The University was founded in 1860, and has a student population of more than 30,000 and a faculty of more than 1,300. LSU is one of only 25 universities nationwide designated as both land-grant and sea-grant, and ranks among the top 2 percent of all colleges and universities in the nation by virtue of earning a Research University I designation.

The LSU campus, with more than 250 buildings, is located on more than 2,000 acres in a residential area on the southern edge of the city, bordered on the west by the Mississippi River.

Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana, has a metropolitan-area population of more than 500,000. It is the fifth largest port in the nation and a leading industrial center. Baton rouge is located in one of the most culturally diverse regions of the United States, adjacent to the Acadiana region. The surrounding countryside retains the ambiance of the rural deep South, with plantation homes, salt marshes, lakes, bayous, cypress swamps, and pine forests.

Baton Rouge is a pleasant but inexpensive place to live. The city boasts a Performing Arts Center, an Arts and Science Center, a Planetarium, and several cultural institutions including opera, ballet, symphonic orchestra and theater companies. In addition, a new downtown Arts District is being currently being developed.

Louisiana offers ample opportunities for hunting, fishing, and water sports. New Orleans, with its diverse entertainments, is located only 80 miles to the southeast, and the Gulf Coast beaches are only a two hour drive.

For more information, visit the LSU Visitors & Parents site.