My experience is very old (graduated 1991, and still believe it was among the best programs in the US at the time). I know that there has been a lot of turmoil, a period of lethargy, and change at Tulane since then, but there is some new energy with the new dean. New students now would have the potential to be part of the reinvigoration of a great program.

Not that it's been way down...There are some constants:

New Orleans, not only because of its history but because of its complex relationships between social, economic, racial and political concerns - AND because of its history - is an incredible place to pursue an education in architecture.

There is a good grounding in technical, graphic, history, structural, and computer skills, but solid design is primary.

Richardson Memorial is a great facility, despite its age - serves better and fosters the culture of the school better than almost any other school in which I've spent time.

Definitely look into it.

Well, OK...AND New Orleans is one of the coolest places in the world to spend your undergraduate years...

i did the MArchI 3.5-yr graduate program at Tulane from 1997-2000, and i'm extremely satisfied with my experience. they had the right balance of design vs. technical focus for me, which imo is slightly heavier to the design side, tho not leaving out anything you need on the tech side.

i found the faculty to be well-rounded and not stuck in the past, as one may fear in an old Southern town; they're experts on the local architectural history as well as nurturing toward progressive theory/design. anyone could find her niche in the menagerie of their faculty.

the student body is also surprisingly diverse - from every corner of the country and globe. tulane attracts a lot of students from latin america and europe, which helps to variegate the petri dish of student design.

as you mentioned TSA has a great new dean kroloff, and the university president cowen is doing great things for tulane as a whole these days - plenty of funding and improvements.

and then there's new orleans, ahh, new orleans... i do know what it means to miss new orleans.. for me, the setting of life is at least half as important as what i'm doing there. one can only attempt to understand the big easy by living there a number of years. it's this freak occurrence of merging old henry miller paris with the creole voodoo south. you'll never wake up bored by your surroundings, but you can't be afraid to sweat in the exploration...

go for a visit but spend 99.9% of your time off bourbon street - that's just the trap they use to catch all the trashy tourists. once you're uptown at tulane campus, you feel worlds away from all that. feel free to shoot any further questions this way... and best of luck to you.

-brian