University of Hartford

Private · Moderately Selective · CT

Photo: Sage Ross (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationCT · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads4,146

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate43.9%

6-yr grad rate54.4%

Drop-out rate17.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$49k

Out-of-state tuition$49k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity49.3%

Gender diversity58.4%

International2.6%

Identity—

Overview

The University of Hartford is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, distinguished by pairing solid professional programs with a genuine conservatory-level arts school under one roof, an unusual combination for a school its size. The suburban campus sits within reach of Hartford's insurance and financial-services industry while keeping a traditional New England college feel.

Academics

The Hartt School is the standout: a respected conservatory offering serious training in music, dance, and theatre that draws students specifically for its performance faculty and audition-based programs, alongside engineering, health professions, and business programs that operate more conventionally. Cross-registration lets non-arts students engage with Hartt's performance culture.

Campus & student life

Student life splits between conservatory-focused Hartt students, with their recital and rehearsal schedules, and the broader university population pursuing business, engineering, and health sciences, giving the campus a somewhat bifurcated but genuinely artistic undercurrent unusual for a school of its size.

Getting in

Hartt School applicants go through a separate audition or portfolio process on top of standard academic review, while other programs use a more conventional holistic application; the school is known as a strong option for students who want serious arts training without a standalone conservatory.

After graduation

Hartt graduates go on to performance careers, arts education, and graduate conservatory study, while business and engineering graduates place into Hartford's insurance and financial-services sector; the alumni network is strongest regionally and within performing-arts circles.

Worth knowing

Conservatory-caliber arts training inside a comprehensive university, rather than a standalone arts school, is the real differentiator: a student can study engineering or business while taking lessons from Hartt faculty, which is not typical at peer schools.

hartford.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate95.8%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1120–1310 · ACT 24–30

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying