Tulane’s School of Architecture is one of the best in the southern United States. The School of Architecture offers an accredited five-year professional degree program in which all students are awarded Bachelors and Masters Degrees upon successful completion.
The design studio is central to Tulane’s architecture program, but the curriculum exposes students a broad liberal arts background as well. Unlike many other five-year architecture programs, first years will jump into studio to get a “hands on” experience from the beginning of their undergraduate years. There is also an Architectural Studies minor for students who decide to pursue an alternate major after completion of the first year architecture curriculum.
Yes. Students can decide to major in multiple programs of study that are within more than one of Tulane’s 5 undergraduate schools. For example, a student can double major in psychology (in the School of Science and Engineering) and political science (in the School of Liberal Arts). Some major combinations might be more feasible than others, but a student’s advisor will be sure to lead him or her down an appropriate academic path.
Tulane has approximately 8,200 undergraduates throughout the five undergraduate schools: Liberal Arts, Science & Engineering, Public Health, Architecture, and Business.
Information about our first year class, including average test scores, can be found on our Class Profile page.
There are five, full-time undergraduate schools at Tulane which make up Tulane’s Undergraduate College: the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Science and Engineering, the School of Architecture, the A.B. Freeman School of Business, and the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Tulane’s graduate and professional schools are the School of Medicine, School of Law, and School of Social Work.
The core curriculum provides a common academic experience to undergraduates across all schools. It ensures the attainment of basic competencies in writing, foreign language, scientific inquiry, cultural knowledge, and interdisciplinary scholarship.
All Tulane undergraduates share a Core Curriculum designed around the following areas:
- Writing
- Foreign Language
- TIDES: a freshman interdisciplinary scholarship seminar course
- Scientific Inquiry
- Cultural Knowledge
- Public Service (2-3 credits, 2 separate components)
- Capstone Experience (3-plus credits, to be designed by the schools and departments and intended to allow students to demonstrate the capacity to bring information, skills, and ideas acquired from their majors to bear on one significant, culminating project)
The Freeman School of Business permits extensive flexibility in the selection of courses and minor fields and emphasizes the studies of ethics, leadership and communication. Business students may major in management, marketing, finance, or legal studies in business. Representatives from companies such as Entergy, Ernst and Young, JPMorgan, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Saks travel to campus in order to recruit Tulane business school undergraduates. Each year, over 120 companies across the country request resumes from the A.B. Freeman career center.
The School of Liberal Arts houses academic departments and programs in fine arts, social sciences and humanities. Over 200 faculty teach over 2,000 students within the school. There are over 40 major programs to choose from within the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane.
The School of Science and Engineering combines renowned engineering programs with five distinct divisions of the sciences. Science and Engineering students have the option to pursue undergraduate and advanced degrees in biomedical engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, and engineering physics, as well as traditional scientific disciplines like biology and chemistry. Tulane also offers minors in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and materials engineering as of Fall 2024
A typical Tulane student must complete at least 120 credit hours in order to graduate; in most cases, a student’s major program of study will make up approximately 30 of those hours. The average course counts for 3 credit hours. At least 60 hours must be completed at Tulane in order to be granted a Tulane degree.
No. According to the core curriculum of the Undergraduate College, students may “test out” of introductory language courses by showing proficiency in the SAT II language test or through AP tests, but they must take at least two semesters of language at Tulane.
For qualifying coursework, typically a minimum of three credits and/or advance placement is awarded for AP scores of 4 or 5 and for higher-level IB scores of 5 or above. No placement or credit will be awarded for IB subsidiary tests.
Please visit this page for a full list of qualifying coursework and scores.
For college credit to transfer - in the case that a student is taking college course work during their high school years - the student must be on a college campus, in a classroom with mostly college students and taught by a college professor. If all three criteria are met, the individual courses will be reviewed by different departments in order to determine if they are similar to any of the courses that Tulane offers. If a course matches up with a Tulane-taught course, the credit will transfer.
If a student has taken dual-enrollment courses that count for college credit and high school credit, he or she may be eligible for up to 15 credits at Tulane, pending the same review process.
Yes! In fact, in the past five years, approximately one third of our students have double majored.
Students may elect to complete more than one major and are encouraged to do so. All courses for each major and a total of at least 18 different courses between the two majors must be completed, because several interdisciplinary majors “overlap.” Students will declare majors no later than at the end of their fourth semester of college study.
Students also frequently choose to minor. Minors are optional and are designed to give structure to the study of a secondary field of interest; students may complete up to two minors.
Tulane offers joint Bachelor/Master degree programs in all of our undergraduate schools* in addition to Bachelor/MD and Bachelor/JD programs for outstanding students.**
*Students can elect to complete a 4+1 program in which they finish their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 5 years as opposed to 6. Tuition is oftentimes reduced for the student’s fifth year. These programs are offered in the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Science & Engineering in the following fields:
Liberal Arts: Anthropology, Art History, Classical Studies, English, French, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science, Portuguese, Spanish
Science & Engineering: Biomedical Engineering, Computational Science, Environmental Biology, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology, Statistics
Other accelerated programs are available in Architecture, Business, and Public Health:
The School of Architecture offers a 5-year Masters degree
The AB Freeman School of Business offers 5-year Masters programs in Accounting, Finance, and Management in Energy. It also offers a 5-year MBA program for students pursuing undergraduate degrees outside Business.
The Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine offers five-year Masters programs in Science in Public Health, Public Health, and Health Administration. It also supports a unique International/Peace Corps program that culminates in a Master of Public Health (MPH) or Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH).
**Outstanding students can apply for a six-year Bachelor/JD program or a seven-year (6+1) Bachelor/MD Program.
While the national admission rate to medical schools for all college students is 44%, Tulane students gain admission at a rate of 58% overall, and 93% for those students who earned a 3.6 grade point average or above and a 509 or higher on the MCAT. Tulane students were admitted to competitive medical schools in 2015 including Columbia, Duke, and Johns Hopkins. Tulane undergraduates enjoy preferential admission to Tulane’s medical school as well, which receives approximately 10,000 applications for 189 seats annually. Last year, 22 Tulane graduates matriculated to Tulane School of Medicine.
While the national admission rate to law school is 77%, Tulane students are admitted to law schools at a rate of 93% overall, and 95% for those earning a 162 or higher on the LSAT and a 3.5 or higher GPA as a Tulane undergraduate. Tulane undergraduates enjoy preferential admission to Tulane’s School of Law as well, which receives approximately 2,500 applications for 250 seats annually. Last year, 70 Tulane graduates were admitted.
Pre-Law Academic Preparation
Tulane University neither requires nor recommends a prescribed pre-law major or curriculum. “Pre-law” simply notes a student’s intention to pursue admission to law school following completion of a baccalaureate degree.
In planning a pre-law curriculum, note that spoken and written words are the principal tools of the legal profession. Students who intend to study law must develop an excellent knowledge and grasp of the English language as well as a clear and concise style of expression.
In choosing a major, students should concentrate in a discipline in which they have genuine interest and one that will motivate them to be most productive. The range of undergraduate majors is broad; students should seek intensity and depth in an undergraduate program, thereby demonstrating a capacity to perform well at an academically rigorous level and in law school.
The field of public health has applications in many disciplines and offers many career opportunities. The undergraduate program in public health is an effective and cost-efficient way to prepare individuals with public health competencies either for graduate education in the public health sciences or to enter the field immediately upon graduation.
Tulane’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Tropical Medicine is one of only 31 accredited undergraduate public health programs in the country. The Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health provides a strong base for students interested in pursuing graduate study at The Celia Scott Weatherhead Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Tropical Medicine.
Membership in the Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) is open to all New Orleans-area university students. Band scholarships are available based on auditions, leadership experience, and instrumentation needs of the ensemble. For more information visit the band’s website or contact Barry Spanier, the band’s director, at bspanier@tulane.edu, 504.314.BAND (504.314.2263).
Tulane does award a limited number of marching band scholarships based on auditions, leadership experience and instrumentation needs of the ensemble. For more information visit the TUMB website or contact Barry Spanier, our marching band director, at bspanier@tulane.edu, 504.865.5139.
The Legislative Scholarship is funded by Tulane University; however, it is named the Legislative Scholarship because Tulane gives each Louisiana state senator and representative one scholarship each year to award to a student who graduated from a Louisiana high school and resides in Louisiana, given that the student has been admitted as a full-time undergraduate to Tulane and has a 28 or higher composite ACT or an 1870 (2400 scale) or higher composite SAT score and ranks in the top 25% of his/her high school graduating class.
Continuation of this scholarship is dependent on nomination by a legislator in subsequent years, the student’s maintenance of a 2.30 cumulative Tulane GPA, and continuous full-time enrollment. You may access a list of Louisiana legislators at http://www.legis.state.la.us under “Who Are My Legislators” and contact legislators at your discretion.
For an early estimate of your financial aid award, we encourage you to use Tulane’s Net Price Calculator.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to determine a student’s eligibility for all federal student aid resources, while the College Scholarship Services (CSS) Profile is used by Tulane to determine a student’s eligibility for Tulane’s need-based scholarship funding. Details on the application process for these applications (including links to each respective online application) can be found here.
Yes! We encourage you to contact the Office of Financial Aid at any point during the financial aid application process. Financial Aid has a dedicated team of professional counselors who are ready to answer your questions. Click here for Financial Aid’s contact information.
Tulane’s Net Price Calculator is good for a quick award estimate. For an official award, you will need to complete both the FAFSA and CSS Profile to be considered for federal aid (FAFSA) and institutional need-based scholarship (CSS Profile). Financial Aid’s website has detailed information about these forms, including links to both.
Students applying ED are considered for financial aid in the same way as all other applicants. ED applicants are encouraged to complete the FAFSA (federal student aid) and CSS Profile (Tulane need-based scholarship) as soon as possible so that Tulane may determine eligibility for aid.
Yes. Tulane’s Net Price Calculator is able to provide results that estimate merit scholarship eligibility. Please keep in mind the results are only an estimate, and merit scholarships are awarded based on comprehensive application reviews.
If you need further assistance or have not found an answer to your question, please contact the Admission office.
