What Southern University at New Orleans is like

What it's like

SUNO is a historically black public university located in the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood of eastern New Orleans. Founded in 1959 as a branch campus, it has navigated significant institutional challenges including desegregation litigation, catastrophic hurricane damage, accreditation probation, and financial strain. The university maintains an open admissions philosophy and serves a primarily African American student body in an urban setting.

Academic feel

SUNO offers undergraduate and graduate programs across social work, criminal justice, sciences, mathematics, computer technology, business, education, and humanities. The School of Social Work emerged as one of the most recognized programs in the South, with its Master of Social Work program reaching capacity at 150 students by 2008. The Criminal Justice program spans both undergraduate and graduate levels, emphasizing community solutions to prevent criminal behavior. In the early 2000s, the university prioritized increasing minority student participation in STEM fields through initiatives like the Program for Excellence in Mathematics and Computer Technology (PESMaCT) and the Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP). SUNO is the only institution in Louisiana offering an advanced degree in museum studies. Research activity spans computer science, physics, medicine, sociology, and political science.

Strengths

• School of Social Work is one of the most recognized programs in the South, with the Master of Social Work program growing to capacity with 150 students by fall 2008.[1]
• Criminal Justice program offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on seeking community solutions and studying causes of criminal behavior.[1]
• Only institution in Louisiana to offer an advanced degree in museum studies.[1]
• Faculty engaged in significant research across multiple disciplines including computer science, physics, medicine, and social sciences.[2][3][4][5]

Weaknesses

• In 2019, the university's regional accreditor placed the New Orleans campus on probation and the university began furloughing employees.[1]
• Lost 20 academic programs following Hurricane Katrina due to loss of students and faculty, with enrollment projected to drop from 3,600 to as few as 1,200 students.[1]
• Suspended all intercollegiate athletic programs at the end of the 2019–2020 academic year due to financial constraints.[1]