Fordham University is a Jesuit Catholic college located in the Bronx, with a secondary campus at Lincoln Center in Manhattan and a small satellite campus in Westchester County. It was founded by the Most Rev. John Hughes as St. John's College in 1841 at Rose Hill in what was then a small farming village in Westchester County, not yet a part of New York City. The anti-Catholic sentiment was strong in the city in the 1840s, and Hughes sought to create opportunities for his fellow Irish immigrants.
Running the college proved difficult, and in 1846 Hughes sold the college to a group of French Jesuit priests from Kentucky. (Jesuits are an order of Roman Catholic priests with a special focus on education.) St. John's College remained a small, men's liberal arts school up through the early twentieth century, when it changed its name to Fordham, after the Bronx neighborhood in which it is located, and began the slow transition to a full-fledged university. In the 1960s, Robert Moses, architect of the controversial Lincoln Square Renewal Project, facilitated the development of Fordham's Lincoln Center campus.
Today, Fordham University enrolls almost 17,000 students; approximately 10,000 are undergraduates. It offers 60 undergraduate majors and 130 graduate degrees or advanced certificates. Admission is competitive: 53% of 2021 undergraduate applicants were accepted. The school is almost evenly split between white students and students of color (excluding international students, who make up 6% of the student body). 23.5% of students are first-generation college students, and 21.5% are from the five boroughs of New York City. Full-time undergraduate tuition is $54,730 per year. Fordham boasts 20 NCAA Division I sports teams.
As of December 2021, Fordham Univesity claims 195,000 alumni throughout the world. Notable alumni include writer Mary Higgins Clark, novelist Don DeLillo, actor Denzel Washington, Patricia Clarkson, Taylor Schilling, Emmy Award winner Alan Alba, singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. Numerous U.S. politicians are counted among Fordham alumni, including Senator Michael Gianaris from the 12th District of New York, former New York governor and Secretary of HUD Andrew Cuomo, and former CIA director John O. Brennan.
Fordham's Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx is 85 acres of classic, Gothic buildings, and manicured lawns. It sits just west of the New York Botanical Garden and north of Bronx's Little Italy on Arthur Avenue. The Rose Hill Campus offers Fordham College at Rose Hill (for undergraduate arts and sciences), Gabelli School of Business, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Religion and Religious Studies, and the School of Professional and Continuing Studies.
Fordham's Lincoln Center Campus is two city blocks on West 60th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. It offers Fordham College at Lincoln Center (for undergraduate arts and sciences, including dance and theater), Gabelli School of Business, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Education, Graduate School of Social Service, School of Law, and School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Fordham University currently has 14 residence halls at the Rose Hill campus. Depending on room type, the rates range from $16,270 to $21,405. Meal plans are mostly required if you choose to live on campus.
The University currently has two residence halls at the Lincoln Center campus, McKeon Hall and McMahon Hall. McKeon Hall, located at 150 West 62nd Street, is open only to first-year students, whereas McMahon Hall at 155 West 60th Street is open to undergraduate and law students. The rates range from $18,045 to $21,100 based on room type.
Graduate students can live off-campus at the Wilshire Plaza, located at 134 West 58th Street.
Of course, not all Fordham students live in the residence halls. In fact, according to Fordham, most students live off-campus. Those taking classes at Fordham's Lincoln Center campus often live either in Manhattan or in other boroughs of New York City or in New Jersey. Many rental apartments are available in the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, and Hell's Kitchen. Check out RentHop's subway rent map and find out which subway stops on the A, B, C, and D lines are the cheapest.
Fordham University has over 195,000 alumni around the world. For alumni who stay in the city, most are spread throughout all five boroughs, with the majority in Manhattan, Northwestern Queens, and parts of Brooklyn. New Jersey is another popular option among alumni.
For people first moving into New York City, check out the RentHop Renters Guide. The guide explains everything you need to know about renting in the Big Apple, from finding your ideal apartment to signing the lease and completing the rental process.
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