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Tulane's purpose is to create, communicate, and conserve knowledge to enrich the capacity of individuals, organizations, and communities to think, learn, and 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 fostering community-building initiatives and 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 our location in New Orleans and our continual aspiration to be a truly distinctive international university. One of the great things about studying at a leading research institution is the sheer breadth of knowledge at your fingertips. The flexibility of Tulane's curriculum allows undergraduates to pursue double (or triple) majors across different schools. A third of our students double major ¬while master's and doctoral candidates are encouraged to pursue questions that require interdisciplinary exploration. If you are a full-time undergrad, Newcomb-¬Tulane College is your academic home. The college provides academic services for students, including advising, honors, study abroad, and a range of academic student programs. The college also offers funding opportunities for student research, travel, internships, and other academic co-curricular activities. Students enrolled in the college pursue programs and degrees offered by the undergraduate schools. No matter which major you ultimately choose, all full-¬time undergraduates enter the university as part of the Newcomb-Tulane College. The college will be your academic home during your career here. It is also where you will turn for academic services, including advising, honors, study abroad programs, and other support. No matter which school you are in, you will forge relationships with your faculty, noted scholars who teach you (no departments full of adjuncts and TAs here). Those faculty are going to take you on a journey. Some of you will travel far:¬ about a third of you will study abroad while you are here, participating in 100 programs in more than 40 countries. Even if you stay right here, though, you are going to stretch your boundaries. We are big believers in making a difference right now. So even though our interdisciplinary offerings will give you the tools to have an impact across a vast sea of careers once you graduate, there is work to do immediately. So we became the first private research university to make community engagement a graduation requirement. Let us get the basic facts out of the way: We were founded in 1834, making us one of the nation's oldest research institutions. We are one of just 62 members of the Association of American Universities—the pre-¬eminent group of research institutions in North America—and ranked in the top two percent of universities by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Nearly a third of our 13,500 students are enrolled in graduate programs. Tulane's leaders are dedicated to attracting and retaining the very best faculty, staff, and students and enhancing the university's position as one of the world's leading educational and research institutions. New Orleans, in 1834 was one of the busiest international port cities in the world. However, the city was not just importing goods from across the world but also importing deadly diseases like yellow fever, malaria, and smallpox. To treat these diseases, learn more about them and train more doctors, the Medical College of Louisiana was formed. By 1847, the Medical College of Louisiana was a newly established public institution, the University of Louisiana. However, in 1884, wealthy merchant Paul Tulane, a native of Princeton, N.J., wanted to express his appreciation for the city that made him his fortune. He donated more than $1 million in land, cash, and securities "for the promotion and encouragement of intellectual, moral and industrial education." His generous gift transformed the University of Louisiana into Tulane University. In 1886, the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was established as Tulane's coordinate college for women. More than 180 years later, Tulane University has become one of the most respected educational and research institutions in the country. Tulane is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, a select group of the 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada with "preeminent programs of graduate and professional education and scholarly research." Tulane also is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a university with "very high research activity." Of more than 4,300 higher educational institutions rated by the foundation, Tulane remains in a prestigious category that includes only two percent of universities nationwide. In July 2014, President Mike Fitts was named the 15th President of Tulane. President Fitts has ushered in a new era at Tulane focused on creating the most meaningful student experience anywhere and significantly increasing and deepening the university's level of interdisciplinary teaching and research. His efforts are quickly establishing Tulane as a place where the best minds from the broadest array of fields seek solutions to the world's most pressing problems through cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation. View full university