Colleges in Connecticut

Connecticut may not be the first state that comes to mind when you think of regions of the country with incredible, world class higher educational opportunities. After all, it is among the smallest states by area. Yet despite this misleading statistic, there are over one hundred private and public universities and colleges in Connecticut. Among these are several historic, world renowned, and nationally venerated institutions.

Post-Secondary Education

The more than hundred colleges and universities in Connecticut provide an encompassing range of majors and degree programs. The state offers both smaller schools, with under two thousand students, and impressively large institutions, with at least ten thousand students. In addition, Connecticut also has mid sized universities, colleges, and community colleges found in the major urban cities as well as the countryside.

The biggest such public center of higher learning in the state is the well respected UConn, or University of Connecticut. While the central campus is at Storrs, the university also boasts regional campuses at West Hartford, Waterbury, Torrington, Stamford, and Avery Point. The state university and all other centers of higher education in Connecticut are overseen by the Connecticut Department of Education. They accredit the various public and private institutions in the state.

Among the many fine institutions found in Connecticut, Yale University in New Haven is by far the most notable and respected private university in Connecticut. This Ivy League standard is among the most famous universities on earth. This is not the end of the list of prestigious schools found in the state though. Wesleyan University, Quinnipiac University, Sacred Heart University, Hamden and Trinity College, Hartford are also top ranked and nationally respected. The public universities are similarly impressive, with the Storrs main campus of the University of Connecticut winning the highest ranking public university in all of New England honor for eight consecutive years now (per U.S. News and World Report annual rankings).

If you are looking for nationally known, specialized programs in higher education, look no further than Connecticut. Besides the full four year term colleges and universities, Connecticut features a variety of special training programs and degrees including the CSB Connecticut School of Broadcasting (radio and TV), Lincoln Culinary Institute (cooking), Lincoln Tech, Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing, and the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. Patriots who wish to learn while they serve their country will find the United States Coast Guard Academy here in Connecticut too.

Economy

After you graduate from one of Connecticut's first class centers of higher learning, you will need to find a job to start putting all of these important skills to use. The question arises of whether Connecticut's economy is up to par with its fantastic reputation in higher education. The good news is that for such a tiny state geographically, Connecticut offers a surprisingly deep and diverse economy and workforce opportunities.

In 2010, Connecticut boasted a Gross State Product of $237 billion. More impressive still was the 2007 annual per capita income results of $64,833, which made Connecticut fourth in the country in terms of salary. It only trailed Washington, D.C., Delaware, and Alaska for annual income averages. While New Canaan, Connecticut demonstrates among the very highest per capita income levels in the entire country at $85,459, Hartford simultaneously has one of the ten lowest per capital incomes of any city in America at only $13,428. Even in these cities like Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport with lower per capita incomes, they are surrounded by much wealthier suburbs. In August 2011, Connecticut claimed a 9.0% unemployment rate, a little higher than the national average.

Connecticut has a broad based and diversified industrial base, especially for a geographically tiny state. In agriculture, it produces eggs, nursery stock, lobsters, clams, cattle, dairy products, and tobacco. The state is practically a giant in industrial output, with such diverse and technologically advanced products as helicopters, transportation equipment, aircraft parts, nuclear submarines, electrical equipment and heavy industrial machinery, military weapons, pharmaceutical and chemical products, fabricated metal components, and scientific instruments. The aircraft industry is especially prominent in Connecticut. The state also counts four gun makers among its employers. Stag, Colt, Ruger, and Mossberg between them employed over 2,000 people in the state as of the end of 2012.

Employment Opportunities

Connecticut has six clusters of key industry and employment, and it is always trying to attract new and even more diverse employers to its boundaries. The key sectors and employers are aerospace and advanced manufacturing; information, communications, and education; biomedical and health; financial services; entertainment (especially the film industry which offers opportunities in the arts and film sub industries--- between this and the tourism and history sub sectors, there are 170,000 jobs maintained) and tourism; and business services.

Connecticut boasts a number of well known employers that are headquartered in the state as well. Among these market leaders of industry and the services sectors are Xerox, United Technologies, General Electric, American Brands, GTE, Union Carbine, Champion International, Deloitte and Touche, Dun & Bradstreet, Pitney Bowes, Praxair, Northeast Utilities, and Ultramar. At the end of the 1990's, fully 22 of the companies based in Connecticut made the Fortune Magazine list of the five hundred largest industrial companies in the United States.

For those who graduate from Connecticut universities or colleges looking for work, pay close attention. The biggest industries in the state are services, followed by durable good manufacturing, followed by insurance, finance, and real estate. Film, the arts, history, and tourism are other significant employers.

Connecticut may be small in stature, but it is a giant in education and high technology employment. If you find one of the prestigious universities, colleges, or specialized programs that is right for you, you will not have to travel far after graduation to find well paying jobs. This combination of opportunities in education and highly skilled employment makes the state a very desirable place.