Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution in Manchester, New Hampshire, offering programs from certificates to doctoral degrees.
Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with more than 3,000 on-campus students and over 200,000 online students. Its mission is to transform lives by expanding access to education through high-quality, workforce relevant, and meaningful learning experiences. The university is located at 2500 North River Road, Manchester, NH 03106.
The university was founded in 1932 as the New Hampshire School of Accounting and Secretarial Science. The State of New Hampshire granted its charter in 1963, which gave it degree-granting authority, and the first associate degrees were awarded that year. The first bachelor's degrees were conferred three years later. The college became a nonprofit institution under a board of trustees in September 1968, and the name was shortened to New Hampshire College in 1969. In 2013, it launched College for America with a First in the World grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The university offers over 200 programs, from certificates to doctoral level degrees. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Many undergraduate and graduate business programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). Its nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and its initial educator licensure programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
The 300-acre main campus is located along the Merrimack River in Manchester, NH. Listed facilities and services include Shapiro Library, the Brightspace online learning platform, the SNHU IT Service Desk, the SNHU Online Bookstore, Mantra Care Hub, and SNHU Arena.
SNHU does not require SAT or GMAT scores for admission. Online undergraduate admission has no GPA requirement. International online applicants for undergraduate admission may submit an English proficiency test. Graduate admission requires a minimum undergraduate GPA.
SNHU has been named a 'Great College to Work For' every year since the distinction began in 2008. It was ranked 2022-2023 Top 10 Military Friendly School. It was among U.S. News & World Report's Most Innovative Universities in the North nine times, most recently in 2025.