Fordham University is a private university in the United States, with three campuses located in and around New York City. It was founded by the Diocese of New York in 1841 as St. John's College, placed in the care of the Society of Jesus shortly thereafter, and has since become an independent institution under a lay Board of Trustees that describes the University as being "in the Jesuit tradition." Fordham is one of the largest among the 28 member institutions in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, and is home to a large Jesuit community of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus.

Enrollment at Fordham University includes more than 8,000 undergraduate students and 7,000 graduate students spread over three campuses in New York State: Rose Hill in The Bronx, Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Marymount in Tarrytown. The University also offers programs in the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom. Fordham awards bachelor's (BA, BFA, and BS), master's, and doctoral degrees.

Fordham University is composed of four undergraduate colleges and six graduate schools, including the tier-1 Fordham Graduate School of Social Service and the particularly selective tier-1 Fordham School of Law. "Tier-1" law schools are popularly understood to be the top 50 schools as listed in U.S. News and World Report magazine, as noted for example at the_jargon_of_law_school.html" target="_blank">http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/217438/understanding_the_jargon_of_law_school.html The claim that the school is "particularly selective" comes from the fact that, though the school is ranked 25th, the acceptance rate is the 15th lowest in the country The University offers a BA/BS engineering program in cooperation with _Columbia University and a BFA degree program for dance in partnership with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The University was affiliated with Fordham Preparatory School, a four-year, Catholic, college preparatory school, with which it shares its founding. Since legally separating from the University in 1972, "Fordham Prep" moved to its current location on the northwest corner of the Rose Hill Campus.