Founded in 1967, Louisiana State University-Shreveport is a highly-rated public institution in the north west of the state. Upgraded from a community college to a university that awards four-year degrees, LSUS offers around 35 programmes in total spanning undergraduate and postgraduate education.

More than half of its classes have fewer than 20 students, and LSUS is the public institution with the lowest student-staff ratio in Louisiana. It is more diverse than many US universities, with around a third of LSUS students coming from ethnic minorities.

Its relatively low tuition fees by US standards are common to other LSU institutions, with Louisiana’s higher education system as a whole priding itself on leaving its students with lower levels of debt than those in other states. A high proportion of its students are part-time. The university’s sports facilities include an Olympic weightlifting centre.

The third biggest city in Louisiana, Shreveport is situated near its border with the state of Texas, and 50 miles south of Arkansas. LSUS is south of the city centre, which is flanked by the Red River. Shreveport has a fast-growing gaming industry and, like much of the surrounding area, above average employment rates. Dozens of modern films and television series have been shot in the city, including Oliver Stone’s W., Harold Ramis’ Year One and Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters.

Along with Shreveport, Alexandria and Eunice are the other principal LSU sites outside Baton Rouge, where its main campus lies, although it has a health sciences centre in New Orleans too. LSUS’ own health sciences centre, which conducts medical research but also facilitates study for more than 800 students at a time, was opened in 1969.