Tulane University: General Information
2008-2009 Academic Year
9
New Orleans was founded because of its location near the mouth of the
Mississippi River. As a port and strategic outpost, the area has played an
important role in American history and the economy.
Governed in the past by the French and the Spanish, the city still expresses this
European influence in its architecture, food, and way of life. Mixed with these
cultural elements and the strong African, Cajun, Caribbean, Creole and traditions
are newer influences to the community: German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Spanish,
and Vietnamese peoples who have brought new diversity to the city. These added
components increase the diversity of the city's rich historical and cultural
heritage, combining the best of the Old World with the New.
New Orleans is a city of local delights. New Orleanians are fascinated by their
food, a cuisine enriched by the African, French, Indian, and Spanish cultures. The
wonder of the food is that it can be excellent not only in the well-known
restaurants of the French Quarter but in dozens of lesser-known neighborhood
restaurants as well. New Orleans' music is as distinctive as its food. It is the
hometown of not just Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong, but Fats Domino,
Irma Thomas, the Marsalis family, the Neville Brothers, and Lee Dorsey. Both of
these local delights are known and loved all over the world but are at their best at
home.
This rich mixture of history is celebrated often and heartily, most notably in the
great street festival and social pageant known as Mardi Gras. Carnival lasts two
weeks, but its spirit lingers through the year. Mardi Gras beads hang from car
mirrors, balconies, and every other conceivable location. The city also takes pride
in its symphony orchestra, opera, art museums, theaters, professional sports, zoo,
aquarium, and attractions uniquely its own, such as Jazz Fest, sailing on Lake
Pontchartrain, riverboats on the Mississippi, and late night cups of cafe au lait.
New Orleanians cultivate their capacity to enjoy their own physical and cultural
environment. If it is possible to learn that kind of appreciation, New Orleans is the
place to do it.
UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE AND SCHOOLS
Beginning in 2006, the Newcomb-Tulane College has administrative oversight for
the full-time undergraduate experience and the common core curriculum. The
Newcomb-Tulane College comprises all full-time undergraduate programs at the
university, including those in architecture, business, liberal arts, public health and
tropical medicine, and science and engineering. When a student designates a
major, whether that decision is made upon admission or before the end of spring
semester of the sophomore year, the student also will be considered a student in
the school that houses that major. Ultimately, students simultaneously will be in
the Newcomb-Tulane College and a school. For example, a student who majors in
cell and molecular biology is in the School of Science and Engineering and the
Newcomb-Tulane College. The School of Continuing Studies oversees programs
for part-time students.