Since beginning as a medical college in 1834, they have grown into one of the most well-respected research universities in the country. They are one of just 62 members of the Association of American Universities, an elite group of top-ranked research institutions.
But they are hardly an ivory-tower, view-from-40,000-feet kind of place. Yes, you’ll find a lot of intellectual firepower on campus. Their faculty are involved in projects as diverse as protecting the aquatic resources of the Gulf and chronicling the region’s singular musical heritage. But because of their size – just 8,452 undergrads; classes average 21 students – you won’t be looking at that academic talent from afar. The brilliant faculty who are carrying out that work also happen to be eager, nurturing educators, and they’ll be teaching your classes from the minute you arrive.
About those classes: There are 1,700 to choose from. They offer more than 70 majors in five different schools, including science and engineering, architecture, business, liberal arts and public health. Can’t pick? About a third of the students here double major.
Every single one of their undergraduate students, though, gives back. They were the first research university to require community service in the curriculum; today, more than 10 years after Katrina, they are engaged in the largest civic-rebuilding project ever undertaken in the U.S. Last year alone, their students logged more than 780,000 hours of civic service in New Orleans. (Service is really at their core: The physicians who formed the college that became Tulane were trying to combat epidemics of yellow fever and cholera that ravaged New Orleans in the 19th century.)
Once you spend some time here, it will become clear how Tulane and New Orleans are connected. Tulanians – that’s what they are known as – come from 58 countries and all 50 states. On average, students travel 923 miles to get here from home. In some places, that kind of diversity sticks out. Here, it blends perfectly with their surroundings. New Orleans is a melting pot of cultures, and their art, architecture, food and music show it – they have even got their own language. Tulane University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate, baccalaureate, masters, doctorate and professional degrees.
Mission Statement
Tulane's purpose is to create, communicate and conserve knowledge in order to enrich the capacity of individuals, organizations and communities to think, to learn and to act and lead with integrity and wisdom.
Tulane pursues this mission by cultivating an environment that focuses on learning and the generation of new knowledge; by expecting and rewarding teaching and research of extraordinarily high quality and impact; and by fostering community-building initiatives as well as scientific, cultural and social understanding that integrate with and strengthen learning and research. This mission is pursued in the context of the unique qualities of their location in New Orleans and their continual aspiration to be a truly distinctive international university.
