Dynamic and Diverse Degree Programs at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University appears in our ranking of the Top 50 Most Affordable Master’s in Sport Management Online Programs.
LSU has some creative ways to help students acclimate to university life. The University College is a center for first-year students who may not have decided upon a major. They can declare themselves as Undecided-Arts and Humanities, Undecided-Science and Engineering or Undecided-Social Sciences. The university also has a pre-professional program that is the equivalent of an associate degree on a path to admittance to an undergraduate degree program. The pre-professional path may include courses that are required in the bachelor’s degree and extracurricular activities that will boost an applicant’s chances of being admitted to a program such as nursing. The pre-professional nursing program, for instance, includes courses in English, chemistry, biology and college algebra. It also directs students to activities that form networking alliances.
There are 14 schools and colleges at Louisiana State University that house 70 undergraduate degrees, 73 master’s programs, and 40 doctoral degrees.
The College of Agriculture, deep in the roots of the university, offers general minors in Agriculture Communication, Agriculture, Plant Biotechnology, Crop Development, and others.
The Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Extension Education degree can be earned with a minor in Youth Development and Extension. Other Bachelor of Science degrees in this college include Agriculture Business, available with or without a concentration. Concentrations in this degree are Agriculture Business-Finance; Agriculture Business Food Industry Management, Agriculture Business- International Business and Rural Development. Each of these contains 15 hours. The total number of hours for the BS degree is 120.
There is also a Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Systems and a BS in Textiles, Apparel and Merchandising among other degrees in the College of Agriculture. This is where many of the natural resource management and ecology degrees are housed as well.
Among many other degrees, the College of Art and Design has a bachelor’s degree in architecture ( BArch), a BA in Landscape Architecture and degrees in Interior Design. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is available with eight minors and concentrations in Photography; Print Making and Book Arts; Painting and Drawing and 3-D: Ceramics and Sculpture. The Bachelor of Arts degree program is also 120 credit-hours.
The E.J. Ourso College of Business houses many degrees including the BS in General Business. This program includes courses in business law, management, marketing, and other areas. It can be earned with concentrations in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Management or Marketing.
The College of the Coast and Environment features a BS in Coastal Environmental Studies that can be earned with minors in Environmental Science, Toxicology or Oceanography.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences houses the teaching and education degrees as well as library science, leadership degrees and the School of Social Work, where students may find the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program. This 120 credit-hour program includes courses such as Introduction to Social Work, Introductory Sociology, Introduction to Logic and others. It culminates with a field internship and an integrative seminar.
Louisiana State University has more than 130 graduate degrees in 73 program areas. There are master’s programs in Accounting, Agriculture and Extension Education and Evaluation; Agricultural Economics; Agribusiness; Animal Science and others. There are Master of Science degrees in Biological Sciences including Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cellular, Developmental and Integrative Biology; Systematics, Ecology and Evolution and others. Louisiana State University is well-known for its state-of-the-art laboratory and research facilities. These disciplines also have doctoral degrees. Students generally do not earn master’s degrees in preparation for doctoral programs because the doctoral degrees are comprehensive.
Students at this school can earn a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts that is flexible, interdisciplinary and lets them build a degree program that will fit their needs. It is available in a thesis option that involves 24 hours of coursework and six hours in writing and defending a thesis. Students may also pursue the degree as a non-thesis program that contains 36 hours of coursework and the creation of a portfolio.
There are seven bachelor’s programs available online. Online graduate degree programs at LSU include Business Administration, Education, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Leadership and Human Resource Development, Kinesiology and Social Work.
About Louisiana State University
This Land-Sea-Space Grant university was founded in 1853 as the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy. The institution has more than 25,000 undergraduates and more than 5,00- graduate students through its 14 colleges and schools. The US News and World Report ranks this school as #140 of National Universities and #70 of Public Schools. It contains four museums: the LSU Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural Science, the Rural Life Museum and the Museum of Natural History. Less than 20 percent of classes at LSU have more than 49 students, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 20:1.
Louisiana State University Accreditation Details
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
Association for the Accreditation of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Liaison Commission on Medical Education
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
American Psychological Association (APA)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)
American Veterinary Medical Association
And others
Louisiana State University Application Requirements
Freshman students apply online through the Louisiana State University Application or the Common Application. There is a non-refundable $50 application fee ( $65, if paid after April 1st). The university requires one letter of recommendation from an academic source. Additionally, students must arrange for their high schools to submit their official transcripts and for the agency that administered the SAT or ACT to send those official scores.
Graduate applicants to the university apply online to their program. They must also pay the $50 application fee and arrange to have the colleges or universities where they earned their undergraduate degrees submit the official transcripts. Applicants must also arrange for the agencies administering the GRE or GMAT to submit those scores if they were required by the programs. Other requisites vary by degree.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The estimated cost-of-attendance for freshmen at LSU is $33,910 per year. That amount includes tuition, fees, room and meal programs and books and supplies. Additionally, students should budget for personal expenses. Graduate cost-of-attendance is estimated at $34,261 for those students living on campus.
Students are urged to complete the FAFSA form to apply for federal grants, loans and work-study opportunities. Louisiana offers the GO Grant and administers the TEACH program that assists teachers who agree to teach in low-income or underserved areas.
There are many scholarships available through LSU as well as the Pelican Promise which is a program that exempts students who are eligible for Pell Grants from LSU tuition and fees. All of these can be found by checking the school website. Additionally, there are outside scholarships and grants that can be found through an Internet search.
Private loans are another resource, as are part-time jobs and work-study programs. There are several ways to pay for degree programs at Louisiana State University.