The University of Hartford was chartered on Feb. 21, 1957, as a University for the Hartford community. It merged three existing schools, the Hartford Art School, the Hartt School of Music, and Hillyer College.

In the ensuing decades, the University has grown to seven schools and colleges and has moved from being a commuter school to a large residential campus that offers 84 undergraduate majors and more than 30 graduate degree programs.

It is fitting that an institution forged by the community should be an integral part of that community. The University has two public magnet schools on its campus—an elementary school and a high school concentrating in science and engineering. The Center for Community Service gives students, faculty, staff, and alumni access to volunteer opportunities throughout Greater Hartford. The Center for Integrated Design, the Engineering Applications Center, the Center for Professional Development and the Upper Albany Micro Business Incubator program are just a few of the resources available to area businesses and industry.

University lectures, performances, galleries and athletic events are open to community. The University’s Division I athletics program draws thousands of Hawk supporters to campus to cheer for 18 intercollegiate sports. The Hartt School Community Division provides music, dance, and theatre instruction to more than 4,000 individuals of all ages every year.

Today’s University of Hartford has surpassed the founders’ original but modest plans for a local university in Hartford, becoming instead a vibrant comprehensive University that draws 7,400 students from 45 states and 49 countries. The University of Hartford has become a university for the world.

                             Mission

As a private university with a public purpose, we engage students in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to thrive in, and contribute to, a pluralistic, complex world.

Strategic Plan

Hartford 2015: A five year Strategic Plan for the University of Hartford.

Academic Mission

Our academic community of faculty, staff, and students forms a dynamic, interdisciplinary learning environment that arises from outstanding teaching, innovative research, scholarship, and creative attainment. We are committed to the personal attention associated with a small college, enhanced by the expertise, breadth, and intellectual excitement of a university. Diversity of every sort is integral to our academic mission, along with connections to local, national, and global communities.

                             Accreditation

The University of Hartford received a letter of continued accreditation from the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) on May 8, 2012. The re-accreditation came following a comprehensive evaluation of the University in 2011. The next accreditation study is scheduled for 2021.

NEASC is the regional accreditation agency for colleges and universities in the six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a reliable authority on the quality of education for the institutions it accredits.