2025 College Rankings

For many years, Tulane University was one of Louisiana’s most prestigious institutions, particularly in the field of medicine. But over the past two decades, it has been hit by a series of setbacks. The first was Hurricane Katrina, which inflicted major damage on the campus in 2005. More recently, a different kind of disruption—this time from within—has quietly eroded the school’s foundations.

Until very recently, Tulane maintained a strong commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The university had a sizable DEI bureaucracy, with nearly three DEI staffers per 1,000 undergraduates, led by a chief diversity officer. In recent years, Tulane received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award, a distinction that, in this context, highlights the school’s diminishing regard for merit in education. That commitment has drawn federal scrutiny. After the federal government announced an investigation into Tulane’s DEI practices, the university responded by reshuffling and rebranding its diversity apparatus.

Other forms of activism are widespread at Tulane. The university has embraced a range of initiatives that distract from its core educational mission—land acknowledgments, the promotion of preferred pronouns, and environmental protection pledges among them. In some instances, however, the administration has taken steps to rein in campus activism. In spring 2024, when radical anti-Semitic protesters set up an encampment in violation of university policy, Tulane responded swiftly by calling in police, who arrested the worst offenders. That same year, the university adopted a policy of institutional neutrality—a welcome safeguard against the school taking official positions on matters of public controversy.

Tulane has an unremarkable record on free speech. Students generally report to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) that they are not confident that the administration values open expression. The university operates a bias-response system designed to monitor speech that some may find offensive. FIRE gives Tulane a “yellow” speech code rating, indicating that its policies are easily subject to abuse and may be used to suppress speech.

Student attitudes reflect this constrained environment. Tulane’s student body leans heavily to the left—there are roughly five liberal students for every conservative. Tolerance for opposing views is limited. Self-censorship is common: 54 percent of students say that they modify how they speak on campus at least once a month out of fear of cancellation.

Despite these shortcomings, Tulane’s curriculum is relatively solid. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives the school a B in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. While Tulane does not require courses in U.S. history or government for graduation, it does not mandate DEI-focused coursework—a rare balance among peer institutions.

Tulane serves its graduates poorly in economic terms. Among all the schools that we studied, it ranks worst for return on investment: it takes over six years, on average, to recoup the cost of a Tulane education—far above our overall average of 2.3 years. The outlook for graduates is equally discouraging. Median annual earnings ten years after initial enrollment fall short of expectations by about $14,000, based on SAT scores and Pell Grant data. Graduation and retention rates also underperform. The six-year graduation rate stands at 87 percent, when it should be closer to 90 percent.