University

The University of New Orleans (UNO), the urban research university of the State of Louisiana, was established by the Louisiana Legislature in 1956 to bring public-supported higher education to the state’s largest urban community. The Board of Supervisors of the Louisiana State University acquired a 195-acre site on the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain within the City of New Orleans. A number of the buildings remaining on the property from its prior use as a United States Navy air station were renovated for academic purposes during the winter and spring of 1958. In September 1958, Louisiana State University in New Orleans, which was renamed the University of New Orleans in 1974, opened to nearly 1,500 freshman students, more than twice the number anticipated. Only a freshman curriculum was offered the first year. In succeeding years, additional levels of curricula were developed and offered so that by 1962 the University was operating as a full four-year, degree-granting institution. Programs of study are now offered through five academic undergraduate colleges: Business Administration, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Sciences – in addition to the Graduate School. Educational extension, professional development, and international education activities (including credit and non-credit courses) are offered through Metropolitan College.

As a member of the Louisiana State University System, UNO has grown to become a Southern Regional Education Board Four-Year II research university that provides essential support for the educational, economic, cultural, and social well-being of the culturally rich and diverse New Orleans metropolitan area. Located in an international city, the university serves as an important link between Louisiana and both the nation and the world. The university strategically serves the needs of the region through its undergraduate and graduate programs and through mutually beneficial collaborations with public and private bodies whose missions and goals are consistent with and supportive of UNO’s teaching, scholarly, and community service objectives. The university’s technological and cultural alliances connect the institution, its faculty, and its students to the community. Joint projects with public schools, governments, foundations, businesses, and civic groups enrich opportunities for learning and community growth. Research and graduate programs focus on fields of study in which UNO is nationally competitive or responding to specific state or regional needs.

UNO is a selective admissions university* serving approximately 12,500 students nearly three-fourths of whom  are undergraduates and a fourth are graduate students in both Master’s and Doctoral programs. UNO offers more than one hundred degree programs to a diverse population comprised of students from a broad range of backgrounds, representing nearly every state in the U.S. and over 100 countries across the globe.  The University serves students of traditional age and also older students whose experiences and motivation prepare them for programs of study leading to degrees as well as to professional and personal advancement.

*In addition to being classified as a Southern Regional Education Board Four- Year II institution, UNO is a Carnegie Doctoral/Research Intensive University and a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Level VI institution.