52.140110% 121
    Graduates in this field earn $86,740 4 years out
  4. Accounting 52.03018.0% 97
    Graduates in this field earn $110,586 4 years out
  5. Psychology, General 42.01017.8% 94
    Graduates in this field earn $70,211 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Business, 32% → 42% of graduates since 2014–15 (504 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Economics$120,303 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $74,023

    4 years after completion$120,303
    National median: $82,686Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $72,374(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $23,250 · 94 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Accounting and Related Services$110,586 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $71,747

    4 years after completion$110,586
    National median: $76,194Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $97,369 · Non-Pell: $87,323(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $26,633 · 236 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Finance and Financial Management Services$106,663 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $62,952

    4 years after completion$106,663
    National median: $83,343Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $97,858 · Non-Pell: $99,005(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $27,000 · 437 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$101,831 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $91,418

    4 years after completion$101,831
    National median: $88,910Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $85,038 · Non-Pell: $92,945(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $25,000 · 410 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. International Business$101,411 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$101,411
    National median: $73,201Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $85,660(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $27,000 · 37 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college12 to 1
12 to 1
← Fewer students per facultyfewer students per faculty member than 59% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 12 to 1 in its Common Data Set (4,689 students, 396 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

41%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 2% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–910510%
10–1934331%
20–2950146%
30–3911711%
40–4981%
50–99172%
100+00%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Programs & curriculum

  • Accelerated program
  • Cross-registration
  • Distance learning
  • Double major
  • Domestic exchange program
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Liberal arts/career combination
  • Student-designed major
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad

Requires coursework in arts, English composition, a foreign language, history, humanities, intensive writing, math, philosophy, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty100%
National median: 67%Above typical
Average faculty salary

$119,683

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other private nonprofit colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable.

Instruction spending per student$15,558
$15,558
← Lessmore than 75% of 1,199More →
Endowment per student$64,846
$64,846
← Lessmore than 67% of 1,065More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;Fairfield University Common Data Set 2022–23, Fall 2022;Fairfield University Common Data Set 2022–23, 2022–23;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)