Southern Connecticut State University

▪ university, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

      public, coeducational institution of higher education in New Haven, Conn., U.S. It is one of four institutions in the Connecticut State University system; the others are located in New Britain (Central Connecticut State), Willimantic (Eastern Connecticut State), and Danbury (Western Connecticut State). Southern Connecticut State offers bachelor's and master's degrees and sixth-year diplomas in more than 80 disciplines. It comprises schools of arts and sciences, business, education, graduate studies and continuing education, library science and instructional technology, and professional studies, the last of which offers programs in nursing, public health, recreation and leisure, safety education, and social work. University centres conduct research and provide services in such areas as behavioral sciences, computers, economic development, communication disorders, marital and family therapy, and urban studies. There are approximately 13,000 students in enrollment at the institution.

      Southern Connecticut State was established as New Haven Normal School in 1893. Later renamed New Haven State Teacher's College, it distinguished itself as a teacher-training institution. It became a four-year college in 1937 and began offering graduate degrees in 1947 in conjunction with the Department of Education at Yale University; by 1954 it was operating its own graduate program. A new campus was opened in 1953. In 1959 the school added a liberal arts curriculum and changed its name to Southern Connecticut State College. It was elevated to university status in 1983.

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