Fast Facts
Campus
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette owns a total of about 1,300 acres. Its main campus consists of 145 acres; the athletic complex and Cajundome sit on 243 acres; University Research Park has 148 acres; and the Center for Ecology and Environmental Technology has 51 acres.
It also owns the 100-acre New Iberia Research Center in New Iberia, La.
The Cajundome is a 12,800-seat multipurpose arena. There is an adjacent convention center.
Cajun Field holds nearly 37,000 fans, with an additional 8,000 seats built in the end zone in 2014.
Edith Garland Dupré Library is one of the most technologically advanced university libraries in Louisiana.
The expansion and renovation of the Student Union was completed in 2015. The U is about 178,000 square feet, or about 50,000 square feet more than the original structure.
The Quadrangle is getting a student-designed makeover, which will include a central fountain and plaza, as well as new walkways and landscaping.
View acreage of campuses | View campus maps
Academics
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
100 percent of all undergraduate programs at UL Lafayette that are eligible for accreditation by professional agencies are accredited. The University offers more than 80 majors and more than 30 graduate programs. Visit academics.louisiana.edu for more information.
UL Lafayette is a member of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, which is composed of members from more than a dozen southeastern states and the District of Columbia. Other members include Duke, Vanderbilt and Auburn universities.
The Carnegie Foundation has designated UL Lafayette as a “Research University with Very High Research Activity.” This prestigious R1 classification places UL Lafayette among the top 137 research universities in the country.
About 3,000 students are graduated each year.
UL Lafayette is a selective admissions university.
The University includes the following colleges and schools:
- College of the Arts
- B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
- College of Education
- College of Engineering
- College of Liberal Arts
- College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions
- Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
- Graduate School
- University College (formerly College of General Studies)
- School of Architecture and Design
- School of Geoscience
- School of Computing and Informatics
- School of Music and Performing Arts
- School of Kinesiology
- University Connection
Personnel
The University has about 1,900 employees and about 750 faculty members.
Students
Total Fall 2023 enrollment is 15,345. The number of students attending in the fall semester is a university's official enrollment.
A total of 2,269 students are seeking graduate degrees this semester.
Economic Impact
UL Lafayette had a statewide economic impact of $2.7 billion for fiscal year 2021-2022. That total supports more than 34,600 jobs – one out of every 78 jobs in the state. UL Lafayette’s $1.7 billion economic impact in Acadiana supports more than 25,100 jobs – one out of every 15 jobs in the region.
Alumni generated $2.2 billion in added income for the state economy.
UL Lafayette research spending generated $141.7 million in added income for the Louisiana economy.
The net impact of the University’s operations spending, which reflects 1,582 full-time and part-time employees, added $111.1 million in income to the state economy.
Students who attended UL Lafayette in fiscal year 2021-2022 will earn a projected $1.1 billion more over the course of their careers.
Community service performed by students and faculty and staff members generated an impact of $1.8 million.
University events and activities that attracted visitors from outside the state added $1.4 million in income to the state economy.
Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns® compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics in the NCAA's Division 1.
UL Lafayette sports:
- Football
- Baseball
- Softball
- Men's Cross country
- Women's cross country
- Men's basketball
- Women's basketball
- Men's track and field
- Women's track and field
- Golf
- Men's tennis
- Women's tennis
- Volleyball
- Soccer
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns® compete in the Sun Belt Conference.
The University's student-athletes graduate at the highest rate among student-athletes in schools in Louisiana and the Sun Belt Conference, according to the NCAA.
Noteworthy
The Brookings Institute named the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as a national leader for social mobility because of the University's commitment to providing access to higher education for lower-income students.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for the fourth year in a row for diversity and inclusion efforts. UL Lafayette is among 103 colleges and universities to earn the 2021 HEED Award from
UL Lafayette is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to the 2021 edition of "The Best 386 Colleges" published by the Princeton Review. Only about 15 percent of America's 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the college guide.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is among the top 391 colleges and universities in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 edition of “Best Colleges.”
US News & World Report recognized education, engineering, nursing, and business graduate programs in its 2020 edition of "Best Graduate Schools.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s eco-friendly programs and initiatives have been recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The University earned a “silver” designation as part of the association’s Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System, or STARS.
On the 2019 "Best Online Bachelor's Programs" listing, US News & World Report ranked UL Lafayette No. 114 nationally — leading all Louisiana universities and colleges. The University’s online graduate degree programs in nursing, education and business were also ranked.
The University's graduation rate has risen over 49 percent during the last decade.
UL Lafayette is among the top 10 universities in the United States for its percentage of research and development expenditures funded by business, according to the National Science Foundation.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is among the top 310 national universities cited in U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 edition of “Best Colleges,” an annual guidebook for prospective college students.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette earned high marks in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings. The University’s online bachelor’s program earned a numerical ranking of No. 68. It was the highest-ranked program in the state.
"Washington Monthly" magazine has cited UL Lafayette as one of best universities in the nation at helping low-income students earn degrees. It ranked UL Lafayette among the top 200 national universities.
The University's distance learning programs also placed No. 1 on Best Schools' "Top 10 Online Colleges in Louisiana."
The UL Lafayette Department of Communications program in public relations was ranked No. 3 in the country by College Choice.
Over the past 20 years, the University’s nursing graduates have achieved first-time pass rates for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses that consistently exceed national and state averages.
The B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration is included in the 2016 edition of the Princeton Review’s “Best 296 Business Schools” for its Master of Business Administration program.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has one of the top 71 MBA programs in North America, CEO Magazine recently reported.
UL Lafayette's online Master of Science in Nursing program was ranked the most affordable online MSN program by BestColleges.com.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has one of the top 10 electrical engineering graduate programs in the nation, according to Spring 2015 rankings issued by graduateprograms.com.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s animation program is ranked No. 14 in the South and No. 37 among public schools and colleges in the nation for 2015 by Animation Career Review.
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics Department ranked No. 34 overall in the U.S., which was partly a nod to its multiple championship wins.
“USA Today” editors nominated 20 cities for its 10 Best Reader’s Choice contest for Best College Town Weekend; Lafayette, La., was voted No. 1.
ConventionSouth magazine named the city a hip, historic college town in the South. It cited Lafayette, home to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in its “South’s Historic College Towns with Hip Group Appeal” 2014 list.
UL Lafayette is one of 85 colleges and universities, and the only one in Louisiana, profiled in “The Campus Wild: How College and University Green Landscapes Provide Havens for Wildlife and ‘Lands-on’ Experiences for Students.”
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is the first, and only, higher education institution in the state to earn the “Green Ribbon School” designation from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The Department of Petroleum Engineering was ranked No. 13 in the world and No. 7 in the U.S. by CEOWORLD Magazine in 2017.
University of Louisiana System
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a member of the University of Louisiana System. Others are:
- Grambling State University, Grambling, La.
- Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, La.
- McNeese State University, Lake Charles, La.
- Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, La.
- Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, La.
- Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, La.
- University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, La.
- University of New Orleans, New Orleans, La.