This article features top engineering colleges in Louisiana that offer master and doctoral degrees in the fields of biological engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, etc. Please be informed that each school receives national wide rank as the ranking compares all engineering schools in the United States. Some important ranking factors include average GRE scores, alumni surveys, current student interviews, institutional research publications, and peer college assessment. In the following list of best engineering schools in the state of Louisiana, you can see tuition cost for both in-state and out-of-state students, acceptable rates and admissions statistics for each top ranked engineering college.
| National Ranking | Louisiana Top Engineering Programs |
| 95 | Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, LA) Overall acceptance rate: 43.0% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 737 Tuition: In-state, full-time: $5,189 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $18,272 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 639 Research expenditures per faculty member: $149,936 Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $19,791,641 Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0% |
| 104 | Tulane University (New Orleans, LA) Overall acceptance rate: 20.0% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 759 Tuition: Full-time: $41,650 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 62 Research expenditures per faculty member: $244,805 Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $5,875,325 Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0% |
| 126 | Louisiana Tech University (Ruston, LA) Overall acceptance rate: 80.4% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 710 Tuition: In-state, full-time: $6,582 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $11,782 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 358 Research expenditures per faculty member: $347,854 Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $16,349,177 Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0% |
| 180 | University of Louisiana–Lafayette (Lafayette, LA) Overall acceptance rate: 40.9% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 703 Tuition: In-state, full-time: $5,226 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $13,888 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 309 Research expenditures per faculty member: N/A Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): N/A Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0% |
| 187 | University of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA) Overall acceptance rate: 35.6% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 726 Tuition: In-state, full-time: $4,644 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $16,168 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 175 Research expenditures per faculty member: $147,746 Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $3,841,410 Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0% |
Recent History of Louisiana
In 1804, the newly acquired lands were divided into the Territory of Orleans (roughly within the boundaries of the modern “Pelican State”) and the District of Louisiana (the rest of the Louisiana Purchase). The western border of the Territory of Orleans with Texas, which was still Spanish at that time, was not precisely defined, therefore, in order to avoid conflicts, an agreement was reached between Spanish and American officers in the region in 1806 to recognize a neutral zone, which was not subject to the jurisdiction of any of states. It was understood that these lands would be closed to the soldiers of both countries and settlers would not settle here, but until 1819, when the borders were finally determined by the governments, neutral territory (also known by the name of the river flowing here as the “Free State of Sabine”.
The new authorities began to introduce much stricter rules in matters of racial segregation in Louisiana. The relatively soft, to some extent even patriarchal structure of society that existed under the French and Spaniards was replaced by a strict division into white masters and black (and also “colored”) slaves. In 1811, a slave uprising broke out on the “German Coast” of Louisiana, one of the largest in the history of the United States. Several hundred black sugar cane slaves killed two white men and burned several buildings. The rebellion was quickly and brutally crushed, with almost a hundred rebels killed.
On April 30, 1812, Louisiana became the eighteenth state of the United States. During the Anglo-American (known as the “Second War of Independence”), the British tried to capture New Orleans, but in January 1815 they were defeated by American troops under the command of Andrew Jackson, the future seventh President of the United States. This battle, which took place after the official conclusion of the peace treaty (which was not yet known in remote Louisiana), was the last battle of the war of 1812-1815.
In the first half of the 19th century, the “Pelican State” developed very rapidly. On the one hand, the fertile soils and mild climate of Louisiana contributed to agriculture, thanks to the widespread plantations of sugar cane, Louisiana was even nicknamed the “Sugar State”.
On the other hand, the favorable geographical position made New Orleans the largest and richest city in the South and one of the largest cities in the United States by the middle of the “age of steam”. It was through the port of New Orleans, which at that time was the second largest port in the country, that almost all the international trade of the states of the Midwest was conducted. The largest slave market in the United States was also located here.