“Largest public university in Greater New Orleans on Lake Pontchartrain.”
The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university on a 195-acre campus at the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. Founded in 1958 on a former US Navy airbase, UNO opened as the first racially integrated public university in the American South — a civil-rights milestone that still shapes the university's identity. Originally part of the LSU system, then spun out into the University of Louisiana System in 2011, UNO is now returning to the LSU family and will officially become LSU New Orleans in the coming academic year, bringing expanded research resources and cross-registration with LSU Baton Rouge. UNO has a particular academic footprint you will not find anywhere else in Louisiana: it operates the only public engineering programs in New Orleans (civil, mechanical, and electrical) and the only Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering program in the Gulf South, training engineers for Louisiana's offshore, maritime, and coastal-restoration sectors. The College of Business is AACSB-accredited with a well-regarded accounting program, and the Department of Computer Science is an NSA-designated National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research. UNO also produces the most film-industry graduates of any Louisiana public university thanks to its Nims Center film studios and the School of the Arts. Campus life is driven by New Orleans itself — the best student city in the Gulf South, with Mardi Gras, jazz, Creole cuisine, and the French Quarter all a short streetcar ride away. Privateers athletics compete in NCAA Division I. International enrollment has historically drawn from India, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, and Vietnam, with the Office of International Students and Scholars providing F-1 advising, CPT/OPT guidance, and pre-arrival support.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
National Universities
US News 2026
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Research Classification
Carnegie Classification
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourcePriority Deadline
Priority for scholarships and housing
Regular Decision
Final deadline for fall admission
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$9,172
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$14,008
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
The only public engineering college in metropolitan New Orleans, best known for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and for feeding Louisiana's maritime and offshore industries.
AACSB-accredited business school with a notable accounting program and strong ties to New Orleans' hospitality, energy, and logistics industries.
Houses biology, chemistry, computer science (NSA CAE), mathematics, and earth and environmental sciences — strong in coastal and environmental research.
Humanities, social sciences, education, and film; home to UNO's School of the Arts and one of the South's larger film-production programs.
One of the few programs of its kind in the United States.
The only graduate hospitality and tourism program in Louisiana.
The only PAB-accredited urban planning program in Louisiana.
The only mechanical and electrical engineering undergraduate programs in New Orleans.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $14,008
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
