Fairfield Bellarmine establishes transfer initiative with Georgetown University

Fairfield Bellarmine, Fairfield University’s two-year associate’s degree program serving students from the Greater Bridgeport area and beyond, has established a new transfer initiative with Georgetown University through its Community College Preferred Consideration Program. The partnership expands opportunities for Bellarmine students to pursue a bachelor’s degree at one of the nation’s most selective universities.

Designed to provide a strong academic foundation for transfer to four-year institutions or entry into the workforce, Bellarmine offers five tracks sponsored by Fairfield University’s undergraduate schools – Business, Computer Science, Health Studies, Liberal Studies and Education.

Through the Preferred Consideration Program, Fairfield Bellarmine may recommend up to three highly qualified students each year for transfer admission to Georgetown University. Students nominated through this program receive consideration as part of Georgetown’s competitive transfer process. Admission is not guaranteed.

Georgetown’s program was created to support talented students from two-year institutions, including first-generation college students, nontraditional students and others whose academic promise and perseverance distinguish them. Successful transfer applicants to Georgetown typically demonstrate a college grade point average (GPA) of 3.8 or higher, along with strong high school performance. Georgetown University is committed to meeting full demonstrated financial need for all admitted, eligible undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

“We are delighted to form this partnership with Georgetown, which like Fairfield is a Jesuit university,” said Rev. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., executive director of Fairfield Bellarmine. “Together, we are committed to expanding access in Jesuit higher education so that students may realize their God-given potential and serve their communities. Rooted in the Jesuit tradition, our goal is to ensure that academic promise, not circumstance, determines how far a student can go.”

That commitment is already yielding strong outcomes, a university spokeswoman said. Fairfield Bellarmine has achieved a nearly 80% two-year graduation rate, compared to a statewide three-year graduation rate of under 20% for community colleges in Connecticut. The Class of 2025 includes 35 graduates, with approximately 90% continuing their studies toward a bachelor’s degree at Fairfield University, a Roman Catholic university rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions, with more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 50 countries enrolled in its five schools. One graduate is going on to Stanford University, underscoring the academic rigor and range of opportunities Bellarmine affords.

The Georgetown initiative builds on Fairfield Bellarmine’s growing network of transfer partnerships with institutions such as Albertus Magnus College and Williams College, which are designed to support seamless credit transfer, academic continuity and timely degree completion. Fairfield Bellarmine administrators continue to pursue additional partnerships with selective colleges and universities to expand bachelor’s degree pathways.

Transfer initiatives are a growing trend in higher education. In 2021, Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, which we recently wrote about, established transfer partnerships with SUNY Westchester Community College (WCC) and Bronx Community College (BCC).

The program guarantees that if admitted to Sarah Lawrence, students will matriculate with junior standing; their full demonstrated financial need for tuition and fees will be met; and they will be on track to complete their Sarah Lawrence Bachelor of Arts two years after enrolling, among other benefits.

Westchester Community College offers guaranteed admission for eligible students to other SUNY schools and has direct articulation agreements with such institutions as Mercy University in Dobbs Ferry and Manhattanville University in Purchase.