Eastern Connecticut State University is the state’s only public liberal arts college. Combining challenging academics with applied learning opportunities such as internships, paid co-ops and undergraduate research, Eastern is becoming a University of First Choice for Connecticut students as well as students from across the United States.
Eastern’s distinctiveness is its public liberal arts mission. In addition to rigorous coursework, students who attend Eastern embrace involvement and service in and outside the classroom. Whether it is student teaching in local schools, interning at the state Capitol, or building houses for Habitat for Humanity, Eastern students gain valuable career and life skills in preparation for today’s changing and challenging world.
Eastern focuses on undergraduate education on a residential campus; a majority of all students and 87 percent of first-year students live on campus. Supporting this residential community is a modern Student Center, which sponsors more than 2,500 student events annually and houses 90 student clubs, student government, a fitness center, performance stages and other student-focused resources.
All Eastern students take a broad-ranging core of liberal arts courses from the arts and sciences in preparation for focusing on one of 41 majors (from accounting to visual arts), as well as selecting from 65 minors.
Small class sizes (average of 21 students); an attractive student/professor ratio (14:1); and the personal attention of full-time faculty provide students with an opportunity to get to know their professors and receive personal attention.
Approximately 4,000 students enrolled for the fall 2023 semester. In addition to representing 160 of Connecticut’s 169 townships, Eastern students come from 32 states and 8 other countries. Students of color constitute 24 percent of the student body.
Among the University’s cutting-edge facilities is its 174,000-square-foot Science Building, which houses a greenhouse, ample laboratory space and a variety of high-tech equipment, from a confocal microscope to a virtual dissection. The 118,000-square-foot Fine Arts Instructional Center houses the University’s music, theatre, film and art programs, as well as the Art Gallery and three performance venues that host a variety of productions. Students also enjoy the center’s private music rooms, art studio space and vibrant dance studio.
Eastern’s latest renovations occurred in the Communication Building, which now has an upgraded television studio and radio station; Goddard Hall, which features new psychology labs and health sciences/nursing simulation labs; and Shafer Hall, which has been converted to a residence hall with loft- and apartment-style suites.
Eastern has 19 varsity teams participating in Division III intercollegiate athletics. The Eastern softball and baseball teams each has won five national championships. Over the past 16 years, 50 teams have qualified for NCAA tournaments and 49 student-athletes have earned All-America honors, including six Academic All-Americans. Eastern students have won three national Player of the Year honors in that time.
In 2023, the Warriors won the Little East Conference’s Commissioner’s Cup for the sixth year in a row for having the best athletic performance among the LEC’s nine schools. Eastern also won the LEC’s Presidents’ Cup a record seventh time since its inauguration in 2010; the cup recognizes the institution with the highest cumulative GPA among its student-athletes each year.