State Hub

Colleges in Louisiana

CampusPin tracks 57 colleges in Louisiana, 33 universities and 24 community colleges. Compare tuition, acceptance, size, and setting to build a shortlist that fits.

Colleges tracked

57

Universities

33

Community colleges

24

Avg. in-state tuition

$14k

About college search in Louisiana

How Louisiana's higher-education landscape shapes a search

Louisiana’s public higher-education sector is organized into four systems: the LSU System (LSU Baton Rouge flagship, plus campuses in Shreveport, Eunice, and Alexandria, the LSU Health Sciences Centers, and the LSU Ag Center), the University of Louisiana System (UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, McNeese, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Grambling State HBCU, Louisiana Tech, and UNO), the Southern University System (Southern Baton Rouge, Southern New Orleans, and Southern Shreveport, together the only public HBCU system in the U.S.), and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS). Private institutions include Tulane and Loyola New Orleans, plus several private HBCUs (Dillard, Xavier University of Louisiana).

LSU as flagship

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge is the state’s primary public flagship and land-grant institution.

Southern University as public HBCU system

The Southern University System is the only multi-campus public HBCU system in the U.S., with campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport.

TOPS Scholarship

The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) covers tuition at eligible Louisiana colleges for in-state students meeting GPA and ACT thresholds. Verify with the institution.

New Orleans private cluster

New Orleans hosts Tulane (private), Loyola New Orleans (private), Xavier (private HBCU), Dillard (private HBCU), and Southern New Orleans (public HBCU).

Public university system

LSU System + UL System + Southern University System

Louisiana’s public four-year sector is split across three systems: LSU (Baton Rouge flagship and others), UL System (nine institutions), and Southern (the public HBCU system).

Community college network

Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS)

LCTCS coordinates the state’s community and technical colleges with formal transfer paths to the public four-year universities.

In-state vs. out-of-state tuition

Louisiana in-state public tuition is in the lower-middle range nationally. The TOPS program can substantially reduce in-state cost for eligible students; verify TOPS award levels and GPA requirements with the institution.

Top metros for college search

Where Louisiana's higher-education density concentrates

  • New Orleans

    New Orleans hosts Tulane, Loyola New Orleans, Xavier (HBCU), Dillard (HBCU), the University of New Orleans (UNO), Southern New Orleans (SUNO, HBCU), and Delgado Community College.

  • Baton Rouge

    Baton Rouge is the home of LSU and Southern University Baton Rouge (HBCU).

  • Lafayette

    Lafayette is built around the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette).

  • Shreveport

    Shreveport hosts LSU Shreveport, LSU Health Shreveport, Southern University Shreveport (HBCU), and Centenary College (private).

What Louisiana actually costs

Median net price after grants
$10,397 for families under $30,000
$16,493 at $110,000 or more
Across 34 Louisiana colleges reporting the full series. All five income bands
Median federal debt at graduation
$19,500 with 43% borrowing
Debt without the borrower share is misleading, so CampusPin never shows one alone. Debt by college
Studying entirely online
24% of Louisiana students
Federal enrolment collection, weighted by students rather than campuses. Where they study

Every college we track

Colleges and universities in Louisiana

Filter all Louisiana schools

L

South region overview

What students weigh when searching colleges in Louisiana

Across Louisiana (LA), CampusPin currently indexes 57 institutions: 31 public and 26 private, split between 33 universities and 24 community colleges. Students often compare fast-growing metros, flagship publics, regional campuses, and cost-sensitive pathways across a wide mix of institutions.

Run one search for broad public options and another for community-college or commuter-oriented pathways.
Check campus setting and support services early because regional fit can vary more than names alone suggest.
Keep cost, transfer, and online flexibility visible if location is important but not completely fixed.

Browse by major

Louisiana colleges by program

Start from the major. Each guide covers what the field studies, its federal CIP classification, and the pay and projected openings for the occupations it leads to, then send you into Louisiana search to build a shortlist.

Fields with a distinct set of Louisiana colleges

54 fields where the colleges that awarded credentials in Louisiana are a materially different set from those of any closely related field, based on federal completions data. Showing the 36 with the most colleges. The number is how many colleges awarded credentials.

How to use the Louisiana hub

Start with CampusPin results filtered to Louisiana so your first pass stays geographically focused.
Use school profiles to compare tuition, admissions, program format, and campus fit before building a shortlist.
If you are looking for lower-cost or transfer-first options, compare community colleges and four-year destinations separately.
Use blog guides and help-center content when you need stronger decision frameworks, not just more schools.

Next actions for Louisiana

Explore all colleges in LouisianaView community colleges in LouisianaView online programs in LouisianaRead planning guides before you compare

Frequently asked questions

Questions families ask about colleges in Louisiana

Which is the public flagship university in Louisiana?
Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge is the state’s primary public flagship and land-grant research institution.
How does the TOPS Scholarship work?
Louisiana’s Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) covers tuition at eligible Louisiana public and private colleges for in-state students who meet GPA, ACT, and core curriculum requirements. Different TOPS award levels apply different academic thresholds. Verify with the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance.
How many HBCUs are in Louisiana?
Louisiana has six HBCUs: Southern University Baton Rouge, Southern University at New Orleans, Southern University at Shreveport (all public, part of the Southern University System), plus Grambling State University (public, part of the UL System), Xavier University of Louisiana (private), and Dillard University (private).
What makes Louisiana’s Southern University System distinctive?
The Southern University System is the only public HBCU system in the U.S. with multiple campuses (Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Shreveport) operating under a single HBCU-mission governing board.

Related blog clusters

Guides that pair well with a Louisiana search

Cost and Financial Aid

College affordability, net price, aid interpretation, borrowing decisions, and budgeting guidance for students and families using CampusPin to compare higher-ed options with more discipline.

Community College

Community-college strategy, affordability, transfer readiness, and credential pathway content for students exploring two-year options through CampusPin.

College Search Strategy

Filter-first search strategy, shortlist building, and planning content for students and parents using CampusPin to discover best-fit colleges and universities.

Help Center

Workflow guides for students searching in Louisiana

Getting Started With CampusPin

A fast orientation to the CampusPin workflow, from your first search through profile review, pins, and next-step planning.

How to Use Filters to Narrow Your College List

A practical help article on how to use CampusPin filters without over-filtering or locking yourself into the wrong criteria too early.

How to Read a CampusPin School Profile

A guide to the major sections inside a CampusPin institution profile and how to interpret them effectively. Each page connects to clearer next steps, related guides, and the CampusPin tools that help you decide.

CampusPin research

National analyses with Louisiana in the data

Each report is built from a checksum-verified snapshot, with full methodology and a downloadable CSV that includes Louisiana.

Comparing schools on price? See our national analysis of how college cost relates to graduation and earnings, an association driven by selectivity and sector, not evidence that a pricier college pays off.

Explore Louisiana

More ways to explore Louisiana colleges

What this count of 57 includes

Other sites publish very different totals for Louisiana, and most do not say what they are counting. Here is exactly what this one counts, so you can check it against anyone else's.

By level
33 listed as universities and 24 as community colleges. CampusPin records this as an institution type, and uses it as an approximation of four-year versus two-year; it is not a separately reported degree-level field.
By control
31 public and 26 private. CampusPin records control as public or private only, so private nonprofit and private for-profit institutions are not separated here.
  • Every institution counted has its own CampusPin profile listing the figures behind it and where each one came from, so the total can be checked against its parts rather than taken on trust.
  • This is CampusPin's directory of 3,798 institutions nationwide, not the full federal universe. NCES counted 5,829 Title IV institutions, administrative offices, and U.S. service academies nationwide for 2024-25. That figure includes entities a student would never apply to, which is one reason published totals differ so widely.
  • Figures come from federal sources on a reporting lag, so a very new or very recently closed institution may not be reflected yet. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.
Full data methodologyCoverage and data quality

Data sources & methodology

College listings for Louisiana are compiled from federal datasets and each institution's own published information.

Sources used across this page

Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.

  • IPEDS / NCES College Navigator

    Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.

  • U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

    Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.

  • Institutional websites

    Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.

Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.

MethodologyData dictionaryReport a correction

Suggested citation

CampusPin. Colleges in Louisiana. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-by-state/louisiana