College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Hartford

CTMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #870 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth’s composite places University of Hartford in the 41st percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Hartford is a private nonprofit university in West Hartford, Connecticut, where the degree mix leans toward Visual & Performing Arts and Business. Return is well above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures.

So the advantage is not simply a matter of field of study, enrollment or the local labor market. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, and the net price sits above the median at comparable schools.

Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate, but access and mobility are around the average and modestly below average respectively. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that some of the best-paid ones, such as Nursing, award far fewer degrees.

University of Hartford at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
95.8%
Six-year completion[2]
54.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$69,078

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$27,277
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$44,000

University of Hartford rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Hartford is a private nonprofit university in West Hartford, Connecticut, enrolling 4,146 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (41st percentile).

The university admits 95.8% of applicants, a rate well above the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 82.9% return for a second year, which is close to the peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 54.4%, against a peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 12.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate, which counts only first-time, full-time students, describes a majority but not the whole student body.

The four are spread out. Return is the strongest, at the 77th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 10th percentile.

Access and mobility sit in between, at the 46th and 40th percentiles respectively.

Return is the clearest strength in the Azimuth profile, with the pillar in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility sits in the 40th percentile.

Access is in the 46th percentile, while affordability is the weakest pillar at the 10th percentile. The return result stands well above the other pillars, and affordability is the main counterweight in the overall picture.

33.0% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need. Among the enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle half of results fell between 1,120 and 1,310.

For the enrolled students who submitted ACT scores instead, the middle half of results ran from 24 to 30. Azimuth ranks University of Hartford #794 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients finish within six years at 52.5%, a rate that falls 1.9 percentage points under the overall rate for the entering cohort as a whole (54.4%). Azimuth ranks the university #881 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students, which means the mobility pillar's standing and the earnings result here point in opposite directions.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Hartford rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#870

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 40
Access & reach
National percentile: 46
Affordability
National percentile: 10
Return on investment
National percentile: 77

01 / University of Hartford briefing

University of Hartford cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, University of Hartford brings its published price down substantially, but its average cost remains higher than that of comparable institutions. The published cost of attendance is $64,729, made up in part of $49,075 in tuition and fees and $14,532 for room and board.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $30,282. Financial aid lowers the published cost by $34,447 for the average aid recipient.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, and Hartford’s average is $2,911 above that figure. Azimuth ranks University of Hartford #1,277 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions, placing cost as a clear concern alongside the aid discount.

The published cost of attendance at University of Hartford is $64,729. Azimuth ranks the university #1,277 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $25,925, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $27,277, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $34,833. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,908.

Aid covers about 53% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the across all bands to $30,282. That is $2,911 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median. 95.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $44,000 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$27,277

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Hartford

Federal borrowing reaches 95.5% of federal aid recipients, so loan exposure is common at University of Hartford. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $27,000.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $24,199; Hartford’s median is $2,801 above that figure. Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $44,000.

The high borrower share and above-peer median debt point to borrowing as a central part of the cost picture.

The investment case at University of Hartford starts with earnings that outpace the model's expectation. Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median earnings four years after completion is $69,078, which Azimuth places in the 75th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $46,784 in a downside case to $85,647 in an upside case, with a typical scenario of $69,078.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,801 above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings land above what the model expects, but the debt sits above the peer median. The net picture depends on how much a family borrows.

Parent borrowing is a separate cost to consider: median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $44,000. This figure is separate from student federal loans and should not be combined with them.

For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$44,000

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$559/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Hartford briefing

University of Hartford career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of University of Hartford earn a median of $69,078 four years after completing a degree, placing the university at the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That is $828 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 84th percentile.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 77th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,223. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $7,408.

The earnings picture at University of Hartford sits above its peer benchmark. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $69,078 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort contains 1,322 completers.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, and the university stands $828 above it. Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios from the program mix range from $46,784 in the downside scenario to $85,647 in the upside scenario; the typical scenario matches the observed median. An estimated 25.7% continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Above-peer earnings and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

The median earnings of University of Hartford graduates sit at $69,078 four years after completion, landing in the 75th percentile nationally. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $68,250, leaving the university $828 above that mark.

Azimuth ranks the university #338 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 84th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,223.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $7,408. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,676.

The fields that contribute most to the earnings picture are concentrated in engineering and health professions, where pay runs well above the university median. Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $46,784 and the upside is $85,647.

An estimated 25.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings at University of Hartford vary considerably by field. The downside earnings scenario is $46,784, compared with an upside scenario of $85,647, while the typical scenario is $69,078.

Published earnings data covers 24 programs. Four years after completion, Nursing completers earn a median of $104,301, Electrical Engineering completers earn $97,268, and Mechanical Engineering completers earn $88,530. Those program figures help explain the broad modeled scenario range.

University of Hartford pairs favorable modeled earnings with borrowing and aid-recipient costs that run above comparable institutions. Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students.

For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000, or $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $30,282. It is $2,911 above the $27,371 peer median, though aid covers about 53% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The return picture is mixed: modeled earnings sit alongside above-peer debt and cost.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,223
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$7,408
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$10,631

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Hartford briefing

University of Hartford acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of Hartford admitted 95.8% of applicants in the reported entering class, so the published rate describes admission for a broad share of that pool. It sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
95.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1120
Reported average
1219
Approximate upper endpoint
1310

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Hartford briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Hartford?[12]

At University of Hartford, program-level earnings differ sharply across fields, so the schoolwide outcome does not describe every degree equally. Nursing shows median earnings of $104,301 four years after completion, with 6 degrees awarded.

Electrical Engineering follows at $97,268 and 14 degrees awarded. The picture is more moderate in larger fields outside that higher-earning pair.

Psychology records $49,642 four years after completion across 47 degrees awarded, and Music records $43,700 across 58 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that earnings vary considerably by field at the university.

Program earnings vary sharply across University of Hartford’s larger fields, from arts and social science to engineering and health-related study. Earnings data are published for 24 bachelor’s programs.

Among the largest programs, Music awarded 58 degrees and had median earnings of $43,700 four years after completion.

The bachelor's degree mix at University of Hartford is led by the arts, with Visual & Performing Arts accounting for 18.3% of degrees awarded. Business follows at 16.4%, and Health Professions is third at 13.5%.

Across 24 programs with published four-year earnings data, the largest by degrees awarded is Music at 58 degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 47 and Business Administration and Management at 46. The highest-earning program is a small one: Nursing graduates earn a median of $104,301 four years after completion, from 6 degrees awarded a year.

Electrical Engineering is next at $97,268, with 14 degrees awarded. Among the larger programs, Mechanical Engineering—the fifth-largest at 42 degrees awarded—reports median earnings of $88,530, and Civil Engineering, with 22 degrees awarded, reports $84,614.

The pattern is a spread-out one: the largest programs are not the highest-earning, and the highest-earning programs are not the largest. Music, the biggest single program, reports earnings of $43,700, while the top-earning Nursing graduates earn more than twice that from a much smaller cohort.

20.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and the engineering programs that do exist—Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering—sit near the top of the earnings list.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Music 58 degrees awarded
$43,700
Psychology, General 47 degrees awarded
$49,642
Business Administration, Management and Operations 46 degrees awarded
$58,017
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions 43 degrees awarded
$78,761
Mechanical Engineering 42 degrees awarded
$88,530
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 35 degrees awarded
$60,274

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Hartford briefing

How does University of Hartford serve students from different backgrounds?

Graduates earn about $10,631 more than the model expects for similar students, putting earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 84th percentile. The mobility picture is less favorable on completion: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 54.4%, with Pell recipients completing at 52.5%, below the overall rate by 1.9 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 40th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Higher-than-expected earnings sit alongside a lower completion figure.

At University of Hartford, broad admission and a visible Pell Grant presence shape the access picture. The private nonprofit university admits 95.8% of applicants, enrolls 4,146 undergraduates, and has 33.0% of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants.

An estimated 12.7% of undergraduate enrollment arrives as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Admission, enrollment composition, and the access standing provide a direct view of who reaches the university.

06 / University of Hartford briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Hartford?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Hartford.

Admissions peerRoger Williams University87.7% admitted
Comparison with University of Hartford
MeasureUniversity of HartfordRoger Williams University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,078$68,129-$949 vs University of Hartford
Average annual net price$30,282$37,999+$7,717 vs University of Hartford · higher cost
Admission rate95.8%87.7%
Nearby alternativeThe New SchoolNearby option · NY
Comparison with University of Hartford
MeasureUniversity of HartfordThe New School
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,078$56,719-$12,359 vs University of Hartford
Average annual net price$30,282$58,741+$28,459 vs University of Hartford · higher cost
Admission rate95.8%63.5%
Explore The New School →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis$131,813 earnings
Comparison with University of Hartford
MeasureUniversity of HartfordUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,078$131,813+$62,735 vs University of Hartford
Average annual net price$30,282$31,817+$1,535 vs University of Hartford · higher cost
Admission rate95.8%89.8%
Explore University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY City College$3,776 average net price
Comparison with University of Hartford
MeasureUniversity of HartfordCUNY City College
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,078$67,740-$1,338 vs University of Hartford
Average annual net price$30,282$3,776-$26,506 vs University of Hartford · lower cost
Admission rate95.8%60.0%
Explore CUNY City College →
Similar profileMonmouth UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Hartford
MeasureUniversity of HartfordMonmouth University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,078$68,968-$110 vs University of Hartford
Average annual net price$30,282$30,988+$706 vs University of Hartford · higher cost
Admission rate95.8%89.0%
Explore Monmouth University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings